But not particularly well. I say that a guitarist that has transitioned to primarily playing bass. Basic technique transfers, but it really is a different beast (if you want to play bass well).
I'm glad you said pretend, because it's definitely not the same as playing guitar lol. That's why bands with a guitarist as a bass player don't normally have a notable bass line, unless they're a genius.
i'm not gonna pretend like i actually CAN play bass, but when i do play it it mostly comes down to what i've heard other bass players play, and some theory from music teachers i've had. for simple stuff, bass isn't that complicated
it's very similar. if you are a guitarist and can't write a good bassline, it probably has to do with your composing ability more than anything else. You can write cool basslines even without having never touched the instrument
As a guitar player first, I played around with bass riff ideas years before I actually played a bass. When I did it felt familiar but was so different when it came to finding good tones and fingerings that worked. My brain still trips out a bit when I switch back & forth while practicing.
I can relate to this,I was shocked how "good" I sounded 😳 personally but man those bass strings are tearing my finger tips apart... love it tho 😅 same songs, different instrument
If you can play power chords on a guitar, then you most definitely have enough fingers to play one single fucking note on a single string, something bass players are eKsEpshUnAlLy gOoD at 🤦♂️
@@peryphiachovet2180 lmao you don't even know a fraction of what bass is doing, of course there are guys playing only roots, but those aren't good bass players
Yeah, because we (I'm ga guitarist) just play guitar stuff but lower. That's not what a bassist does. It is a different instrument with a different role and a different "meta"
It's a guitar with a different role, and different tone, with similar techniques but not exactly the same. But to just call it a guitar is kind of oversimplifying it, I mean it's not wrong, but If you say guitar, I'll immediately think of the standard acoustic or electric guitar with higher tunings, thinner strings, and shorter necks.
Yep, I play both. When I first started playing the bass, I'd come over from about 10 years of guitar. I had a lot of shit to unlearn before I started sounding like a bass player
@@sereypanhanuth5788physically kinda the same thing not really. Different tone and sound, different role, and I have yet to see a guitar player pluck a bass correctly without taking at least a week to learn. But yet again most people who transfer from guitar to bass just use picks on their bass. I started with bass then learned guitar and play both on a regular basis.
Seems obvious now, but it took me years to even realise I could play bass. Good use of a shorts lesson! The great thing is that all of your chords and shapes are still relevant too. If you want to unlock everything just learn a piano though. It's the easiest one to understand, then apply to stringed instruments.
The scale length of the fretboard, string thickness, and the amount of space between the strings are gonna be something to get used to. The way it feels to play is drastically different. Also it takes more physical effort to play bass.
These things really aren't that big of a deal, if you're a good guitar player, it's really easy to play a bass. Obviously getting good at either one is another thing.
That’s how I picked up the banjo so fast when I found it at a camp fire at the summer camp I was at when I was a kid. The banjo honestly saved my boredom when we weren’t doing anything
Nice, you should have went Ibanez k5 fieldy's signature bass tune drob C and slap the living shit out of that thing. I slap it so hard I'm getting changed with assault. That damn bass can take a lot and I mean a lot. I paired with and orange amp holy shit it's amazing. If you don't have an orange get one that's all I can say warm and vibrant sound.
@Thewarnextdoor I have been out of it for years due to my occupation BUT I only have a couple more years left in this industry and looking to fill my time with what I have been missing out on for so long.
@@truckingguru1995 I get it I was just encouraging the set up to get more people on the 5 string band wagon. It seems like everyone plays 4 I love having that extra, switch it up from time to time. Congratulations on your bass purchase it is such a fun instrument.
As someone who kinda plays guitar but is really a bassist, it is MUCH easier for a guitarist to fake being a bassist than it is for a bassist to fake being a guitarist
@@elpapuxDDReal yeah I agree, it really is much easier to start with the bass than to get started with guitar but getting to the more "advanced" playing will put it on par with the guitar in difficulty and if given a chance can create beautiful and very complex stuff
as a bassist who tried teaching my guitarist friend a single song, just knowing that the notes are the same doesn't fool anyone when you pretend to play bass. It's easier to pick up yeah, but not if you're exclusively in a guitarist mindset.
Anyone can go from guitar to bass but I believe it's a different mindset. I see the bass as a support instrument. I'm a decent bassist but I can't play guitar for shit. Mostly because I have big ass hands.
exactly how i learned bass bass-ically, i'm hilarious, but i did learn finger and slap after awhile, it's much easier to go from guitar to bass then to start with bass with no background
I’ve known this for a while now and considered myself able to play bass. Then one day, I actually picked up a bass, and could barely play anything, the action was so high!😂
I don’t have to pretend I picked up the bass seriously a month ago and have been playing Thundercat because I was playing bass licks on the acoustic guitar for about a year before i could afford a nice jazz bass
As a guitarist who switched to bass I can tell you tape your pinky too your index finger in the beginning to get into a Basie mindset. Now scales aren’t everything their the only thing !!!!!!!
100% backwards my man, bass is all about technique. for instance, let's say the spirit moves you to learn What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, played by the great James Jamerson. first, you learn the notes. hey, that was easy, there's not too many notes. ok, you're approximately 2% of the way there. now you have to figure out how to make it sound good. do those 16th note runs sound fluid? are you muting & sustaining your notes at the right times? is your right hand in the correct spot relative to the pickup? where on the neck are you fretting? have you mastered Jamerson's one finger right hand technique, and if not, how are you going to make his bassline sound right with two fingers? so on and so on, you get the idea. the technique bass players need might be less acrobatic than a guitarist or keyboardist, but it is certainly not any easier.
@@stine_one I didn’t say it wasn’t, I said technique matters more. Most punk bass is really simple and that’s the point, but if their technique is bad it can throw off the whole song
I know that you already know this, but holy crap they are not the same. Same notes, yes...and that's about it. It's a completely different discipline, and I learned that the hard way after playing guitar for 30 years and then thinking I could be the bassist of a band. Any guitarist can be a crappy bassist, but being a guitarist is almost a disadvantage if you want to ACTUALLY learn how to play bass. Playing finger style on bass is totally different from acoustic guitar finger picking, the muting is totally different, the phrasing should be totally different, and it should closely follow what the drummer is doing. Even playing with a pick is different because of how different the string gauges are Again, I know you're already aware of this 😂. The only reason I'm bothering to leave this comment is because my long time bassist friend and I decided to start a cover band where he plays guitar and I play bass. It was hilarious for us to both realize that we suck even though we were both good at the instruments we already played. They're just not the same even if it's the same tuning down an octave.
Except, when it comes to 5 and 6 strings bass, they're all tuned into their 4ths unlike guitar where it has one string (the 2nd string) that's tuned into the 3rd note of its 3rd string. Take the Standard E tuning for example, it's EADGBE for guitars while it's either BEADGC or EADGCE for bass. Disclaimer : My comment is definitely not for Rob (directly) as I'm pretty sure his knowledge of music theories is higher than me. But it wouldn't hurt to mention that as some viewers might not know.
Notice he said "you can pretend to know the bass". Most guitarists actually have difficulty playing bass because it's an entirely different thing, the bass guitar more often than not controls the rhythm and overall feel of the song, almost as much as the beat. Bass is really the glue that holds most songs together, especially rock music. Most guitarists don't make good bassists because they want to show off and show off bassists 8 out of 10 times just get in the way. Likewise, a lot of bassists don't make good guitarists because they don't know how to stand out. And then there's Les Claypool and Flea who refuse to conform to standards. Lolol
I'm glad you said from a guitarists standpoint, and you can pretend to know bass, because playing bass is nothing like playing guitar when you dismiss the tuning similarity, , I'm playing bass exclusively for last 35 years, I've auditioned for many bands, and on many occasions, the band were relieved I was actually a bassist and not a guitarist just looking for a job, there is a specific technique involved to achieve the many different tones required for different genres. The violin, cello, double bass, contrabass, all the same tuning, ya won't pretend you can play those if you have no exoerience
"E A D G. It's in the game."
good one
I was thinking the same thing lmao
"E. A. D. G. BIIIIIIG."
Haha loved it
Eddie ate dynamite... Good 🧐
“If you can play guitar you can pretty much play bass” - Paul McCartney
Practically true
But not particularly well. I say that a guitarist that has transitioned to primarily playing bass. Basic technique transfers, but it really is a different beast (if you want to play bass well).
@@Vykk_Draygo Very true. A guitarist playing bass is very different from someone who actually knows bass
@@Vykk_Draygo ☝️🤓
@@Vykk_Draygo i didn't want to do this but you're so 🤓
“I figured the bass was just the first four strings of a guitar”-Waylon Jennings after being asked to play bass for Buddy Holly
I believe that was Leo Fender's intention when he designed the first Precision bass guitar.
@@digitaljanusthe bass existed before that and it was tuned to EADG so he just turned it into an electric instrument
@@soldier1913 That was a completely different instrument from the violin family. Fender invented the electric bass guitar.
@@swissarmyknight4306 i was talking about tuning, he may have used the cello tuning or double bass tuning, i don’t t know don’t yell at me
@@The_Copper_Element_Itself different band
Its weird how some people arent born with this knowledge
Well some people haven't even touched a guitar💀
@@arch-yao3669 Obviously it’s not common knowledge to every human being, that’s the joke.
Yeah I am shocked that this video was even posted.
You also weren’t born with this knowledge, it’s all learned, don’t put others down that are trying to learn the craft.
@@Pulloutfailure ok I’ll continue to not do that thanks
I'm glad you said pretend, because it's definitely not the same as playing guitar lol. That's why bands with a guitarist as a bass player don't normally have a notable bass line, unless they're a genius.
Can only play like a Guitar player playing Bass....not like a Bass player
@@YTiswokeexactly, only drummers can get close
i'm not gonna pretend like i actually CAN play bass, but when i do play it it mostly comes down to what i've heard other bass players play, and some theory from music teachers i've had. for simple stuff, bass isn't that complicated
it's very similar. if you are a guitarist and can't write a good bassline, it probably has to do with your composing ability more than anything else. You can write cool basslines even without having never touched the instrument
@@elgitarr_ what is complicated for simple stuff? lol
Technique is the mark of a true bass player. Any guitar player can play the root note with a pick.
@3ViL D3AD You sir, are indeed a true noodler. Respect.
@@smmusicplus96 “A true noodler” 😩😂
As a guitar player first, I played around with bass riff ideas years before I actually played a bass. When I did it felt familiar but was so different when it came to finding good tones and fingerings that worked. My brain still trips out a bit when I switch back & forth while practicing.
I can relate to this,I was shocked how "good" I sounded 😳 personally but man those bass strings are tearing my finger tips apart... love it tho 😅 same songs, different instrument
Watch the guitarists pick up the bass and play nothing but power chords
lemmy
If you can play power chords on a guitar, then you most definitely have enough fingers to play one single fucking note on a single string, something bass players are eKsEpshUnAlLy gOoD at 🤦♂️
@@peryphiachovet2180 lmao you don't even know a fraction of what bass is doing, of course there are guys playing only roots, but those aren't good bass players
@@peryphiachovet2180 I'm a guitarist, I only play chords so far, so I have no idea how to play single note riffs and fingerstyle
Honestly chords on bass are pretty beautiful 😍
As a Bass Player, I can always see the guitarist playing the bass.
They never use their left pinky 🤣
@@jellosapiens7261 I do! Although you can tell I'm not a real bass player for other reasons. 😆
Yeah, because we (I'm ga guitarist) just play guitar stuff but lower. That's not what a bassist does.
It is a different instrument with a different role and a different "meta"
nah if you treat the bass like a big guitar, you're not playing bass
Exactly. These comments are killing me.
It's a guitar with a different role, and different tone, with similar techniques but not exactly the same.
But to just call it a guitar is kind of oversimplifying it, I mean it's not wrong, but If you say guitar, I'll immediately think of the standard acoustic or electric guitar with higher tunings, thinner strings, and shorter necks.
Yep, I play both. When I first started playing the bass, I'd come over from about 10 years of guitar. I had a lot of shit to unlearn before I started sounding like a bass player
That's what bassist say to feel better about themselves. It's literally physically the same thing
@@sereypanhanuth5788physically kinda the same thing not really. Different tone and sound, different role, and I have yet to see a guitar player pluck a bass correctly without taking at least a week to learn. But yet again most people who transfer from guitar to bass just use picks on their bass. I started with bass then learned guitar and play both on a regular basis.
Seems obvious now, but it took me years to even realise I could play bass. Good use of a shorts lesson! The great thing is that all of your chords and shapes are still relevant too. If you want to unlock everything just learn a piano though. It's the easiest one to understand, then apply to stringed instruments.
The scale length of the fretboard, string thickness, and the amount of space between the strings are gonna be something to get used to. The way it feels to play is drastically different. Also it takes more physical effort to play bass.
These things really aren't that big of a deal, if you're a good guitar player, it's really easy to play a bass. Obviously getting good at either one is another thing.
Most informative short I have seen in a while, thanks 😄
Wow thank you for making this video and sharing your knowledge with us 👏👏
You can not be serious, we were in a dark room till now...
It’s also longer scale length (34 inches), unless it’s a short scale bass, even then it’s a longer scale (30 inches-ish)
That’s how I picked up the banjo so fast when I found it at a camp fire at the summer camp I was at when I was a kid. The banjo honestly saved my boredom when we weren’t doing anything
Eddie
Ate
Dynamite...
Good.
Just purchased a new Ibanez 4 string Sunday... Love it.
Nice, you should have went Ibanez k5 fieldy's signature bass tune drob C and slap the living shit out of that thing. I slap it so hard I'm getting changed with assault. That damn bass can take a lot and I mean a lot. I paired with and orange amp holy shit it's amazing. If you don't have an orange get one that's all I can say warm and vibrant sound.
@Thewarnextdoor I have been out of it for years due to my occupation BUT I only have a couple more years left in this industry and looking to fill my time with what I have been missing out on for so long.
@@truckingguru1995 I get it I was just encouraging the set up to get more people on the 5 string band wagon. It seems like everyone plays 4 I love having that extra, switch it up from time to time. Congratulations on your bass purchase it is such a fun instrument.
@@thewarnextdoor6.5 Yesterday I have seen a six string bass at Guitar Center ( Fargo ND ). It was nice but I have short fingers. 😆
I admire how you said “pretend to know the bass”
bass is just guitar but bigger in every way
Literally exactly how I learnt bass tabs
E A Sports, it’s in the game
Did anyone else forget that Davie had a signature bass?
Im a lead electric at my church and they randomly switched me to bass one night. I had so much fun how easy it was
I honestly had no idea that was how a bass worked. That kinda motivates me to get a bass guitar.🙃
Hello Rob,
I am a new subscriber. ❤
I love that he said “pretend.” All the non-bass players think it’s easy.
That's how I started. Got better understanding of both instruments
E A sports
It's in the game
As someone who kinda plays guitar but is really a bassist, it is MUCH easier for a guitarist to fake being a bassist than it is for a bassist to fake being a guitarist
Because bass basics are just root notes. Of course it's easy. The first few months at least
@@elpapuxDDReal yeah I agree, it really is much easier to start with the bass than to get started with guitar but getting to the more "advanced" playing will put it on par with the guitar in difficulty and if given a chance can create beautiful and very complex stuff
as a bassist who tried teaching my guitarist friend a single song, just knowing that the notes are the same doesn't fool anyone when you pretend to play bass. It's easier to pick up yeah, but not if you're exclusively in a guitarist mindset.
Most of us bass players started with guitar...9 out of 10...
As a bass player, the fact that all of this is true hurts me.
Love that you have the Davie bass
i raise this: a ukulele is just the last 4 strings (D G B high E) but place a capo on your guitar's fifth fret
It's C G E A
"Oh, sweet ill just use a 1mm pick and play power chords..."
what does pick thickness have to do with anything.
@@carlchameleon9847 the thick strings
@@Myowzie um, I use a .6 as well as a 3 mm for bass...
Don't worry. I got your joke, Mr. No Name.
Anyone can go from guitar to bass but I believe it's a different mindset. I see the bass as a support instrument. I'm a decent bassist but I can't play guitar for shit. Mostly because I have big ass hands.
"Now I can play feel good inc" - some guy maybe
bass player was yelling at me bc i said this to him and told him they're practically the same
When a guitar player play bass you realize very quickly that he is not a bassist.
exactly how i learned bass bass-ically, i'm hilarious, but i did learn finger and slap after awhile, it's much easier to go from guitar to bass then to start with bass with no background
I’ve known this for a while now and considered myself able to play bass. Then one day, I actually picked up a bass, and could barely play anything, the action was so high!😂
I don’t have to pretend I picked up the bass seriously a month ago and have been playing Thundercat because I was playing bass licks on the acoustic guitar for about a year before i could afford a nice jazz bass
The difference is understanding the role of the instrument, that about it
WOOOOAAAAHHHH... I've seen the light 😇
Nice bass
As a bassest and a guitarist this is very interesting to know lol
you didn't hear a bass player until they stopped playing
Imagine a guitar player not knowing this.
As a former guitar player i can conferm
Former??..
Wussy
Im just at a loss with what these people post
You have it wrong. A guitar is a short scale six string bass tuned an octave higher 😎
A bass is just a deeper guitar
that what she said
Well, that's what a "bass" guitar is afterall xD
Bass is guitar after puberty
Well, since a bass neck is longer than a guitar one. I guess it indeed goes deeper 😂
Nononononononono
He is essentially showing how the the low 4 strings of a typical 5 string bass is set-up.
umm... no
a typical bass would have four strings, the five string adds a low B which doesn't work as well with this video's analogy
Nobody
Me: plays smells like teen spirit on bass
My mind is blown... I also thought the bass was just 4 E strings
That's why I tune my bass CGBF
Sweet we got some more bass players, let’s play some Motown
And if you use funk rhythms, you sound like you know what you're doing.
It's actually two octaves lower, but its notated as one octave below so most notes arent notated 8va or with tons of ledger lines below
e... a... sports
Nice!!!!!
Is this how geddy lee was introduced to bass? Asking for friend
As a guitarist who switched to bass I can tell you tape your pinky too your index finger in the beginning to get into a Basie mindset. Now scales aren’t everything their the only thing !!!!!!!
Actually here’s what a bass is
A bass is a bass
And a guitar is a bass with 2 extra strings brought UP an octave
I saw other bass videos saying, "You shouldn't go into bass thinking it's a guitar," but this just makes more sense to me
Technically - yes, bass is just a lower guitar, but when it comes to composing it's 2 different instruments
If you play guitar, you play bass better than some bassists
Bass sweep picking
Dude sounds like EA Sports.
E A SPORTS ITS IN THE GAME
With bass, I’m like the guy playing Wonderwall on an acoustic…yeah…I can play it…but I can’t really *play* it.
With bass it's much more about note selection than it is raw technique.
Not really, you can drone on the root of the chord for a full song and if your technique is bad it’ll sound bad. Tone is in the fingers
100% backwards my man, bass is all about technique. for instance, let's say the spirit moves you to learn What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, played by the great James Jamerson. first, you learn the notes. hey, that was easy, there's not too many notes. ok, you're approximately 2% of the way there. now you have to figure out how to make it sound good. do those 16th note runs sound fluid? are you muting & sustaining your notes at the right times? is your right hand in the correct spot relative to the pickup? where on the neck are you fretting? have you mastered Jamerson's one finger right hand technique, and if not, how are you going to make his bassline sound right with two fingers? so on and so on, you get the idea.
the technique bass players need might be less acrobatic than a guitarist or keyboardist, but it is certainly not any easier.
@@jugftw4868 that bassline is still not a good option, you'll be remembered as "that guy with big guitar", note selection is as important on bass
@@stine_one I didn’t say it wasn’t, I said technique matters more. Most punk bass is really simple and that’s the point, but if their technique is bad it can throw off the whole song
Play this again pls
I know that you already know this, but holy crap they are not the same. Same notes, yes...and that's about it. It's a completely different discipline, and I learned that the hard way after playing guitar for 30 years and then thinking I could be the bassist of a band. Any guitarist can be a crappy bassist, but being a guitarist is almost a disadvantage if you want to ACTUALLY learn how to play bass.
Playing finger style on bass is totally different from acoustic guitar finger picking, the muting is totally different, the phrasing should be totally different, and it should closely follow what the drummer is doing. Even playing with a pick is different because of how different the string gauges are
Again, I know you're already aware of this 😂. The only reason I'm bothering to leave this comment is because my long time bassist friend and I decided to start a cover band where he plays guitar and I play bass. It was hilarious for us to both realize that we suck even though we were both good at the instruments we already played. They're just not the same even if it's the same tuning down an octave.
That’s how I went from playing guitar in my band to playing bass, and it turns out I’m better at bass
This real?
When he said E A.... I said EA SPORTS ITS IN THE GAME
Litteraly true
Electric guitar and a bass is a divided high note and low notes of acoustic guitar.
Wait ? Are you trying to tell me that bass is a real instrument ?
And if so, bassists are also considered as "musicians" ?
Damn.
As a bass player who pretends to know guitar, I love this
Ok, cool. All that's left is learn the guitar.
E, A, D and G, that’s it. 😉👍
Except, when it comes to 5 and 6 strings bass, they're all tuned into their 4ths unlike guitar where it has one string (the 2nd string) that's tuned into the 3rd note of its 3rd string.
Take the Standard E tuning for example, it's EADGBE for guitars while it's either BEADGC or EADGCE for bass.
Disclaimer : My comment is definitely not for Rob (directly) as I'm pretty sure his knowledge of music theories is higher than me. But it wouldn't hurt to mention that as some viewers might not know.
And octave is the frequency halved or doubled
The difference, being the role of each. Most guitarists that pick up a bass, sound like,,,,,a guitarist trying to play a bass. 😁
i love trying to explain octaves to people
Water bottle gambit accepted
Do one for the banjo
Notice he said "you can pretend to know the bass".
Most guitarists actually have difficulty playing bass because it's an entirely different thing, the bass guitar more often than not controls the rhythm and overall feel of the song, almost as much as the beat.
Bass is really the glue that holds most songs together, especially rock music.
Most guitarists don't make good bassists because they want to show off and show off bassists 8 out of 10 times just get in the way.
Likewise, a lot of bassists don't make good guitarists because they don't know how to stand out.
And then there's Les Claypool and Flea who refuse to conform to standards. Lolol
POV: its a 5 string bass
Then the guitar player starts strumming 😂
That's my excuse when I say I can play any instrument that looks like a guiatar
Ukelele is similar, just about 1 octave higher but the chords are different
I just find it hard to get the technique down. Fingerpicking for guitar just feels too ingrained in memory at this point
Needing the intro is your first indication that bass is not for you.
even my grandma knows this
When you said B A D G, bruh at first you sound like that EA sports it's in the game intro xD
I'm glad you said from a guitarists standpoint, and you can pretend to know bass, because playing bass is nothing like playing guitar when you dismiss the tuning similarity, , I'm playing bass exclusively for last 35 years, I've auditioned for many bands, and on many occasions, the band were relieved I was actually a bassist and not a guitarist just looking for a job, there is a specific technique involved to achieve the many different tones required for different genres. The violin, cello, double bass, contrabass, all the same tuning, ya won't pretend you can play those if you have no exoerience
And then for mandolin, take those same four strings and flip them upside down. GDAE -- all those power chords should now work upside down.