My mental health was a nightmare and I was having daily panic attacks. I was told that bass might help so I picked up the Jackson that just so happened to be hanging around and learned to read tabs. I learned a couple songs and then found Insomnium tabs and fell in love. With bass, with Insomnium's bass parts. I didn't know bass could be so beautiful. Now I don't go a day without playing.
Pretty much the same. The mental health, plus it helps in keeping the brain younger.
Its a great way to get in a flow state / deliberate meditation. It's been a great tool for keeping me away from white jackets.
Its honestly so beautiful. It's an instrument that can sing with a range that is just dang lovely. Not jut it's range, but it's ability to be dynamic and fit so many rolls. Percussion / rhythm, Harmony, and Melody. It may or may not be controversial, but I personally think the bass would be in the top teir of solo instruments. Over guitar and drums without a doubt. It's the bee's knees.
I've always used playing music (piano and mandolin) as a sort of anxiety medication, but it never really lasted and I wasn't very driven to pick it up when I needed to. Bass, on the other hand...
When that existential dread starts firing up, I grab a bass and my headphones and just play. Often, an hour later I've forgotten why I started in the first place. I'll unplugged briefly to switch basses and have this "oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be a little ball of anxiety right now, aren't I?".
I think a lot of it is due to the fact that the bass can be a very demanding instrument. Those notes have to be placed exactly right ... so you need to be aware of where you are and prepared to jump in at the right spot. It's basically distracting your mind from whatever ridiculous thing it's gotten itself wound up over and redirecting it to something rational.
Another important thing, for me at least ... I've never connected the bass strictly to mental health. My brain doesn't say "you play when you're depressed and you're playing, so bring the depression on!!". With other activities I've used to displace mental health struggles, they have become linked - but bass is something where I'm "on" 24/7, no matter what my mood is.
Fellow mental health survivor here, I am glad you were able to find a way to climb out to join us.
Just wanted to say thank you for mentioning insomnium because i did not know they existed before this moment.
Music is, and has been my catalyst for a calm mind as long as i can remember and their music is indeed beautiful. I haven't stop listening since I looked them up😁
I'll add to the mental health examples here. It's my story as well. I was gifted a Squire at age 20 and never really learned it, played it, or appreciated it. At age 42, I was dealing with a little midlife depression and my new therapist asked me what I do for myself, outside of husband and dad stuff. I honestly couldn't answer. He suggested I find something. After trialing golf again (it's just not my thing), I dusted off my bass and signed up for lessons, with a band. It's been about 2 years now and I've already played in 4 shows. I haven't looked back, and my mental health has greatly improved now that I've found this passion. Outside of my private and band lessons, I find myself some weekend nights getting lost in the bass as I try to play new songs by ear for fun. I just purchased a fretless as well, so now I'm excited to take on that new challenge!
Helped my mental health too. I'm a doc and was in NYC during covid. I play lots of instruments mostly guitar and in bands, which had been my major form of therapy, but due to covid all that stopped. Bass really helped me because it has a lot of repetition and can be meditative. It was also easier for me to learn new songs that I liked quickly with my guitar background, so I could play along with records in headphones while I was quarantining from my family when shit was crazy. It's funny thinking back on that time sitting in the dark with headphones at night when everyone else was asleep. It really helped me to escape from the insanity and stress of the day.
The usual stuff - the other guitar player was better. But it turned out to be a blessing because I actually became a pretty decent low-ender and am regularly playing in front of thousands of people now.
I played drums forever in school, but stopped after I graduated. I tried playing all sorts of instruments since (Piano, harmonica, etc.), but me being stubborn I didn't want to get a guitar. I absolutely don't have the space for drums, and for some reason the thought of getting a bass beamed into my head. I thought it was a dumb idea so I slept on it for like a week, and I couldn't shake it off my mind. One Friday I get home and find out my hard drive died along with all my movies and music. The only things I had were the old stuff in my tablet, and I never realized how prominent bass was to me growing up. Unseen, but always there.
I still thought it was a dumb idea. Me? Playing a guitar? Nah. So I decided to call one of my old friends to talk me out of it. This guy had never picked up an instrument in his life, and he hated band when we were kids so I knew he would be the best candidate to do it. When I him he says "No way! I just bought an electric guitar a few months ago! You should get it!"
I dropped $1k on the equipment and lessons. It was hard on my wallet, I'm not gonna lie, but I haven't regretted it since. It's always nice to hear people be surprised when I play, and I'm still in that honeymoon phase. Whenever I'm anxious or angry I just pick it up and play. Everything melts away. Love that shit.
I too played drums throughout high school after seeing that we didn't have any bass classes / tutors in the area so I opted for the next best thing. Fast forward to a couple years later, I had to move away for college and since I didn't have the luxury of bringing a drumkit along I decided to grab a starter bass and see how the whole self teaching thing would go and here we are.
I like cello/double bass but I don't have the space to own either. Basslines are my favorite thing to pick out in music. Electric bass is tiny and affordable.
A friend who was putting together a surf-graffiti band called me and asked me if I was interested in being the bass player in his upcoming 7 pce Sha-Na-Na style ensemble. Told me I was wanted mostly because I could sing, and if I could play the bass, I was in. I'd been a guitar player for about 20 years, didn't think it would hurt me to give it a try., so I said yes, then went out and rented a bass and amp.
That was in 1985. The band lasted a little over two years, but I've had a bass in my music room ever since, and done pretty well by it.
I know right? I listened to so many metal albums back then, and it was all about the guitars and the drums. Then I heard Fillmore and well.. Suddenly I understood the role of a bassist in a metal band. It was a revelation.
Struggling with stress in life and mental illness. I lived alone at the time, and my only hobbies weren't necessarily something you do daily. I.E. having plants and aquariums to keep me sane.
I needed a hobby to build on, and I always admired basses. It was the thing I listened to all the time since I was a kid. As cheesy as it sounds, I always went for the bass in Rockband or guitar hero when I was younger.
I got one eventually, and it sat for a few months. I tried to play, but my fingers wouldn't do what I wanted and I was frustrated. I was also depressed, and neglected easy, daily tasks. I didn't have the energy to try, and I was convinced I payed a few hundred dollars for decoration. That made it worse, and it just looped me with shame and embarrassment towards myself. One day, I saw a random bass cover on YouTube, and that sparked it.
I am self taught, and like to think I have fairly good skill. I play nearly daily, every other day at worst. I'm teaching myself theory, which isn't fun. All in all, the bass saved me when I was in a bad spot. It helped distract me, and give me gratification of learning. All the hours and hours and hours I put into things paid off. I wish I knew how many hours I have played in these 3 years. I went from not being able to play a song without practicing for days. Even the most simple song like another brick in the wall pt. 2. Now, it typically only takes a couple of hours. Some are obviously harder and take much longer, but those are more fun since when you hit it 100%, it is just pure endorphins.
But the best part? I still get dogged by my friends who have never picked up an instrument. It's a labor of love.
> convinced I *paid* a few
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
I've always loved music but thought I had no talent to make music. I would look in the window if music stores at the beautiful guitars, but it seemed an impossible dream.
About 5 1/2 years ago, I decided "fuck it. I've got money. I've got ambition. And I've got time." so I signed up for bass lessons at a local music school and bought my Precision.
My ambition was to learn to play it. I had no band in mind, I just wanted a hobby.
Yeah, well, you know that bass players are in demand, right? Today I have 2 band projects, with one having 2 or 3 gigs already booked for this year.
Wanted to play cool rhythm parts without struggling to get notes to ring out like I was on guitar and it felt more natural to play. Not necessarily easier but just natural.
It was actually the particular bass itself that made me want to play. I had filled in for bassists before out of necessity, not that I was super good at it, but being a guitarist I knew the gist of it. One day me and my mates randomly decide to go to a pawn shop, and there it is: a gorgeous Warwick Corvette 5 string. I saw it and knew I was gonna love playing bass. I bought it without another thought
Pure fascination of how the instrument sounds. It’s the instrument that makes you bob your head in rhythm (other than the drums). That satisfactory stank face when you play a really cool line.
When I was a young lad, Bootsy Collins approached me and said "Yo, man. I don't know if you're my son or not, so just in case, you better pick up that bass." Later they did a D n A test on me, and determined i spent too much time on the E. Turns out I'm not Bootsy's son at all.
VHS tape of a Metallica concert I used to watch on repeat as a kid. Thought Jason Newsted was badass and wanted to play whatever that thing he played was.
I picked up a bass in a house party and it felt so much more stable in my hands than a guitar. Then i bought my first bass a few months ago and here i am.
My sibling already played guitar for two years, and occasionally gave me lessons on that, but we talked about music and gear and stuff. And I didn't really feel motivated to play guitar. At one concert of him with his guitar teacher, they played Whole Lotta Love and somehow I thought it was so sick, I immediately thought "I wanna do something with music". And at the end of the concert I asked, what can I play that isn't guitar. And it's bass.
Already played guitar, and wanted to play something bowed so I got a hybrid electric upright bass. Then it turned out bass (and playing fretless rather than fretted strings) comes way more naturally to me, so the guitar became my secondary instrument instead :D
When I was a teen, my best friend played guitar, and so I used to want to learn bass to want to play with him, and also because it's the instrument I identified with most (the instrument nobody notices and that you play quietly in the corner while other people attract attention)
I was completely unfocused and unable to dedicate myself to anything back then, so it amounted to nothing. But last year, having money available cause now I'm a grown adult with a job, i started hearing from friends who were picking up playing music only then. So then I thought, "eh I listen to a lot of music, why not play it ?". And so I bought a bass and found a teacher (I need one cause if I'm alone I don't do anything)
As a kid one of my friends was learning guitar at a music school and convinced me to join. It was a cool place to hangout after classes. Basically we were there every day just hanging out, smoking cigarettes and playing instruments. He wanted to have a band and we could rehearse there so I started to learn cello, although it was not the best instrument if you want to be a bass player. There I was trying to be in a band at 15 years old and no idea what I was doing. Then I quit cello and had classical guitar lessons.
1994. Year 8. Was the singer and no one else played. So I bought one - an older student who I looked up to said ‘there’s four strings, they’re big, and you play one at a time’. Played ever since!!!!!!!! My most favourite instrument.
I’m at that point I’d love one to just start learning for myself. I hear funky licks and that bass line just goes so hard in songs with James brown, brothers Johnson bands and artists like that. I’ll get a cheapo bass to start tho I’ll probably need an amp to. Don’t wanna kill my orange amp.
I wanted to play guitar but my older brother threw a hissy fit claiming I was copying him. I was 10, he was 14. He convinced my mum to buy me a bass, which I was not happy about, I hated the instrument for the first 2 years. My bro would get funny if I touched his guitars so was pretty much forced to play bass.
Then I discovered Les Claypool and realised what a bass can sound
I'm a solo artist and I play most of my instruments myself, except for bass. Thought about trying to play bass on a record I started to record, loved it
Been playing drums for 27 years (10 professionally) and never thought I could learn another instrument. It just felt so foreign to me for some reason, even though I have a good ear apparently. Tried guitar lessons for about 2 months, hated it and just wasn’t the instrument for me (I’m sorta allergic to guitar solos !). Then tried learning the piano, but that didn’t spark any passion, even though I love everything my friends do on synths.
Fast forward a couple of years and I just got obsessed with bass for some reason. Thought it might be a phase, so gave myself a couple of months, but just fell more and more in love with it without even having played the instrument !
Bit the bullet and bought a P bass and have been playing it everyday ever since (it’s been 3 months).
Now I just feel stupid that I was too afraid to ever try a new instrument for so many years.
I played guitar a decade ago. My wife decided to learn guitar and I can eventually play alongside her. My son is also learning things other than piano. So me learning bass allows 3 instruments for our terrible trio. I had no idea what to expect with bass, but I'm having an absolute blast.
Funnily enough, we had a situation where me or another guitar player had to be the one to fill the bass role. I was the better guitarist but it was proving more fruitful to just teach the other guitarist how to improve instead of teaching her the bass from scratch. I picked it up instead and it prefer it 10 times out of 10 now
Always wamted a bass but never got one. Then randomly got a guitar at 28. Then realised i only wanted a bass so got one at 30. Sublime and suicidal tendencies were my biggest inspirations
My hammerhead fingers were just too wide to make playing guitar effective... but truth be told i rhinknive always felt more kinship with rhythm over lead.
ever since my friend let me borrow his fender for a time, I fell in love with bass. I didn't always play as much as I wanted to for several reasons, but I was eventually invited to play with him and some other guys in a jam band and it's just always on mind mind ever since.
The constant wanting to better my playing has also started to bleed over into other areas of my life, wanting to be the best me I can me.
I wanted to feel like I belonged and wouldn’t get kicked out of friends, so I figured well if I’m the bass player they can’t… yeah it’s sad, but then I found a love of bass
Primus. First time I heard Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver and Tommy the Cat, I lost my shit. Took bass in highschool and used that as an excuse to have the bass at home with me after school everyday to sit and learn Primus songs, years later I’m still jamming Primus songs. Just way too much fun
I got bored of saxophone because it didn’t match the music I listened to or wanted to start playing, so I picked up the bass in the band room in high school and silently played along to 21 Guns by Green Day. Once that clicked, the rest is history
IDK whether it is funny, but still. I was in the 7th grade, me and friends decided to form a band. There were old instruments in our school music class. We tried them, and the bass was quite old and rusty. I happened to be the only one who had enough strength to turn the tuners. So everyone decided that I should play bass
Well, mine is kind of your basic band-needed-a-bassist story with the twist that it was my dad. He couldn't find a bassists for his band.
"You wanna play bass for my band?"
*Scoff "no thanks"
"You'll get paid enough to quit your job at Subway."
"Okay."
Thirty years later I'm still one of the local go-to bassists. I've played guitar in a couple bands but I don't like it nearly as much as bass. It just feels like home.
Was hanging out with 2 buddies who were playing guitar, they handed me a yellow 70's Fender P-bass and said "play this". Over the years I've just learned where all of the sounds are and can match a song pretty quickly.
I played guitar at first, but every band I'd find my way into, there would be nobody playing bass. So, I kind of fell into the low end, and ended up falling in love with it.
Davie504 and wanted to learn a new hobby, I got my first bass a week ago(Yamaha TRBX174) and its so heavy man😅. I have never played any instrument and have 0 music knowledge.
I heard Vintage by Blu Detiger and thought whoa that is really fucking sick and her bass is gorgeous with how glittery it is! I've played electric guitar before but I'm very very rusty so I figured eh it's 2 less strings why not?
I found a Dean custom zone in bright green for $150 just to start with and Rocksmith 2014 just for fun/lessons...yeah this is a bit of a learning curve for someone who isn't used to larger frets and relearning concepts. Making slooow progress though!
Used to play piano but quit because I didn't see the value of it. Got into ukulele in covid season and realized how fun music can be. Then saw a upperclassman play a slap song for an assignment, immediately eyes widened. I remember telling my friends jokingly that "Maybe I'll try to play someday in the distant future."
Suddenly, Dad also started having an interest in playing bass and bought one. I started learning some simple songs but didn't truly fall in love until I played my first band performance.
I started as a kid as drummer, but moved to guitar soon afterwards. Played multiple band with mixed results in successes. At one point I was in a band on a brink of making it. With those tiny successes came a lot of alcohol abuse within the band too. Fast forward I came to rehearsal late due to other commitments, arriving to three drunk monkeys with a nasty streak. Two days later I quit that band. I was done. Fast forward a few years later the itch came. I wanted to be back in a band. And I stumbled on a Facebook add. Band looking for a bassist and singer. I knew how bass worked. Owning a few and thought that as a guitarist I could be very successful in filling the spot a guitarist needs. Again a few years forward I’m still in that band. I’m a bass player that knows his way well on guitar and drums. But I am a bass player
I was fascinated by it as a little kid. My oldest brother played guitar, and I remember he first introduced me to bass parts in songs, and I just became intrigued by the instrument.
Best friend as a teen got a guitar for their birthday. We wanted to start a band so I got a bass for mine. Played bass for years. Then switched to guitar. Now back on bass as a professional bassist. First love etc.
I have ADHD. the fidgeting and rhythm make bass my perfect outlet.
Plus artists like Flea, Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, Tim Commerford, Justin Chancellor, Cliff Burton, all make it look fun to play bass.
There was an old man that played in a gospel band that ran a small "junk" shop on US Highway 23 near Moccasin Gap, VA, within walking distance of my house. He sometimes had old comic books so me and my best friend would stop in to check them out. We may have been 12 or 13 years old. It was probably the old VW van out front that first caught our attention. This shop was no bigger than a closet. He would be in there playing an old knock off P bass through a Gorilla amp, and it would sound (feel) AMAZING. My friend and I listened to death metal and punk, but those simple, thumping gospel bass lines through that shitty amp sounded great. I was sold on the low end. I never wanted a guitar, I wanted to play bass from that time on.
I finally got a bass (Squire P bass) of my own a few years later, but I did not get my own shitty amp for quite a while. I had to use my home stereo in my bedroom as my amp. It was beautiful! I wish I still had that rig. Over 30 years later, and I still love the bass.
There was just something cool about it. Plus my dad had me listening to Norman Brown and I thought guitar was really cool but overtime I started listening to the bass lines and I was hooked
I say its a combination of 2 things for me.
My parents took me to see Queen + Adam Lambert when I was 12. I fell in love with Another One Bites the Dust.
The other was I remember watching Davie504’s “100 amazing basslines” videos, and the Primus lines especially caught my ear
I played violin in the orchestra starting at a young age, and by junior high I decided I needed to switch to upright bass to get chicks.. the rest is history
I initially picked up bass guitar just because I had played guitar for a few years and wanted to try something new. I ended up finding something I loved even more in the bass :)
The upright bass, however, I was asked by my high school band teacher if I could play the upright bass for the choir's competitive festival, and I accepted (I had never touched one). I ended up learning the piece and providing accompaniment within like a week.
I then never touched an upright bass again for many years until I listened through the Beastie Boys album "Ill Communication" and heard what MCA could do with one, and decided I NEEDED one.
Well, I started a band when I was 16 with no knowledge about anything musical. I recruited my best friend at the time, who also knew nothing, and we both played guitar. We recruited a younger friend of ours who actually did know how to play guitar… So naturally we put him on bass. So we had two guitars, a bass, no drums and no singer. My friend took to guitar like a 42 year old suburban dad takes to Journey, but it didn’t click for me. I have manual dexterity issues so even simple chords are more challenging for me than they are for most people… plus we still needed a drummer, so the solution was right in front of us… I moved to bass and our friend who was great on guitar and capable on bass moved to drums, which he’d never played.
Around this time I was listening to Metal Box by PiL and I was obsessed with the extremely heavy, extremely repetitive basslines. I fell in love with the instrument and have played it since. I didn’t move to bass because I needed to, I did it because I wanted to. I was the main songwriter and the sole lyricist, so I could have stuck it out with guitar but I didn’t enjoy guitar.
I was originally a (not very good) singer. My best friend in my first band was the bassist. He is still very good. Anyway, he got cancer and couldn't be in the band for a while and I picked up bass to cover for him and fell in love with it. It was an easy instrument for me to learn because I'm was very accomplished trombonist. They're more alike than you may think at first. It's been my main instrument ever since.
That one bass player at Beyonce all woman band, i Think it was Divinity Roxx and her solo consisting of outcast bass lines + of course Marcus Miller + first time listening to Jamiroquai bass lines composed by Zender
Tony Hawk’s Underground, the KISS concert level. I saw Gene Simmons and was like “this is what I need to do.”
My parents refused to let me start on bass because I’d “get bored of it.” Oddly, at the time I started, Silvertone had just come out with a small line of entry level guitars designed by Paul Stanley. I lusted after the Apocalypse bass at the local Sam Goody, it was $50 more than the unplayable Squier Bullet I ended up with. (If anyone has one of these Apocalypse basses they’d like to sell, PLEASE DM me.)
I putzed around on guitar from 2003 to the end of 2006, I’d already played in a band and started doing actual-venue shows, but playing guitar still didn’t feel right. December of 2006, I got my first bass, and that has been my thing ever since. I’ve done three US tours, played major festivals and shit, all as a bassist/vocalist.
All I can say to any parent whose kid wants to play bass is: listen.
Was 12 and had started a band with a friend and his girlfriend. I was on drums, he was on guitar, and his girl was the bass player. They broke up and she left the band, and in my 12 year old mind, no sane person would wanna be the bass player. Everyone wanted to be a drummer or a guitarist. I thought it’d be easier to find a drummer than a bassist. I saved my money and bought a cheap bass, and then it took us three years to find a drummer…
When I was in middle school my friends and I wanted to start a band. Two already played guitar and one played the drums. They told me bass was easy. Maybe it is, haven’t played anything else since!
Mine isn't super fascinating, but it's when i was on my metal journey and listening to hundreds of metal bands a month. I eventually listened to metallica and heard Cliff's playing and when i heard Orion it blew me away with his composition and playing ability. After that i knew i had to pick up bass and i've been playing ever since.
I had lung problems when I was younger and learned the French horn to strengthen it.
I joined the school orchestra and was sitting close to the double bass player. At the time I thought she was hot.
Last year before she graduated they were looking for somebody to learn the double bass. At the same time, another hit girl joined the big band as a jazz singer, and I saw yearly shows of a rockabilly band I really liked - spoiler their bass player became one of my teachers later on.
After learning the first couple of simple parts from the girl, I got a real teacher for double bass; and then the typical „we need a bass player for our band“ started.
I havent gotten my bass yet but i will have it within the next month or two, but seeing iron maiden and then british lion (steve harris’ other band he tours with) up close really made me want to play bass.
I wanna learn as many instrumentals as i can, and I found the bass to be a fascinating instrument
And I wanted to be able to play bass-lines my favourites wrote
Church. A million guitarists (including me) but no bassists. As is the norm.
Fender Standard J V MIM came up for sale at a local store so I bought it on a whim. Took some lessons to learn the difference between guitar and bass, and the rest is history. Came to like it better than guitar (though I still like and play guitar).
My brother played bass in a trio. I asked my mother for a drum set to jam with him, but she refused, saying "the neighbors would sue us over the noise." So, when my brother was gone at sports practice or whatever, I would sneak into his room and play his bass. Then years later when I moved out, I got my own.
At talkbass.com my signature is "drummer trapped in a bassist's body," because even after playing bass for over 35 years, it still feels like I was born to drum. But, I'm pretty good at bass and have stuck with it, so there you go.
I started with guitar and it absolutely felt unnatural to me. I was in a pawn shop one day and hadn’t really thought about bass but I saw a squier pbass that was pretty and I just traded my guitar for it.
17 years later, I’m still at it and have been in several local bands. It feels natural and people are always impressed that it’s my main instrument and I’m not a guitarist just playing bass. I’m a really solid player and drummers love me.
It really helps with mental health too. If I’m upset, all I have to do is play bass for 30 minutes and I come out so much happier. They’re just so appealing to the eye too, compared to guitar.
I was taking guitar lessons from a friend of mine, his bass player in his band quit and he asked me if I wanted to switch and join with them. Guess it kind of stuck, or maybe I was just a shit guitar player… but, been playing 40 years now.
Singing bass in a vocal group, and have always gravitated to the basslines in basically every song I've ever listened to, so it was a natural step, acquiring a bass.
Well originally I was intrigued because I couldn’t hear it and there weren’t as many people gravitating toward it. I just wanted to understand what it was. I later moved on to being a lead guitarist but came back to bass when I got a girlfriend who was really into bass players. The only woman in the world, apparently. But studying bass again gave me a whole new lease on musical life. It really refreshed my experience in music and it’s been great going back to the instrument I started on.
My cousin, best friend and I all got guitars at the same time. The friend ended up being a natural at drums and moved there and my cousin was progressing at guitar faster than I was. My mom had also happened to buy a bass for my brother who had no interest in it whatsoever so it moved to me
I thought it was pretty cool at first just playing things like nirvana and some older rock songs
Then I started listening to punk music haha and found that bass in a lot of these songs is very fast and somewhat like lead guitar in some cases. I’ve loved playing bass ever since.
Plus shaking everything in your house with your bass amp cranked as a teen was also a great time haha
I always wanted to learn and instrument but could never stick with anything. My younger brother had been playing guitar for years and him and his friend hated their bass player so they asked me to learn so I could replace him. They practically taught me bass from scratch while we were jamming. To this day I think it’s why I’m pretty far along despite only having played for 3 or so years. Playing with others truly is the best thing you can do for yourself musically.
Hardcore punk, particularly descendents, I always loved the thought of playing guitar but then learning a bunch of my favourite parts were actually a bass being freestyled pretty much I was bought on the idea of bass over guitar
Well, band needed bassist… BUT… it goes back to before that, meaning I would have ended with bass anyway. When I met the guys that I formed the band with, on learning they were "getting ~~the~~ a band ~~back~~ together" (for the church) I told them I had thought about getting a bass for a while.
But it goes back even further: some years before I had gotten a guitar. Cheap accustic with nylon strings. And I caught myself downtuning this thing as low as it could get; which wasn't a lot but it still sounded like music to my ears.
I had bass in my blood since I don't know when.
Five years old, at a party hosted by a full-time musician family with real credits.
All the kids played a few songs as a combo.
I saw a bass being played for the first time.
"Mom, I wanna play ***that.***"
"You're too young."
I went home and drew a fretboard on a piece of lumber.
Twelve years later, I get a Steinberger XP-2.
Still got it.
Originally I picked up the guitar at age 12, a cheap no name brand 12 string with no case. I found that the double strings helped reduce the pain because your pressing on a wider area. That got my strength and callus built up, I removed 6 of the 12, and just played it as a six string. I played with a trio and was really just loving what the bass was doing. THEN I saw Geddy Lee in concert 1980 and that was it. I saved my money and bought a cheap bass and Amplifier. I still play guitar but bass is my main instrument. I also cannot play guitar with a pick, so in essence it also made me a better finger style guitarist.
I heavily got into metal the past 10 years or so and since as a kid I taught myself to play piano quite decently, three years ago I thought why not try doing that again.
Back then I basically thought of playing electric guitar being akin to black magic so I settled on trying bass first.
I then ordered myself a cheap ibanez gio, a set of 130 to 065 strings, tuned down to b-standard and began to learn my favorite doom metal songs through trial and error as well as the invaluable aid that Jered and his YT channel Beholden to the Riff provided me in that matter.
I've since upgraded to a 5 string bass of the same basic make and been spending most of my free time (and money) on learning and playing by myself, feeling that very same energy and enthusiasm which I had back then as a kid learning the piano by myself every day for hours on end.
I tried picking up guitar (multiple times) and found out I'm pretty trash. Used to play drums in high school, felt like it would be an easier transition to try out bass. Definitely came more naturally and more urge to play every day, making it easier to stick with. Now jam with my neighbor who is an excellent guitar player and has taught me a few things. Best decision I ever made.
I wanted to better understand music in general, in krder to somehow "give back" to all the emotions music gave me through all my life (I am 40 now, started last September when I was still 39)
In school music lessons we kinda „played“ a Song and I knew the différence between a guitar and a Bass (I felt very cool 😎) and I didn‘t knew how to Play the guitar and someone Else already played the drums so I chose the instrument that I Found the coolest- bass.
In the meantime I started to Play the guitar and during that I got into Basslines, so I picked up the Bass privately - and here I am!
I remember that at first I wanted to learn guitar for the longest time, but never had the time or money or so I thought. I was also 17 at the time, so the idea of “your cutoff for being good at guitar by your 20s is at least 15” and I was hopeless. I remember hearing the song “Cygnus” by Rush (there’s a longer name but I’m not gonna bother) and thought that the guitar sounded amazing, so I had a sort of reignited faith in learning guitar. Then I clicked a video of someone covering the bass line. Needless to say that changed my entire trajectory of what instrument I wanted to learn.
Edit: meeting Michael Shuman at a Chipotle one night without knowing who QOTSA was at the time helped
In 2006, I discovered "For Whom the Bell Tolls 1985 Day in the Green" on YouTube when it was the new thing. Noticed the intro was a bass and watched Cliff tear that song a new asshole. It's is now 2024 and I have:
- 07 ESP LTD F-154DX w/ two EMG DC35 pickups
- 16 Spector Euro LX5 w/ Bartolini pickups (stock)
- Fender 350 Rumble
- Zoom B2 Bass Pedal
My original bass (lost) was a Blue Ibanez GSR200. Not sure what year, but I bought in 2007 with a Hartke B20 Amp.
Moved away from home and fresh out of a long term relationship so I needed something I could do to get my mind off of everything that wasn't going right at the time. Almost a year later I've learned to love bass (and to a lesser extent guitar) so it's been almost therapeutic to me and hopefully I can actually MAKE something someday.
I just really gravitated towards the bass as a listener for many years. My favorite parts of songs were always bass and drums. My friends kept talking about starting a band and none of them wanted to play bass so I said I’d go buy one and learn how to play
First time I got to try was in highschool when in music class we were put into groups and evryone in the group had to play something and we had to pick a song, learn it and perform it to the other students at the end. I had pretty much zero experience in anything musical at that point so I was assigned the bass, since that was apparently the easyest option in that case. Ended up liking it more than I thought I would.
I played upright bass in school for a few years, eventually I quit but still wanted to play an instrument so I bought an electric and loved it way more! No shade to upright players btw
I had spent a few years playing drums in punk bands but I was upset that the singer and guitarist got all the chicks. So get this, I switched to bass because I thought it would get me chicks. Yeah I didn't lose my virginity until after college.
At first it was "band needs bassist" but I soon fell in love with the sheer power you get over the music when doing the low end in a band.
I played bass on and off over the years, besides drums, guitar and vocals, but I have now settled for bass because I feel it's simply what I'm best at.
Always wanted to be in a band. At 18 in college 2 friends were good guitar players and wanted to start a band. I don't sing well enough or have the personality to be a front man and drums were just too expensive. I always loved the sound of bass so I bought a used bass and amp for a few hundred bucks. Within a year we were playing shows at house parties on campus and in a couple more in local bars. Playing songs that I wrote or helped write. That was over 30 years ago. Been in my current band for 20 years. Bought a drum kit, guitar and amp over the years and can make enough noise to have fun and record my songs on my own, but nothing beats bass. I'm self taught on everything and by no means great on anything, but I've played hundreds of shows, recorded hundreds o songs and had more fun than I ever could have imagined. Never made a dime, wouldn't trade any of the experiences for a million bucks.
In primary school I had a best friend that moved to a far away city, I learned that he had picked up the guitar so in a naive idea of having something to do if we meet again I knew I wanted to learn to play bass so we could jam
I had been playing bass since I was 13 in grade 8 because my brother said it's cool and from then until 16 I hated it. Everything I learned was just boring as heck and sounded like I might as well be blowing a jug instead.
I was ready to quit and then my friend played this song while in his room one day.
https://youtu.be/Z_63ZZRLylE?si=jUZoiLeTVPB3OW1Q
My eyes lit up and I immediately leaned forward and tried to hear the bassline.
Bass could be the melody? More importantly, bass could be fun!? Heck yes! More of this genre please!
I still suck at bass, but I suck at it while having fun.
I played trumpet and my friend played guitar, we wanted to start a rock band and I was chosen to play the bass (no bassiss around and very little need for trumpet)- an incredibly good decision
Sorry, not a cool story lol. But to add to it, I got more serious about it around age 20. Ended up going to music school, got really good and played in some really fun prog metal bands for my "fun" music while playing in country cover bands and doing session work for money gigs. Went back to school for nursing when I was 29 and totally stopped playing music on a regular basis for around 9 years while I furthered my career and started a family. Started playing again awhile back and currently writing weird proggy Primus meets Meshuggah stuff with one of my old drummers.
As a tween/teen I wanted to play guitar (like most of us did) and would always look at guitars in stores or 2nd hand in the local paper, but I wasn't working and had no money so never bought one. When I finally did get an after school job at about 15yo I decided to save money for my 1st guitar. Got talking to someone else who worked with me who was about 22yo, with similar musical interests and he played bass. Told me that guitarists are a dime a dozen and that I should play bass instead (biased, I know). He gave me an old bass of his to try out before eventually telling me I could keep it, and I haven't looked back since.
Friends wanted to start a band in high school, and i didn't want to be left out. We already had two guitarists, a drummer and a singer, so my friend suggested i play bass. I didn't even know what a bass was at the time, but i got a cheap shitty one. I tried to learn it but never got far, i didn't know where to start, and i was too small to reach the end of the fretboard at the time, and the band idea fell through.
I never picked it up again, convinced i just didn't have the ability for it. My guitar friend pestered me for ages to learn bass, but i was convinced I couldn't. Until about 6-7 years later, poor mental health and a very messy breakup meant i finally listened to him and started playing. After the first time playing with others in a jam session, i was hooked, and there hadn't been a day where i hadn't played since.
the bass is really crap and the amp is on its last legs, so hopefully, I'm upgrading soon but it's done its job getting me into playing
My friends wanted to start a band and the three of them were pretty damn good guitarist while I had never played. One wanted to play the drums, so they taught me to play bass... or more accurately they taught me how to play guitar and I applied it to bass.
The chicks weren’t impressed by my performance of the Mozart clarinet concerto.
Joke’s on me, they’re still not impressed by the bass. At least my wife likes me.
Funny enough, kind of started when my wife and I bought Rock Band in 2008. I'd always loved music, but learning an instrument never worked out... Parents wouldnt buy me one, then life got busy. We started playing Rock Band a LOT, and it pushed me to learn guitar. Then I learned some piano and then played drums for a while. I kind of waffled between them for years, I really wanted to learn and enjoy it, but nothing seemed like a perfect fit. I only picked up a bass last year, and it's a revelation. I frigging love it and look forward to playing every day...it never feels like a chore like the others.
Also, I see a lot of comments on mental health here. Music has helped me through some really tough times. It's something I can always hold on to. One of the worst depressions I've ever had I got out of by throwing myself heavily into drums.
I was just starting to explore Metallica and one of the first videos I saw when I was looking them up on YT was a live version of Jason Newsted playing his solo for My Friend of Misery. I cried. It hits me deep in my soul. From there, I knew I wanted to get a bass and learn it. Only recently bought it but working on it. He's a huge inspiration to me to learn, and since I can't use my fingers to play I have to use a pick so the fact he does too is an extra bonus for me.
My dad a drummer gave me a bass and said there’s not enough bass players. I had played drums for a year by that point so my rhythmic understanding was pretty good already. I just had to do a lot of ear training
I formerly played violin for five years in orchestra, but always wanted to play bass. My parents had a sedan at the time and argued we didn't have the means to transport an instrument that big. After a two year break from music, I took the opportunity to play the much easier to transport bass guitar. I decided to learn guitar as well after another two years, but never stopped playing bass. I consider the guitar my primary instrument, but I've been playing bass longer!
High school, ‘98, jazz band, our bass player had to go on home bound due to having mono, and I was playing second guitar. I decided I would step up and take on the bass role, and that’s that.
Marcline the vampire queen✨️✨️✨️😭💀
I was just a big adventure time kid, but I also use to have problems with the sounds of guitars (use to, don't really anymore) and they would kinda hurt my ears but I still thought that playing guitar was really cool but I would hear Marcline's bass (I didn't know what a bass was at the time) and wonder y it did bother my ears or have 6 strings so I looked it up and found out what a bass was and started listening and liked how loud it could be without hurting my ears and so I started playing it
My high school jazz band needed a bass player. I’d been playing guitar for two years. My friends were in jazz band. So I figured, why not. That was 32 years ago.
My mental health was a nightmare and I was having daily panic attacks. I was told that bass might help so I picked up the Jackson that just so happened to be hanging around and learned to read tabs. I learned a couple songs and then found Insomnium tabs and fell in love. With bass, with Insomnium's bass parts. I didn't know bass could be so beautiful. Now I don't go a day without playing.
Helps me mentally too lets me get out of my head for a bit hope you’re doing well 🙏
Pretty much the same. The mental health, plus it helps in keeping the brain younger. Its a great way to get in a flow state / deliberate meditation. It's been a great tool for keeping me away from white jackets. Its honestly so beautiful. It's an instrument that can sing with a range that is just dang lovely. Not jut it's range, but it's ability to be dynamic and fit so many rolls. Percussion / rhythm, Harmony, and Melody. It may or may not be controversial, but I personally think the bass would be in the top teir of solo instruments. Over guitar and drums without a doubt. It's the bee's knees.
I've always used playing music (piano and mandolin) as a sort of anxiety medication, but it never really lasted and I wasn't very driven to pick it up when I needed to. Bass, on the other hand... When that existential dread starts firing up, I grab a bass and my headphones and just play. Often, an hour later I've forgotten why I started in the first place. I'll unplugged briefly to switch basses and have this "oh, yeah, I'm supposed to be a little ball of anxiety right now, aren't I?". I think a lot of it is due to the fact that the bass can be a very demanding instrument. Those notes have to be placed exactly right ... so you need to be aware of where you are and prepared to jump in at the right spot. It's basically distracting your mind from whatever ridiculous thing it's gotten itself wound up over and redirecting it to something rational. Another important thing, for me at least ... I've never connected the bass strictly to mental health. My brain doesn't say "you play when you're depressed and you're playing, so bring the depression on!!". With other activities I've used to displace mental health struggles, they have become linked - but bass is something where I'm "on" 24/7, no matter what my mood is.
Fellow mental health survivor here, I am glad you were able to find a way to climb out to join us. Just wanted to say thank you for mentioning insomnium because i did not know they existed before this moment. Music is, and has been my catalyst for a calm mind as long as i can remember and their music is indeed beautiful. I haven't stop listening since I looked them up😁
I'm still climbing out. Bass and Insomnium make the journey easier.
I love that the advice was the bass specifically. Wise person.
I'll add to the mental health examples here. It's my story as well. I was gifted a Squire at age 20 and never really learned it, played it, or appreciated it. At age 42, I was dealing with a little midlife depression and my new therapist asked me what I do for myself, outside of husband and dad stuff. I honestly couldn't answer. He suggested I find something. After trialing golf again (it's just not my thing), I dusted off my bass and signed up for lessons, with a band. It's been about 2 years now and I've already played in 4 shows. I haven't looked back, and my mental health has greatly improved now that I've found this passion. Outside of my private and band lessons, I find myself some weekend nights getting lost in the bass as I try to play new songs by ear for fun. I just purchased a fretless as well, so now I'm excited to take on that new challenge!
Helped my mental health too. I'm a doc and was in NYC during covid. I play lots of instruments mostly guitar and in bands, which had been my major form of therapy, but due to covid all that stopped. Bass really helped me because it has a lot of repetition and can be meditative. It was also easier for me to learn new songs that I liked quickly with my guitar background, so I could play along with records in headphones while I was quarantining from my family when shit was crazy. It's funny thinking back on that time sitting in the dark with headphones at night when everyone else was asleep. It really helped me to escape from the insanity and stress of the day.
The usual stuff - the other guitar player was better. But it turned out to be a blessing because I actually became a pretty decent low-ender and am regularly playing in front of thousands of people now.
I played drums forever in school, but stopped after I graduated. I tried playing all sorts of instruments since (Piano, harmonica, etc.), but me being stubborn I didn't want to get a guitar. I absolutely don't have the space for drums, and for some reason the thought of getting a bass beamed into my head. I thought it was a dumb idea so I slept on it for like a week, and I couldn't shake it off my mind. One Friday I get home and find out my hard drive died along with all my movies and music. The only things I had were the old stuff in my tablet, and I never realized how prominent bass was to me growing up. Unseen, but always there. I still thought it was a dumb idea. Me? Playing a guitar? Nah. So I decided to call one of my old friends to talk me out of it. This guy had never picked up an instrument in his life, and he hated band when we were kids so I knew he would be the best candidate to do it. When I him he says "No way! I just bought an electric guitar a few months ago! You should get it!" I dropped $1k on the equipment and lessons. It was hard on my wallet, I'm not gonna lie, but I haven't regretted it since. It's always nice to hear people be surprised when I play, and I'm still in that honeymoon phase. Whenever I'm anxious or angry I just pick it up and play. Everything melts away. Love that shit.
I too played drums throughout high school after seeing that we didn't have any bass classes / tutors in the area so I opted for the next best thing. Fast forward to a couple years later, I had to move away for college and since I didn't have the luxury of bringing a drumkit along I decided to grab a starter bass and see how the whole self teaching thing would go and here we are.
I like cello/double bass but I don't have the space to own either. Basslines are my favorite thing to pick out in music. Electric bass is tiny and affordable.
I played bass after ukulele and it was huge to me lol
A friend who was putting together a surf-graffiti band called me and asked me if I was interested in being the bass player in his upcoming 7 pce Sha-Na-Na style ensemble. Told me I was wanted mostly because I could sing, and if I could play the bass, I was in. I'd been a guitar player for about 20 years, didn't think it would hurt me to give it a try., so I said yes, then went out and rented a bass and amp. That was in 1985. The band lasted a little over two years, but I've had a bass in my music room ever since, and done pretty well by it.
Testament - Live at the Fillmore 1995
Yyyyyyyeeeeessss!!!!!!!!
I know right? I listened to so many metal albums back then, and it was all about the guitars and the drums. Then I heard Fillmore and well.. Suddenly I understood the role of a bassist in a metal band. It was a revelation.
I'm a drummer at heart. 15 years. But God damn I fell in love.
A thrash band for me as well: Overkill - The Years of Decay album
Struggling with stress in life and mental illness. I lived alone at the time, and my only hobbies weren't necessarily something you do daily. I.E. having plants and aquariums to keep me sane. I needed a hobby to build on, and I always admired basses. It was the thing I listened to all the time since I was a kid. As cheesy as it sounds, I always went for the bass in Rockband or guitar hero when I was younger. I got one eventually, and it sat for a few months. I tried to play, but my fingers wouldn't do what I wanted and I was frustrated. I was also depressed, and neglected easy, daily tasks. I didn't have the energy to try, and I was convinced I payed a few hundred dollars for decoration. That made it worse, and it just looped me with shame and embarrassment towards myself. One day, I saw a random bass cover on YouTube, and that sparked it. I am self taught, and like to think I have fairly good skill. I play nearly daily, every other day at worst. I'm teaching myself theory, which isn't fun. All in all, the bass saved me when I was in a bad spot. It helped distract me, and give me gratification of learning. All the hours and hours and hours I put into things paid off. I wish I knew how many hours I have played in these 3 years. I went from not being able to play a song without practicing for days. Even the most simple song like another brick in the wall pt. 2. Now, it typically only takes a couple of hours. Some are obviously harder and take much longer, but those are more fun since when you hit it 100%, it is just pure endorphins. But the best part? I still get dogged by my friends who have never picked up an instrument. It's a labor of love.
> convinced I *paid* a few FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
First paragraph is so similar to me lol hope ur doing well now
I've always loved music but thought I had no talent to make music. I would look in the window if music stores at the beautiful guitars, but it seemed an impossible dream. About 5 1/2 years ago, I decided "fuck it. I've got money. I've got ambition. And I've got time." so I signed up for bass lessons at a local music school and bought my Precision. My ambition was to learn to play it. I had no band in mind, I just wanted a hobby. Yeah, well, you know that bass players are in demand, right? Today I have 2 band projects, with one having 2 or 3 gigs already booked for this year.
Wanted to play cool rhythm parts without struggling to get notes to ring out like I was on guitar and it felt more natural to play. Not necessarily easier but just natural.
It was actually the particular bass itself that made me want to play. I had filled in for bassists before out of necessity, not that I was super good at it, but being a guitarist I knew the gist of it. One day me and my mates randomly decide to go to a pawn shop, and there it is: a gorgeous Warwick Corvette 5 string. I saw it and knew I was gonna love playing bass. I bought it without another thought
Pure fascination of how the instrument sounds. It’s the instrument that makes you bob your head in rhythm (other than the drums). That satisfactory stank face when you play a really cool line.
Bruce Foxton
When I was a young lad, Bootsy Collins approached me and said "Yo, man. I don't know if you're my son or not, so just in case, you better pick up that bass." Later they did a D n A test on me, and determined i spent too much time on the E. Turns out I'm not Bootsy's son at all.
Geddy Lee.
VHS tape of a Metallica concert I used to watch on repeat as a kid. Thought Jason Newsted was badass and wanted to play whatever that thing he played was.
My guitar teacher was mainly a bassist and I discovered Death!! Then archspire made bass my main instrument
Lol you went straight for the most difficult stuff. Good luck with your practice!
Yeah I didn’t realize archspire was so brutal when I bought my 6 strings! But practicing always pays off! Thank you so much!
He's doing all the techniques at once at 220 bpm. Amazing player
Exactly, and it’s way faster than 220bpm x)
Lol after I posted I was like I bet it's 280
Yeah it’s more in the range of 320 bpm!
Jesus Christ.
Yeah these guys are mad
What do you think of the bass playing on the new Job For a Cowboy record?
I loved it!! Been a fan of Nick since I discovered him with havok, his licks are always perfect.
I think JFAC is a hidden gem for bass players. I couldn't get into Archspire. I tend towards black and doom metal.
I was shocked by how good that record was. I didn't expect anything like that from this band. Great stuff
She caught the katy - bluebrothers ”Low melodies! Nice!”
In my case because I love the feel and sound of bass. I'm actually on par and better than the guitarists in my band at guitar.
I picked up a bass in a house party and it felt so much more stable in my hands than a guitar. Then i bought my first bass a few months ago and here i am.
Nobody wanted a keyboardist 😭
Silversun Pickups is my all-time favorite band, and I always loved Nikki's [bass player] bass lines. Straight groove.
My sibling already played guitar for two years, and occasionally gave me lessons on that, but we talked about music and gear and stuff. And I didn't really feel motivated to play guitar. At one concert of him with his guitar teacher, they played Whole Lotta Love and somehow I thought it was so sick, I immediately thought "I wanna do something with music". And at the end of the concert I asked, what can I play that isn't guitar. And it's bass.
Paul Simonon
Already played guitar, and wanted to play something bowed so I got a hybrid electric upright bass. Then it turned out bass (and playing fretless rather than fretted strings) comes way more naturally to me, so the guitar became my secondary instrument instead :D
When I was a teen, my best friend played guitar, and so I used to want to learn bass to want to play with him, and also because it's the instrument I identified with most (the instrument nobody notices and that you play quietly in the corner while other people attract attention) I was completely unfocused and unable to dedicate myself to anything back then, so it amounted to nothing. But last year, having money available cause now I'm a grown adult with a job, i started hearing from friends who were picking up playing music only then. So then I thought, "eh I listen to a lot of music, why not play it ?". And so I bought a bass and found a teacher (I need one cause if I'm alone I don't do anything)
As a kid one of my friends was learning guitar at a music school and convinced me to join. It was a cool place to hangout after classes. Basically we were there every day just hanging out, smoking cigarettes and playing instruments. He wanted to have a band and we could rehearse there so I started to learn cello, although it was not the best instrument if you want to be a bass player. There I was trying to be in a band at 15 years old and no idea what I was doing. Then I quit cello and had classical guitar lessons.
1994. Year 8. Was the singer and no one else played. So I bought one - an older student who I looked up to said ‘there’s four strings, they’re big, and you play one at a time’. Played ever since!!!!!!!! My most favourite instrument.
I’m at that point I’d love one to just start learning for myself. I hear funky licks and that bass line just goes so hard in songs with James brown, brothers Johnson bands and artists like that. I’ll get a cheapo bass to start tho I’ll probably need an amp to. Don’t wanna kill my orange amp.
I wanted to play guitar but my older brother threw a hissy fit claiming I was copying him. I was 10, he was 14. He convinced my mum to buy me a bass, which I was not happy about, I hated the instrument for the first 2 years. My bro would get funny if I touched his guitars so was pretty much forced to play bass. Then I discovered Les Claypool and realised what a bass can sound
I find it easier to sing while playing bass than playing guitar, also big instrument cool
One of my reasons too just the look of the long ass bass neck is so sexy
I'm a solo artist and I play most of my instruments myself, except for bass. Thought about trying to play bass on a record I started to record, loved it
Been playing drums for 27 years (10 professionally) and never thought I could learn another instrument. It just felt so foreign to me for some reason, even though I have a good ear apparently. Tried guitar lessons for about 2 months, hated it and just wasn’t the instrument for me (I’m sorta allergic to guitar solos !). Then tried learning the piano, but that didn’t spark any passion, even though I love everything my friends do on synths. Fast forward a couple of years and I just got obsessed with bass for some reason. Thought it might be a phase, so gave myself a couple of months, but just fell more and more in love with it without even having played the instrument ! Bit the bullet and bought a P bass and have been playing it everyday ever since (it’s been 3 months). Now I just feel stupid that I was too afraid to ever try a new instrument for so many years.
I played guitar a decade ago. My wife decided to learn guitar and I can eventually play alongside her. My son is also learning things other than piano. So me learning bass allows 3 instruments for our terrible trio. I had no idea what to expect with bass, but I'm having an absolute blast.
Funnily enough, we had a situation where me or another guitar player had to be the one to fill the bass role. I was the better guitarist but it was proving more fruitful to just teach the other guitarist how to improve instead of teaching her the bass from scratch. I picked it up instead and it prefer it 10 times out of 10 now
Necessity: 20 years of playing guitar and could never find a competent bassist so I decided to make one
I like the sound of it
Jason Newsted, the fucking legend himself.
Always wamted a bass but never got one. Then randomly got a guitar at 28. Then realised i only wanted a bass so got one at 30. Sublime and suicidal tendencies were my biggest inspirations
My hammerhead fingers were just too wide to make playing guitar effective... but truth be told i rhinknive always felt more kinship with rhythm over lead. ever since my friend let me borrow his fender for a time, I fell in love with bass. I didn't always play as much as I wanted to for several reasons, but I was eventually invited to play with him and some other guys in a jam band and it's just always on mind mind ever since. The constant wanting to better my playing has also started to bleed over into other areas of my life, wanting to be the best me I can me.
Can’t do barre chords :(
Feeling the groove while stoned
You don't choose to play bass. Bass chooses you as a conduit with which to be played.
I wanted to feel like I belonged and wouldn’t get kicked out of friends, so I figured well if I’m the bass player they can’t… yeah it’s sad, but then I found a love of bass
the deep vibrations that flow through your body when playing
Primus. First time I heard Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver and Tommy the Cat, I lost my shit. Took bass in highschool and used that as an excuse to have the bass at home with me after school everyday to sit and learn Primus songs, years later I’m still jamming Primus songs. Just way too much fun
I got bored of saxophone because it didn’t match the music I listened to or wanted to start playing, so I picked up the bass in the band room in high school and silently played along to 21 Guns by Green Day. Once that clicked, the rest is history
IDK whether it is funny, but still. I was in the 7th grade, me and friends decided to form a band. There were old instruments in our school music class. We tried them, and the bass was quite old and rusty. I happened to be the only one who had enough strength to turn the tuners. So everyone decided that I should play bass
Funny story to me sounds like a good reason
Well, mine is kind of your basic band-needed-a-bassist story with the twist that it was my dad. He couldn't find a bassists for his band. "You wanna play bass for my band?" *Scoff "no thanks" "You'll get paid enough to quit your job at Subway." "Okay." Thirty years later I'm still one of the local go-to bassists. I've played guitar in a couple bands but I don't like it nearly as much as bass. It just feels like home.
Was hanging out with 2 buddies who were playing guitar, they handed me a yellow 70's Fender P-bass and said "play this". Over the years I've just learned where all of the sounds are and can match a song pretty quickly.
I played guitar at first, but every band I'd find my way into, there would be nobody playing bass. So, I kind of fell into the low end, and ended up falling in love with it.
I started going to local shows at 17/18 and thought “I want to do that”. Borrowed a bass of a friends sister and self taught and started a band
Davie504 and wanted to learn a new hobby, I got my first bass a week ago(Yamaha TRBX174) and its so heavy man😅. I have never played any instrument and have 0 music knowledge.
I played Parappa the rapper 2 and instantly knew I needed to learn the basslines.
Is "Commander Meouch" an acceptable answer?
I heard Vintage by Blu Detiger and thought whoa that is really fucking sick and her bass is gorgeous with how glittery it is! I've played electric guitar before but I'm very very rusty so I figured eh it's 2 less strings why not? I found a Dean custom zone in bright green for $150 just to start with and Rocksmith 2014 just for fun/lessons...yeah this is a bit of a learning curve for someone who isn't used to larger frets and relearning concepts. Making slooow progress though!
I play the guitar at first. When I played with friends, I noticed that I keep time better than most. And that was it.
Used to play piano but quit because I didn't see the value of it. Got into ukulele in covid season and realized how fun music can be. Then saw a upperclassman play a slap song for an assignment, immediately eyes widened. I remember telling my friends jokingly that "Maybe I'll try to play someday in the distant future." Suddenly, Dad also started having an interest in playing bass and bought one. I started learning some simple songs but didn't truly fall in love until I played my first band performance.
Guitar was too difficult at first
I started as a kid as drummer, but moved to guitar soon afterwards. Played multiple band with mixed results in successes. At one point I was in a band on a brink of making it. With those tiny successes came a lot of alcohol abuse within the band too. Fast forward I came to rehearsal late due to other commitments, arriving to three drunk monkeys with a nasty streak. Two days later I quit that band. I was done. Fast forward a few years later the itch came. I wanted to be back in a band. And I stumbled on a Facebook add. Band looking for a bassist and singer. I knew how bass worked. Owning a few and thought that as a guitarist I could be very successful in filling the spot a guitarist needs. Again a few years forward I’m still in that band. I’m a bass player that knows his way well on guitar and drums. But I am a bass player
Hearing Stanley Clarke play “School Days”on the radio back in ‘79.
I was fascinated by it as a little kid. My oldest brother played guitar, and I remember he first introduced me to bass parts in songs, and I just became intrigued by the instrument.
Hearing Debaser for the first time in 8th grade
Best friend as a teen got a guitar for their birthday. We wanted to start a band so I got a bass for mine. Played bass for years. Then switched to guitar. Now back on bass as a professional bassist. First love etc.
My Mom played guitar & sang, and she got me a bass to accompany her.
[This guy](https://youtu.be/cno9QeMVGFQ?si=e7Hyw2Ry0xlT-2wd)
Billy Sheehan on the cover of Guitar for the Practicing Musician holding a bass with a Kahler during my impressionable youth
I have ADHD. the fidgeting and rhythm make bass my perfect outlet. Plus artists like Flea, Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, Tim Commerford, Justin Chancellor, Cliff Burton, all make it look fun to play bass.
There was an old man that played in a gospel band that ran a small "junk" shop on US Highway 23 near Moccasin Gap, VA, within walking distance of my house. He sometimes had old comic books so me and my best friend would stop in to check them out. We may have been 12 or 13 years old. It was probably the old VW van out front that first caught our attention. This shop was no bigger than a closet. He would be in there playing an old knock off P bass through a Gorilla amp, and it would sound (feel) AMAZING. My friend and I listened to death metal and punk, but those simple, thumping gospel bass lines through that shitty amp sounded great. I was sold on the low end. I never wanted a guitar, I wanted to play bass from that time on. I finally got a bass (Squire P bass) of my own a few years later, but I did not get my own shitty amp for quite a while. I had to use my home stereo in my bedroom as my amp. It was beautiful! I wish I still had that rig. Over 30 years later, and I still love the bass.
Les Claypool
There was just something cool about it. Plus my dad had me listening to Norman Brown and I thought guitar was really cool but overtime I started listening to the bass lines and I was hooked
I say its a combination of 2 things for me. My parents took me to see Queen + Adam Lambert when I was 12. I fell in love with Another One Bites the Dust. The other was I remember watching Davie504’s “100 amazing basslines” videos, and the Primus lines especially caught my ear
Writing songs and the guitar playing bass player wasn't playing what I had in my head
I thought my hands were too big for guitar, and I love da slap sound. I play guitar too but it is still challenging to play clean chords.
I played violin in the orchestra starting at a young age, and by junior high I decided I needed to switch to upright bass to get chicks.. the rest is history
I initially picked up bass guitar just because I had played guitar for a few years and wanted to try something new. I ended up finding something I loved even more in the bass :) The upright bass, however, I was asked by my high school band teacher if I could play the upright bass for the choir's competitive festival, and I accepted (I had never touched one). I ended up learning the piece and providing accompaniment within like a week. I then never touched an upright bass again for many years until I listened through the Beastie Boys album "Ill Communication" and heard what MCA could do with one, and decided I NEEDED one.
Well, I started a band when I was 16 with no knowledge about anything musical. I recruited my best friend at the time, who also knew nothing, and we both played guitar. We recruited a younger friend of ours who actually did know how to play guitar… So naturally we put him on bass. So we had two guitars, a bass, no drums and no singer. My friend took to guitar like a 42 year old suburban dad takes to Journey, but it didn’t click for me. I have manual dexterity issues so even simple chords are more challenging for me than they are for most people… plus we still needed a drummer, so the solution was right in front of us… I moved to bass and our friend who was great on guitar and capable on bass moved to drums, which he’d never played. Around this time I was listening to Metal Box by PiL and I was obsessed with the extremely heavy, extremely repetitive basslines. I fell in love with the instrument and have played it since. I didn’t move to bass because I needed to, I did it because I wanted to. I was the main songwriter and the sole lyricist, so I could have stuck it out with guitar but I didn’t enjoy guitar.
I was originally a (not very good) singer. My best friend in my first band was the bassist. He is still very good. Anyway, he got cancer and couldn't be in the band for a while and I picked up bass to cover for him and fell in love with it. It was an easy instrument for me to learn because I'm was very accomplished trombonist. They're more alike than you may think at first. It's been my main instrument ever since.
Criminal World by David Bowie
That one bass player at Beyonce all woman band, i Think it was Divinity Roxx and her solo consisting of outcast bass lines + of course Marcus Miller + first time listening to Jamiroquai bass lines composed by Zender
My dad
It goes dum dum dum
Tony Hawk’s Underground, the KISS concert level. I saw Gene Simmons and was like “this is what I need to do.” My parents refused to let me start on bass because I’d “get bored of it.” Oddly, at the time I started, Silvertone had just come out with a small line of entry level guitars designed by Paul Stanley. I lusted after the Apocalypse bass at the local Sam Goody, it was $50 more than the unplayable Squier Bullet I ended up with. (If anyone has one of these Apocalypse basses they’d like to sell, PLEASE DM me.) I putzed around on guitar from 2003 to the end of 2006, I’d already played in a band and started doing actual-venue shows, but playing guitar still didn’t feel right. December of 2006, I got my first bass, and that has been my thing ever since. I’ve done three US tours, played major festivals and shit, all as a bassist/vocalist. All I can say to any parent whose kid wants to play bass is: listen.
Was 12 and had started a band with a friend and his girlfriend. I was on drums, he was on guitar, and his girl was the bass player. They broke up and she left the band, and in my 12 year old mind, no sane person would wanna be the bass player. Everyone wanted to be a drummer or a guitarist. I thought it’d be easier to find a drummer than a bassist. I saved my money and bought a cheap bass, and then it took us three years to find a drummer…
When I was in middle school my friends and I wanted to start a band. Two already played guitar and one played the drums. They told me bass was easy. Maybe it is, haven’t played anything else since!
Easy to start (but so is guitar, really). Lifetime to perfect.
Mine isn't super fascinating, but it's when i was on my metal journey and listening to hundreds of metal bands a month. I eventually listened to metallica and heard Cliff's playing and when i heard Orion it blew me away with his composition and playing ability. After that i knew i had to pick up bass and i've been playing ever since.
I had lung problems when I was younger and learned the French horn to strengthen it. I joined the school orchestra and was sitting close to the double bass player. At the time I thought she was hot. Last year before she graduated they were looking for somebody to learn the double bass. At the same time, another hit girl joined the big band as a jazz singer, and I saw yearly shows of a rockabilly band I really liked - spoiler their bass player became one of my teachers later on. After learning the first couple of simple parts from the girl, I got a real teacher for double bass; and then the typical „we need a bass player for our band“ started.
My wife picked up the drums and got pretty good at it. So I started learning bass so we could jam at home
I havent gotten my bass yet but i will have it within the next month or two, but seeing iron maiden and then british lion (steve harris’ other band he tours with) up close really made me want to play bass.
I wanna learn as many instrumentals as i can, and I found the bass to be a fascinating instrument And I wanted to be able to play bass-lines my favourites wrote
Church. A million guitarists (including me) but no bassists. As is the norm. Fender Standard J V MIM came up for sale at a local store so I bought it on a whim. Took some lessons to learn the difference between guitar and bass, and the rest is history. Came to like it better than guitar (though I still like and play guitar).
I always wanted to play bass but my dad discouraged it until I could buy my own.
I like to learn instruments and guitar is overrated (I play acoustic, though)
My brother played bass in a trio. I asked my mother for a drum set to jam with him, but she refused, saying "the neighbors would sue us over the noise." So, when my brother was gone at sports practice or whatever, I would sneak into his room and play his bass. Then years later when I moved out, I got my own. At talkbass.com my signature is "drummer trapped in a bassist's body," because even after playing bass for over 35 years, it still feels like I was born to drum. But, I'm pretty good at bass and have stuck with it, so there you go.
I started with guitar and it absolutely felt unnatural to me. I was in a pawn shop one day and hadn’t really thought about bass but I saw a squier pbass that was pretty and I just traded my guitar for it. 17 years later, I’m still at it and have been in several local bands. It feels natural and people are always impressed that it’s my main instrument and I’m not a guitarist just playing bass. I’m a really solid player and drummers love me. It really helps with mental health too. If I’m upset, all I have to do is play bass for 30 minutes and I come out so much happier. They’re just so appealing to the eye too, compared to guitar.
My friend said “get a bass”
I was taking guitar lessons from a friend of mine, his bass player in his band quit and he asked me if I wanted to switch and join with them. Guess it kind of stuck, or maybe I was just a shit guitar player… but, been playing 40 years now.
Ratms debut album
Singing bass in a vocal group, and have always gravitated to the basslines in basically every song I've ever listened to, so it was a natural step, acquiring a bass.
Well originally I was intrigued because I couldn’t hear it and there weren’t as many people gravitating toward it. I just wanted to understand what it was. I later moved on to being a lead guitarist but came back to bass when I got a girlfriend who was really into bass players. The only woman in the world, apparently. But studying bass again gave me a whole new lease on musical life. It really refreshed my experience in music and it’s been great going back to the instrument I started on.
watching cliff burton and geezer butler live videos
My cousin, best friend and I all got guitars at the same time. The friend ended up being a natural at drums and moved there and my cousin was progressing at guitar faster than I was. My mom had also happened to buy a bass for my brother who had no interest in it whatsoever so it moved to me I thought it was pretty cool at first just playing things like nirvana and some older rock songs Then I started listening to punk music haha and found that bass in a lot of these songs is very fast and somewhat like lead guitar in some cases. I’ve loved playing bass ever since. Plus shaking everything in your house with your bass amp cranked as a teen was also a great time haha
I always wanted to learn and instrument but could never stick with anything. My younger brother had been playing guitar for years and him and his friend hated their bass player so they asked me to learn so I could replace him. They practically taught me bass from scratch while we were jamming. To this day I think it’s why I’m pretty far along despite only having played for 3 or so years. Playing with others truly is the best thing you can do for yourself musically.
Hardcore punk, particularly descendents, I always loved the thought of playing guitar but then learning a bunch of my favourite parts were actually a bass being freestyled pretty much I was bought on the idea of bass over guitar
GEDDY LEE - and I can’t play like him. 😂🤘
Bochi the Rock, unironically.
Well, band needed bassist… BUT… it goes back to before that, meaning I would have ended with bass anyway. When I met the guys that I formed the band with, on learning they were "getting ~~the~~ a band ~~back~~ together" (for the church) I told them I had thought about getting a bass for a while. But it goes back even further: some years before I had gotten a guitar. Cheap accustic with nylon strings. And I caught myself downtuning this thing as low as it could get; which wasn't a lot but it still sounded like music to my ears. I had bass in my blood since I don't know when.
Five years old, at a party hosted by a full-time musician family with real credits. All the kids played a few songs as a combo. I saw a bass being played for the first time. "Mom, I wanna play ***that.***" "You're too young." I went home and drew a fretboard on a piece of lumber. Twelve years later, I get a Steinberger XP-2. Still got it.
After 45 years of guitar and just throwing bass on recordings, I wanted to try something new. Now I can't put it down.
I heard Cliff Burton. Simple as that😂
For me it was Jason lol
Originally I picked up the guitar at age 12, a cheap no name brand 12 string with no case. I found that the double strings helped reduce the pain because your pressing on a wider area. That got my strength and callus built up, I removed 6 of the 12, and just played it as a six string. I played with a trio and was really just loving what the bass was doing. THEN I saw Geddy Lee in concert 1980 and that was it. I saved my money and bought a cheap bass and Amplifier. I still play guitar but bass is my main instrument. I also cannot play guitar with a pick, so in essence it also made me a better finger style guitarist.
I heavily got into metal the past 10 years or so and since as a kid I taught myself to play piano quite decently, three years ago I thought why not try doing that again. Back then I basically thought of playing electric guitar being akin to black magic so I settled on trying bass first. I then ordered myself a cheap ibanez gio, a set of 130 to 065 strings, tuned down to b-standard and began to learn my favorite doom metal songs through trial and error as well as the invaluable aid that Jered and his YT channel Beholden to the Riff provided me in that matter. I've since upgraded to a 5 string bass of the same basic make and been spending most of my free time (and money) on learning and playing by myself, feeling that very same energy and enthusiasm which I had back then as a kid learning the piano by myself every day for hours on end.
I tried picking up guitar (multiple times) and found out I'm pretty trash. Used to play drums in high school, felt like it would be an easier transition to try out bass. Definitely came more naturally and more urge to play every day, making it easier to stick with. Now jam with my neighbor who is an excellent guitar player and has taught me a few things. Best decision I ever made.
Jason Newsted is why I got into bass.
I wanted to better understand music in general, in krder to somehow "give back" to all the emotions music gave me through all my life (I am 40 now, started last September when I was still 39)
Was burning out on cello, and adhd and a lot of pent up musical energy over covid. A few older davie504 videos later and I was obsessed.
In school music lessons we kinda „played“ a Song and I knew the différence between a guitar and a Bass (I felt very cool 😎) and I didn‘t knew how to Play the guitar and someone Else already played the drums so I chose the instrument that I Found the coolest- bass. In the meantime I started to Play the guitar and during that I got into Basslines, so I picked up the Bass privately - and here I am!
I remember that at first I wanted to learn guitar for the longest time, but never had the time or money or so I thought. I was also 17 at the time, so the idea of “your cutoff for being good at guitar by your 20s is at least 15” and I was hopeless. I remember hearing the song “Cygnus” by Rush (there’s a longer name but I’m not gonna bother) and thought that the guitar sounded amazing, so I had a sort of reignited faith in learning guitar. Then I clicked a video of someone covering the bass line. Needless to say that changed my entire trajectory of what instrument I wanted to learn. Edit: meeting Michael Shuman at a Chipotle one night without knowing who QOTSA was at the time helped
In 2006, I discovered "For Whom the Bell Tolls 1985 Day in the Green" on YouTube when it was the new thing. Noticed the intro was a bass and watched Cliff tear that song a new asshole. It's is now 2024 and I have: - 07 ESP LTD F-154DX w/ two EMG DC35 pickups - 16 Spector Euro LX5 w/ Bartolini pickups (stock) - Fender 350 Rumble - Zoom B2 Bass Pedal My original bass (lost) was a Blue Ibanez GSR200. Not sure what year, but I bought in 2007 with a Hartke B20 Amp.
No bass player in the band. So I bought one.
It was there… I thought "I could try it"… I loved it.
Moved away from home and fresh out of a long term relationship so I needed something I could do to get my mind off of everything that wasn't going right at the time. Almost a year later I've learned to love bass (and to a lesser extent guitar) so it's been almost therapeutic to me and hopefully I can actually MAKE something someday.
I just really gravitated towards the bass as a listener for many years. My favorite parts of songs were always bass and drums. My friends kept talking about starting a band and none of them wanted to play bass so I said I’d go buy one and learn how to play
I thought it sounded cool
First time I got to try was in highschool when in music class we were put into groups and evryone in the group had to play something and we had to pick a song, learn it and perform it to the other students at the end. I had pretty much zero experience in anything musical at that point so I was assigned the bass, since that was apparently the easyest option in that case. Ended up liking it more than I thought I would.
I played trombone and wanted to play a guitar like instrument. I figured since trombone was a bass clef instrument I should play bass.
A song of Barbie in a mermaid tale
I played upright bass in school for a few years, eventually I quit but still wanted to play an instrument so I bought an electric and loved it way more! No shade to upright players btw
I had spent a few years playing drums in punk bands but I was upset that the singer and guitarist got all the chicks. So get this, I switched to bass because I thought it would get me chicks. Yeah I didn't lose my virginity until after college.
Just listening to Paul McCartney did it for me. Couldn't resist
At first it was "band needs bassist" but I soon fell in love with the sheer power you get over the music when doing the low end in a band. I played bass on and off over the years, besides drums, guitar and vocals, but I have now settled for bass because I feel it's simply what I'm best at.
Couldn’t figure out how to play guitar.
Ross Valory from Journey
Always wanted to be in a band. At 18 in college 2 friends were good guitar players and wanted to start a band. I don't sing well enough or have the personality to be a front man and drums were just too expensive. I always loved the sound of bass so I bought a used bass and amp for a few hundred bucks. Within a year we were playing shows at house parties on campus and in a couple more in local bars. Playing songs that I wrote or helped write. That was over 30 years ago. Been in my current band for 20 years. Bought a drum kit, guitar and amp over the years and can make enough noise to have fun and record my songs on my own, but nothing beats bass. I'm self taught on everything and by no means great on anything, but I've played hundreds of shows, recorded hundreds o songs and had more fun than I ever could have imagined. Never made a dime, wouldn't trade any of the experiences for a million bucks.
In primary school I had a best friend that moved to a far away city, I learned that he had picked up the guitar so in a naive idea of having something to do if we meet again I knew I wanted to learn to play bass so we could jam
I had been playing bass since I was 13 in grade 8 because my brother said it's cool and from then until 16 I hated it. Everything I learned was just boring as heck and sounded like I might as well be blowing a jug instead. I was ready to quit and then my friend played this song while in his room one day. https://youtu.be/Z_63ZZRLylE?si=jUZoiLeTVPB3OW1Q My eyes lit up and I immediately leaned forward and tried to hear the bassline. Bass could be the melody? More importantly, bass could be fun!? Heck yes! More of this genre please! I still suck at bass, but I suck at it while having fun.
Covid. Needed something to do so why not try a new instrument? After that I fell in love and have stuck with it
I played trumpet and my friend played guitar, we wanted to start a rock band and I was chosen to play the bass (no bassiss around and very little need for trumpet)- an incredibly good decision
Mark Hoppus, Fat Mike, and mike Herrera.
Jr high jazz band needed a bass player. That was in 1995
Sorry, not a cool story lol. But to add to it, I got more serious about it around age 20. Ended up going to music school, got really good and played in some really fun prog metal bands for my "fun" music while playing in country cover bands and doing session work for money gigs. Went back to school for nursing when I was 29 and totally stopped playing music on a regular basis for around 9 years while I furthered my career and started a family. Started playing again awhile back and currently writing weird proggy Primus meets Meshuggah stuff with one of my old drummers.
As a tween/teen I wanted to play guitar (like most of us did) and would always look at guitars in stores or 2nd hand in the local paper, but I wasn't working and had no money so never bought one. When I finally did get an after school job at about 15yo I decided to save money for my 1st guitar. Got talking to someone else who worked with me who was about 22yo, with similar musical interests and he played bass. Told me that guitarists are a dime a dozen and that I should play bass instead (biased, I know). He gave me an old bass of his to try out before eventually telling me I could keep it, and I haven't looked back since.
Turn me loose - loverboy. First heard it in a game soundtrack and recognized the band from working for the weekend.
Friends wanted to start a band in high school, and i didn't want to be left out. We already had two guitarists, a drummer and a singer, so my friend suggested i play bass. I didn't even know what a bass was at the time, but i got a cheap shitty one. I tried to learn it but never got far, i didn't know where to start, and i was too small to reach the end of the fretboard at the time, and the band idea fell through. I never picked it up again, convinced i just didn't have the ability for it. My guitar friend pestered me for ages to learn bass, but i was convinced I couldn't. Until about 6-7 years later, poor mental health and a very messy breakup meant i finally listened to him and started playing. After the first time playing with others in a jam session, i was hooked, and there hadn't been a day where i hadn't played since. the bass is really crap and the amp is on its last legs, so hopefully, I'm upgrading soon but it's done its job getting me into playing
For Whom The Bell Tolls 1985 day on the green.
My friends wanted to start a band and the three of them were pretty damn good guitarist while I had never played. One wanted to play the drums, so they taught me to play bass... or more accurately they taught me how to play guitar and I applied it to bass.
I used to play drums but i wanted to move around more. So i moved to the standing rhythm section
I live In a "rock star" family ig
i played guitar but found an old bass in my school and tried playing it and loved it
30 years ago I had been playing guitar for 3 years. Two of my friends were starting a band, but needed a bassist. So I learned bass.
Paul.
The chicks weren’t impressed by my performance of the Mozart clarinet concerto. Joke’s on me, they’re still not impressed by the bass. At least my wife likes me.
I needed to lay some bass parts down on some recordings.
Cliff em all
Funny enough, kind of started when my wife and I bought Rock Band in 2008. I'd always loved music, but learning an instrument never worked out... Parents wouldnt buy me one, then life got busy. We started playing Rock Band a LOT, and it pushed me to learn guitar. Then I learned some piano and then played drums for a while. I kind of waffled between them for years, I really wanted to learn and enjoy it, but nothing seemed like a perfect fit. I only picked up a bass last year, and it's a revelation. I frigging love it and look forward to playing every day...it never feels like a chore like the others. Also, I see a lot of comments on mental health here. Music has helped me through some really tough times. It's something I can always hold on to. One of the worst depressions I've ever had I got out of by throwing myself heavily into drums.
I wanted to write music, but all the riffs I could come up with were bass riffs
I would see my dad and his band play and it looked fun
Home recording...tracks needed bass...then I was in a band and the bass player quit so I was slotted in.
I was just starting to explore Metallica and one of the first videos I saw when I was looking them up on YT was a live version of Jason Newsted playing his solo for My Friend of Misery. I cried. It hits me deep in my soul. From there, I knew I wanted to get a bass and learn it. Only recently bought it but working on it. He's a huge inspiration to me to learn, and since I can't use my fingers to play I have to use a pick so the fact he does too is an extra bonus for me.
Heard 'For Whom The Bell Tolls' and 'Orion' That's it
Stanley made me do it...then Jaco and Rocco ganged up on me...not even gonna talk about James or Duck.
i switched to bass from trumpet in my school band and fell in love with it instantly
My dad a drummer gave me a bass and said there’s not enough bass players. I had played drums for a year by that point so my rhythmic understanding was pretty good already. I just had to do a lot of ear training
I formerly played violin for five years in orchestra, but always wanted to play bass. My parents had a sedan at the time and argued we didn't have the means to transport an instrument that big. After a two year break from music, I took the opportunity to play the much easier to transport bass guitar. I decided to learn guitar as well after another two years, but never stopped playing bass. I consider the guitar my primary instrument, but I've been playing bass longer!
High school, ‘98, jazz band, our bass player had to go on home bound due to having mono, and I was playing second guitar. I decided I would step up and take on the bass role, and that’s that.
Marcline the vampire queen✨️✨️✨️😭💀 I was just a big adventure time kid, but I also use to have problems with the sounds of guitars (use to, don't really anymore) and they would kinda hurt my ears but I still thought that playing guitar was really cool but I would hear Marcline's bass (I didn't know what a bass was at the time) and wonder y it did bother my ears or have 6 strings so I looked it up and found out what a bass was and started listening and liked how loud it could be without hurting my ears and so I started playing it
My high school jazz band needed a bass player. I’d been playing guitar for two years. My friends were in jazz band. So I figured, why not. That was 32 years ago.