The Guitar or the Bass Guitar.
Which one is easier to play?
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Thank-you, Dave.
This article will hopefully answer the age-old questions that many of my beginner students have asked me about the differences between a guitar and a bass guitar, and which one is easier to play.
When I started taking guitar lessons in 1976, I was 13 years of age. I knew nothing about playing a musical instrument, but I knew deep inside that I could learn to do it. I took formal lessons at the local music store down the street, for about a year and a half. In those first couple of years, I learned how to read and memorize many of the chord charts to my favorite songs. Having practiced and played many of those songs hundreds of times, I eventually stopped relying on those charts, and began to develop my ear to listen for common chord progressions in anticipation of the structures of many other songs.
I learned how to utilize the process of elimination of chords by applying the key the song was in. When I was learning the chords to songs, I did not always have the chord charts to read. I had to learn how to play by ear. In that ear training process, I found myself always listening for the lowest bass notes of the chord progression. This helped me better understand the keys of songs, and the anticipated progression of chords. I learned that the bass (almost) always guided the direction of the progression.
I never once thought of ever even picking up a bass guitar to try it out. At 13 or 14 years old, I hadn't quite made the vital connection of its importance in relation to the regular guitar. Besides, the bass guitar had bigger, thicker strings and a much longer guitar neck. Honestly, it was intimidating to me. I didn't actually know any bass guitarists around my neighborhood or in school. My buddy, Mark and I were the only two kids in our neighborhood who played the guitar.
I started my second semester of my sophomore year of high school in 1978. I transferred to a different high school where I was given the chance to try the bass guitar so I could join the jazz band. I knew nothing about jazz, I knew nothing about playing the bass guitar, and I knew nothing about playing in a jazz band - but, I knew it was where I wanted to be. I knew that if I was going to learn how to play music in a group of instrumentalists, I would need to learn how to be part of a team.
The only reason this even happened was because there were eight other guitarists trying out for the same spot in the band. I knew that everyone else in that room was much better on the guitar than I was; and I thought that I simply didn’t stand a chance of getting chosen to play. Then, our band director Al, asked if anyone knew how to lay the bass guitar. Nobody raised their hand. I threw my hand so fast that my arm almost popped out of my shoulder. I answered, "I'll try it!"
After Al had the band roster in place, I walked over to the bass amp and picked up the bass guitar and threw it over my shoulders. It was much bigger than my guitar and weighted even more. I asked Al, "So, what do I do? How do I play this thing?" He replied, "Can you read chord charts?" I answered, "Yes." Then he said, "Play the name of the chord as the root note. If you see a "C" chord, play the third string, third fret note, C". Okay, that to me, was the easy part. But, how do you actually play this thing?
Al came over to me while the rest of the band was tuning up and getting ready. He took the bass and asked Jimmy, our drummer, to play a beat. He showed me how to play along with Jimmy on his right side. He said, "Follow Jimmy's right foot on the bass drum and his right hand on the high-hat. Wherever he goes, you follow." For reasons I may never be able to fully explain, I understood almost immediately, what to do.
Within a few weeks, I was the new bassist for the jazz band. Everyone seemed to like how I played and stayed in the pocket with Jimmy. This boosted my confidence and gave me the identity I had been desperately searching for.
Because I had this newfound super power, I wanted to get better at it. I never wanted to disappoint the band or Al. I never wanted to be the weak link in the band. I wanted to always be dependable. I practiced every night after dinner, until my parents told me to turn it off and go to bed. I noticed that after playing the bass for a few weeks, the way I played my regular guitar, began to change dramatically. I was hearing music differently. I was paying a lot more attention to the rhythm than the actual melody. Knowing what I knew on the guitar, had manifested onto the bass guitar as well. Both instruments made sense to me equally. Jimmy and I were good friends outside of school and had put bands together for the next two or three years. Playing with Jimmy all the time made me a drummers' bass player.
So to answer the questions: "What's the difference between guitar and bass guitar?" and "Which one is easier to play?"
The guitar (like the piano) is known mostly as both a rhythm and melody instrument. I think that this is why so many people who start off playing piano, eventually pick up the guitar, and vice-versa. Guitars, keyboards, vibraphones, xylophones, etc., all allow the instrumentalist to play chords and scales equally on one single instrument; whereas (as far as I know), all other instruments in music are singularly played as either rhythm OR melody instruments, not both.
The bass guitarist has a special position in a band. It is the job of the bass player to bridge the gap between the rhythm (drummer) and the melody. Al told me to think of it as if I was “giving notes” to Jimmy to play on his drums. Like I said, this absolutely made sense to me.
The guitar itself, normally has six or twelve strings. Guitars can either be played acoustically or electrically amplified. The bass guitar normally has just four or five strings. I think that this is why so many newbies perceive fewer strings on the bass as somehow being easier to play than the guitar. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The four lowest (tonally) strings on the guitar are the 6th (E), 5th (A), 4th (D) and 3rd (G) strings. These are also the exact same notes, only one octave lower, on the bass guitar - except that the numbers of the strings are different: 4th (E), 3rd (A), 2nd (D) and 1st (G) strings.
Why would anyone think that the bass is somehow easier to play than the guitar? I guess, in some ways, it is. Generally speaking, you really only play one note at a time on the bass guitar - but on the guitar, you might play all six. The bass guitar is the heartbeat, the "drive" behind the song. The drums and the bass are the foundation for the rhythm of the song. Bass players and drummers must always be locked as if they were using the same brain. Jimmy and I had to learn this. It became immediately apparent for both of us that we could read each other's minds very easily. Every good drummer I've ever played with, it has been the exact same approach. I always want to lock with my drummer. This allowed any of the other melody instruments to feel comfortable with a foundation to stand on.
As far as one instrument being easier to play than the other - no, it's not actually true. Both instruments take many, many years of practice to learn to play well. When I instruct lessons with my guitar and or bass guitar students, and if enough time has passed, and they have become confident in their lessons, I will introduce the idea to my guitar student on considering continuing with bass guitar lessons. I will also do this with my bass students, to find out if they would be willing to try the guitar.
It was my experience at 15 years old, to go from the guitar to the bass guitar, that it just made complete sense to me. It didn't happen right away. It took several months and years of practice and experience to gain that confidence in playing the bass guitar. Having played the guitar for two years prior to the bass guitar, was purely advantageous.
I highly recommend that every guitar player learn the bass guitar and every bass player learn the guitar. Doing this will improve your practicing techniques for both instruments.