Should I Learn Bass or Guitar?

One of the questions we often get asked by people who are just starting out is:

Should I learn bass or guitar?

It is an honest question mainly by someone who does not know much about these instruments. However, it is also tricky to answer because every person is different. While many people will find it easy to learn bass guitar, others may find it slightly more challenging.

While the modern bass and guitar may appear similar, these two instruments differ in terms of the strings’ thickness, size, and number. That’s why choosing a bass guitar for a young child, for instance, might be slightly more challenging than an adult or teenager with larger fingers. However, there is more to it than just your physical mechanics when choosing between the two, as we’ll examine in this article.

Bass Vs Guitar: String Thickness

Bass guitars typically have only four strings, but bass strings are longer, thicker, and often more expensive when compared to guitar strings. However, if you are playing an electric guitar, nickel or steel strings are a good choice. Though if you choose to play acoustic guitar, you can choose metal or nylon strings, the latter tend to be softer and offer a delicate tone.

One of the perks of being a bassist is that there are many more string choices. So, there is a lot more room to experiment. Some of the most common bass guitar strings include roundwound, tapewound, flatwound, and groundwound.

Your own personal style is what will help you decide what type of string works best.

Is It Easy To Learn Bass Guitar?

It is slightly easier to learn how to play bass if all things are equal. However, many people may argue that learning how to play a regular electric guitar is just as easy. The difference is that the bass guitar has four strings versus six strings of the electric guitar. That’s why we don’t think learning to play the bass guitar is significantly easier; we will say it is a lot more rewarding.

Should I Learn Guitar Or Bass?

Once you have considered all of the above, a couple of unique traits of each instrument may be appealing to you. Sometimes people will feel a greater pull to one instrument versus the other based on how it sounds.

Since many people usually listen to music with the bass turned all the up, the bass guitar is best suited for the majority of people. Playing bass is also best suited for those who enjoy collaborating as part of a team. Many musicians may pick up the bass guitar mainly because finding a good bassist can be hard. That’s why if you want to join a band someday, learn to play bass since it will improve your odds of being selected to join a band. On the other hand, if you want to play solo and don’t mind making your own music, starting with a guitar is probably worth considering.

Your Personality May Decide Whether You Play Guitar Or Bass.

Having known many guitarist and bass players, you could may some broad generalisations and perhaps drawing similarities about their personalities and the instrument they play.

In my experience, bass players tend to be grounded, strong silent type, orderly and supportive people on the introverted side. Not always, but a lot of the time.   

Guitarists, especially lead guitarist, tend to be extroverted and enjoy being under the lime light, sometimes flashy and the good ones are always hard working at their craft. Once again, this is not all, but a noticeable trend.

What does your personality say about which instrument you should play?

This is just another small thing to consider when asking yourself – should I learn bass or guitar?

sssshh… choose bass.