If you’re wondering how hard is it to learn bass guitar, you’re likely an aspiring bassist, but need some direction.
Is it difficult to learn to play bass? how long does it take and is it fun to play solo?
Bass guitar can is difficult to master, but we’re not trying to master the instrument just yet.
Within a few week you can easily pick up the basics and be playing along to your favorite songs within a matter of months.
It all comes down to how much effort you are willing to put into it.
How long does it take to learn bass guitar
You can learn the foundational techniques to bass within your first few weeks of playing. If you already know guitar, you should be able to get the basics down over the course of an afternoon.
To get to an intermediate level of bass playing you’ll need to develop your muscle memory and get some more advanced techniques down.
You should be able to achieve intermediate level bass playing within your first year of play, so long as you are able to dedicate to regular, and mindful practice.
In order to master the bass, you’re looking at years, even the best in the world aren’t “finished” learning bass.
To reach an expert level of bass, expect to put in at least 5 years of extremely dedicated practice, however, most people who play at the expert level have been playing for well over a decade.
Can I teach myself bass guitar
Yes, bass guitar is actually one of the easier instruments to self teach.
This is because the very first few techniques you need to learn and build up are very simple.
Just noodling around and playing single notes on the bass guitar is very easy, even for those without much musical experience.
You will likely be able to play along to a simple song, just playing the root notes within your first week of bass guitar playing.
Once you get an idea of what the instrument is like you can slowly move into learning more advanced skills and techniques.
Youtube is a great resource for learning bass guitar.
Is bass fun to play alone
Bass guitar is what you make it, and no different to playing 6-string guitar or piano by yourself.
One common thing bassists do is play along with drum tracks or any other type of sampling they want to jam with.
These jam tracks are widely available on Youtube and can be found for any skill level.
While the intended use of the bass is to bridge the gap between instruments, you don’t have to practice alone.
Best way to learn bass guitar
The best way to learn the bass guitar is of course to take lessons.
Having an instructor point you in the right direction, and correct any bad initial habits you might pick up is a major advantage over self-teaching bass.
That being said, just because you get lessons doesn’t mean you can’t also self learn on your own.
Your teacher can only teach you things, they can’t force you to practice, that’s entirely up to you.
Someone who takes weekly lessons and practices 10 minutes a day won’t progress as fast as someone who isn’t taking lessons, but is willing to practice for an hour a day.
The best way to learn bass guitar is to take lessons and teach yourself on the side, but practice is going to be the most crucial part of learning.
Is bass hard to learn if you know guitar
Guitarists transitioning to bass guitar have a major advantage to learning the instrument.
You will already have built up the coordination and a comfort level of holding and playing the guitar, but with more string than a bass.
Someone who considers themselves a solid guitarist, should be able to play along with a few easier songs on bass within minutes of picking it up.
There are a lot of transferable skill between bass and guitar.
Check this out if you want to know which you should learn, bass or guitar.
How difficult is it to learn bass guitar
Bass guitar can be really easy to learn the basics of, however, challenging to master.
Bass guitar is regularly mentioned to being more difficult than guitar, when talking about the highest level of skill.
Bass isn’t simple to learn, but isn’t necessarily hard either.
If you’re willing to put in regular practice, within a few months you’ll be slappin the bass like its nothing!