Hi there,
Let me first introduce myself. I'm Cedric and live in Belgium. I've been playing and studying music since I was 8. I'm currently following classical piano, jazz piano and chamber music courses, but I also studied keyboard, violin, oboe, music culture and music theory. Next year I want to enter a college of music (conservatory) and play pop piano. However, to get in, they require adaptness on a certain instrument (which is piano, in my case), and have some basic skills on another instrument in a typical rythm section (guitar, base guitar or drums).
Now, I want to learn to play the guitar, electrical or bass. Since a month or two, I've set my mind on the bass guitar. However, now that I'm planning to buy one, I'm starting to doubt. Which one should I learn as a beginner? Here a few pros for the bass guitar:
- It only has four strings, and you play only one of them most of the time. Also, the intervals between the open snares are uniform (all fourths, this is not the case with a standard electric guitar). So maybe a bass guitar is more suitable and approachable for beginner guitar players?
- I will train my ears more if I play bass than the electric guitar. I'll develop a certain feeling for music foundations.
- I'm good with chords on keyboard and piano and have a certain knowledge of music theory, so when I play bass I can benefit from this skill and knowledge by applying them in my accompaniments.
Are my arguments valid? So now a few pros for the electric guitar:
- I like chords a lot! One time I want to be able to play them on a guitar.
- I'm more of a solo guy than someone who participates in a band, so maybe the electric guitar is more my cup of tea?
- I like the sound very much, especially the clean sound without any effects or distortion (e.g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...OD-XPbDE#t=206).
So now my question. I won't ask you which instrument you prefer, because I'm planning on playing them both in the future. However, which instrument should you begin with? Which one is more suitable for beginners? And if you play bass, is it harder to learn guitar, or is it better to do it the other way round? Which instrument has the steepest learning curve?
Thank you a lot!
- Cedric