Natural progression --> bass guitar?

[ghostnote]

I played a lot of bass in gigging bands back in the day. It’s a lot of fun, and a lot of work. Bass is the driver: it gets the heads bobbing and the booties shakin’. It has to be right. I’m surprised that all the bassists in this thread didn’t talk more about drummers, because as a bass player, the drummer is your other half. The two of you need to be locked tight at all times, and it takes some time to get to that point. Especially when you consider that bassists and drummers generally have, in my experience, very different personality types. But they both love the beat; that’s their common ground, and their job. A great rhythm section us a thing of beauty. I never considered myself a real bass player, although I think I did a decent job of it. I only play bass on my own recordings these days, but I will admit that I usually play a bunch of my favorite riffs for about 10 minutes before I do the bass track - gotta let my inner George Clinton out once in awhile!

[Gordon Currie]

I had a band in high school that never seemed to be able to keep a bass player.

So for a few years myself and the other guitarist traded off bass and guitar duties.

At first it was tough. I knew enough to HEAR when things weren't jelling, but it took some serious work to figure out WHAT to do (way less notes, rhythmic repetition, finding places in the drum part to lock onto).

My guitar playing ended up becoming far more integrated with the drums.

My bandmate ended up becoming an in-demand jazz bassist in Seattle.

I don't know if there is a natural progression from guitar -> bass, but it's an easy move for the curious.

[catt]

I was drumming a lot, but also playing acoustic music so 'naturally' got a double bass. This of course led to countless bluegrass gigs, folk-type bands and jams, and woodshedding jazz. DB is the king of strings.

We moved into a smaller house when the kids aged out a few years ago, and I really haven't the space for a DB, hosting jams, etc. So I started playing cello - which was great for covid years as cello has a great solo repertoire (viz, Bach ). Years of playing DB with French bow enabled me to transition.

[leew3]

Originally Posted by tinnitus

If you hear bagpipes, you've gone too far.

So true in life in general!

On a more serious note, I came to bass in the usual way a guitar player does: ensemble with too many guitarists, somebody's gotta do it. You've gotten great advice above so have fun as it's a great instrument. I would only add that I'm careful to tell people that I can play bass, but I'm not yet a bass player. Keep practicing.