Bass guitar is a wonderful instrument to play; yet, it isn’t as popular as some other instruments such as guitar and piano. However, if you want a versatile and fun instrument to play, then bass guitar might be just the perfect instrument for you. It’s also a key instrument for a band, as it ties in the drums and the keyboard. If you are looking to understand the history of bass guitar and learn how to play it, here are some helpful tips to get you started.

How the Bass Guitar Got Its Sound?

Whenever you start playing a new instrument, it’s always important to learn a bit about the history of the instrument as well. If you are looking to create a pure, funky sound with your bass guitar, understanding the roots of the sound can help you.

Humans have long been creating music with different instruments and the roots of bass guitar can be traced all the way back to the 15^th century. The history of the bass guitar started in its current form in the 1930s. According to History Links, Paul Tutmarc was the first to create the modern sound of electronic bass.

Since then, the rise of rock and roll helped to establish the bass as an essential part of the modern sound. As a new bass guitarist, you want to look into the early rock and roll period and listen to bands such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Learn to Listen

Listening to other bass guitarists might seem like a waste of time when you are just learning the basics, but you can enhance your own skills by listening to others. Developing your musical ear is especially important to bass guitarists because you are often in charge of keeping the whole song together and flowing forwards.

Check out this Louder Than War list of the 15 best bass guitarists of all time. Naturally, there are plenty of others to listen to as well, but it can be a helpful starting point for your learning process. Once you start with your bass guitar lessons, you’ll already have a tuned ear. Once you learn a new chord or play style, you should also try to find the same techniques and chords from songs.

Take Bass Guitar Lessons

You should definitely take bass guitar lessons. The good news is that there are different types of lessons you can take, giving you much more freedom to choose when and where you practice.

You should be able to find one-to-one tutoring or music group tutoring nearby. People and places in many towns and cities across Britain provide music lessons for a variety of instruments, and these don’t often cost a lot of money. Just search for ‘bass guitar lessons’ together with your preferred location.

Of course, going to a music lesson can take a bit of time and you can quickly lose interest if you need to miss a few lessons. Luckily, there are now ways to take music lessons online as well. At Pro Music Tutor we offer online video lessons, which could suit people with busy schedules.

Don’t Be Alone

Playing an instrument is a great way to meet new people and you should definitely share your bass learning experience with someone else. Although you can take bass guitar lessons on your own, you should connect with other players and play together with other people to enhance your skills further.

Websites such as Bass Chat are great for beginners as well as seasoned pros. It is a good idea to find people who play other instruments and have jamming sessions, even if you aren’t looking to form a band.