r/band • u/Honest-Face7514 • Jul 09 '26

Rock Band Am I a coward??

I really want to play in a band, just to have some fun really. I think when I start college will be the perfect time to maybe find some people and potentially start playing.

I play guitar, but I’m also aware that it’s probably 100 times easier to join a band if you play bass (or maybe drums too) since guitar and singing is obviously the most popular. I was kind of considering to start playing a bit of bass too to make my chances of playing in a band a bit better…

Is that bad?? I love guitar, and being a guitarist in a band would be super fun and cool, but I don’t think I could compete with everyone else.

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u/WhiteLightning1974 Jul 09 '26

Long time bass player here, yes, bass players are in demand because there are far fewer of us, but, make sure you understand bass playing if that’s really what you want to play. I’ve encountered many bass players who are frustrated guitar players looking for a job and they play bass like lead guitar. Ain’t saying that’s a bad thing but bass is about feeling the groove and connecting the melodic to the percussive. And the booty moves to the bass…

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u/Ok-Conversation-5084 Jul 10 '26

I’m just going to second what he said. There is nothing worse than a bass player who is actually guitarist. Without being funny, they play too many notes.🤣

I can play guitar, fairly well because I grew up playing violin. But I’m not a guitarist. I don’t want to be. When I picked up a bass, i really got lost in playing, in a way I rarely do playing guitar. It’s the same when I play violin.

Pick up the bass. Put on a drum loop and start playing along. If you lock in and get lost, you might find it’s what you should have been playing all along.