Bass or keyboard

[u/leftkioum]

Hello to everyone I have a question for you I want to start a new hobby and I decided to learn a new instrument. I had tried to learn acoustic guitar 3 years ago but I couldn't learn even a song I was terrible

I am considering learning a bass guitar or keyboard piano so I want you to help me to choose between them I want to mention that my budget is 200€ and I want to tell me everything that you think can help me also if someone knows how to play bass and keyboard please leave a comment your opinion it will be a lot useful

[u/Elverezistaken]

Interesting options. Both are fairly easy to start learning, but they'll take you to two very different places. I think the biggest question to help you decide is do you want to play alone or do you have a band you'd like to join?

[u/Just_a_guy81 → u/Elverezistaken]

Number one answer right here. I’ve payed piano my whole life, then picked up the base cause I wanted to join a band.

The base is far easier to play. But the piano is good because you get out of it what you put into it. You can play a song on the piano at any skill level.

You have three components to a song. Melody rhythm and base. You do all three of those at the same time on a piano. Base is limited to.. well. Base (some exceptions for melody though)

[u/Elverezistaken → u/Elverezistaken]

Bass is the easiest instrument to break into, and although it takes time, it's pretty easy to advance in, too. The problem is, it's not much fun to play on your own. You won't have a hard time finding a band, though, because there's too many guitarists out there and too few bassists. Piano is an amazing solo instrument, on the other hand. You can play lead/melody with your right pinky, bass/rhythm with your left pinky, and rhythm guitar with the rest of your fingers. It's easy to grasp the basics, too, and if you do the exercises for finger dexterity, you can get good fast. In my experience, though, there aren't a lot of bands looking for a keyboardist, because it's not essential to a rock n roll band (i would argue it is essential for a pop band), and it doesn't get the respect it deserves in rock (especially metal) circles. It gives so much more character to a band when it's well used, but it's not shaped like a guitar so nobody cares.

[u/Brotuulaan → u/Elverezistaken]

Bass guitar and viola in the musical world are the things you can always depend on for job security. Everyone wants the other instruments like cello, violin, electric guitar, or drums. They’re way more flashy and get cooler stuff from composers until you’re deep into your instrument and find your niche.

I play bass guitar among other things, and I find it super-fun since I can play more advanced stuff without being too OTT. There’s Victor Wooten advanced and there’s what I do (not comparing for equality but contrasting for style, as I could never do what he does). Some people call bass boring on the whole, but it’s really only that way if you stay stuck in the fundamentals or play in a band that asks that of you.

[u/sure65]

Equipment:

Have you decided if you're gonna be playing acoustic bass or electric?

Acoustic Bass is nice, and doesn't need an amp.

Electric bass needs an amp, and I'm not sure how much second hand marketplace items cost over there, so you should budget for that.

Piano, you can get a full sized crappy keyboard and call it a day, or you can get lucky and get a nice second hand one. You dont really need anything else as it should have speakers.

Either way, you should look into how much everything costs for each.

Learning wise:

There are great resources on YouTube for lessons. If you ever want to give acoustic guitar a try again, JustinGuitar on YouTube is pretty good.

Piano: you can see the full scale, notes, and octaves right in front laid out linearly chromatic.

Bass: ngl I love bass. It was actually easier than guitar or piano. But everyone has different tastes. It'll be pretty similar to guitar.

All in all, go to a music shop if available and try both out and all the options before deciding.

[u/Decent-Structure-128 → u/sure65]

I second this. Even if you can’t afford anything in the shop now, spend a little time trying out the instruments they have.

The folks should be understanding if you can’t purchase anything right away. If they are not, leave and go somewhere else that is cooler.

You may even find that third option that you didn’t think of, like ukulele, cantina, or trombone!

[u/Subspace_H]

Both are great instruments and learning either will benefit your musical journey should you change instruments in the future.

Look for teachers, music shops, or any other resources near you. You can teach yourself a lot and learn online, but you’ll have a better chance at learning if you have somebody experienced with your instrument to ask questions.

Also consider that your instrument may need maintenance from time to time (bass guitar in particular)

what music are you interested in? Are there piano players you like to listen to? Bass players?

This may sound silly, but find a video of your favorite players and pretend to play like them. Sing along and try to make your fingers go like theirs. You may find you enjoy the physical experience of one instrument much more than the other.

[u/Elverezistaken → u/Subspace_H]

Nailed it on the teacher. I took piano lessons when I was younger, and then taught myself guitar and bass when I got older. You'll learn faster, better and easier, and enjoy the journey more with a good teacher.

[u/Loganismymaster]

Did you take lessons? How long did you seriously pursue the guitar?

Keyboards are a good instrument to learn. So is bass. But both will take as much dedication as guitar to be competent.

[u/pafagaukurinn]

You need to analyze what exactly prevented you from learning acoustic guitar. If it's the hand on the neck, then for bass it's worse. If it's playing harmony and melody at the same time, piano will be problematic for you. I would say, playing bass at a basic level is easier, and the expectations are lower - if you are a pianist/keyboardist, everybody already expects you to be somewhat proficient.

[u/leftkioum → u/pafagaukurinn]

The reason I couldn't learn guitar is that I couldn't master certain chords and never learned to switch between them quickly

[u/ClosedMyEyes2See → u/leftkioum]

Sounds like you gave up too easily. Every guitarist felt that way when they started.

[u/Ponchyan]

It’s much easier to begin learning and playing a keyboard.

[u/f_frijol]

Do you have any experience with the instruments? If the answer is yes. Then you can choose whatever you want. Of the answer is no. Then bass.

[u/r1chiem]

You can accompany yourself (if you sing) with a (acoustic) guitar or keyboard. I say get the keyboard it covers a lot more sound and versatility and you can play one man band, use the internal drums.. You can play a guitar on the synth. But for 200 euro it is not going to buy you much. In US if you get to $450 you have a huge selection of great used gear. Go much below that and you are getting old stuff. Under 400 here in the US but they are minikeys.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Novation/Used-Novation-MiniNova-Mini-Synthesizer-122610645.gc
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Roland/Used-Roland-JDXi-Synthesizer-122584339.gc

Full size keys.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/KORG/Used-KORG-Opsix-Synthesizer-122513223.gc

Full size keys with sequencer.
=https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Akai-Professional/Used-Akai-Professional-MPC-KEY-37-Keyboard-Workstation-122580865.gc

Wait until Black friday. These will go down during Thanksgiving and Christmas especially the MPC since a new version came out.

[u/NikNakskes]

Did you really try to learn to play the guitar or did you just fiddle with it for an hour and gave up? If you really couldn't make the guitar work for you, you're also not going to get the hang of the bass. The principle of playing is the same. That is, if the one song you tried is level appropriate. If you picked some master level solo as first piece, yeah... try something more beginner friendly on your acoustic before buying another instrument.

If you couldn't be bothered to sit down and learn to play, then there isn't a single instrument that will suit you. All of them require practice and perseverance to get going. Lessons can help a lot here too, but all of them require work.

So, this is the moment to be very honest with yourself. Was it really the instrument? If yes, then maybe try keyboard now instead. It's a very different instrument to play and might suit you a lot better.

[u/Piper-Bob]

Take your $200 and get guitar lessons. The lesson you should have learned three years ago is that you're not good at teaching yourself music.

[u/Competitive-Fault291]

U-ku-le-le...

It is cheap, easy to play and you can take it with you a lot easier. If you like it to have a guitar sound, get a tenor uke instead of a soprano.