How Long Does It Take to Learn Bass Guitar & Play Well?

Author: Dedrich Schafer | Updated: | This post may contain affiliate links.

Usually, the first thought that comes to mind when picking up a new instrument is: ‘how long is it going to take to learn?’

Bass is no different, but just like other instruments, we can make a guess and get a good idea of how long it should take. Below I’ve outlined some things that affect how long it takes to learn bass and the timelines you can expect until you’ve mastered the bass.

By the way, if you’re looking to learn bass online, I recommend signing up for JamPlay (here’s an exclusive discount link for MusicStrive readers). It’s by far the best online bass lessons platform that I’ve come across.

What Determines How Long Learning Bass Takes?

Just like learning any other instrument, there are certain factors that determine how long it will take you to learn how to play.

Age

Age affects how we process and retain knowledge. Young children can learn and master new skills much faster than adults.

For example, it takes longer to learn a new language as an adult than it does as a child. Learning music and how to play an instrument works the same way, the younger the student, the easier it is to learn.

That doesn’t mean you should be discouraged from learning an instrument when you’re older. It just means that you’ll need to work a bit harder or have some more patience to master the instrument.

Prior Knowledge and Experience

Having music theory knowledge or already knowing how to play another instrument can speed up the process. In terms of learning bass, if you already play guitar or a similar string instrument like cello, it will give you enough basic knowledge. So you won’t be starting from scratch on the bass.

Even knowing some piano can help with learning bass since you’ll already have some theoretical knowledge and finger dexterity. Playing another instrument doesn’t mean you’ll be playing bass from day one, but you’ll definitely have a bit of a head start to learning how to play bass.

Dedication

Ultimately, what will have the biggest impact on how quickly you master the bass is your dedication. It doesn’t matter whether you learn from a physical teacher, on your own, or using online bass lessons. Spending three to four hours a day of serious practicing is always going to yield far better results than just an hour of practice.

The opposite is also true though, as just an hour of serious practice is going to be better than simply plucking the strings for four hours. Quantity and quality go hand in hand when it comes to learning an instrument. If you’re going to sit down and practice for long, you have to make sure that you’re practicing proper techniques and also practicing them correctly.

‘Practice makes perfect’ as the saying goes, and the more you practice, the sooner you’ll be jamming to Thundercat or Victor Wooten tracks.

How Long Does Learning Bass Take?

If you take all these factors into consideration, you can make an educated guess as to how long it should take you to play bass.

Without prior experience with another instrument and about 2-3 hours of solid practice everyday, it should take you around 6 months to learn to play the bass decently (at a beginner level). After about a year, you’ll reach the ‘advanced beginner’ level. With continued dedication, you can reach the intermediate level within another year.

You should be able to start taking on paid gigs at this point and be able to play a wide repertoire of popular songs. Intermediate is where you can expect to stay for quite a while. It can take up to 5-8 years to be considered ‘advanced’ at playing bass.

Most songs will be fairly easy for any advanced player to learn and you’ll be moving on to more complex things like intricate jazz songs and standards or classic compositions. You shouldn’t be discouraged if you don’t feel like you’ve moved up to being an advanced player. It will take time and you’ll have to be patient, and eventually, things will just click and you’ll know you’ve reached the advanced level.

As for mastering the bass, applying the 10,000-hour rule, with three hours of practice each day, you’ll master the bass in about 9 years. Of course, how much you practice, how quick of a learner you are, and whether you have prior music knowledge will affect how quickly you’re able to learn to play bass.

These timelines are just estimates but can give anyone who wants to learn bass a fairly good idea of how long it will take.

Tips for Learning Bass

Before you jump into playing bass, there are a few things to keep in mind.

The Rhythm Section

The bass guitar is a rhythm instrument and is grouped with the drums in a band environment. This means that you’ll need to be locked in with the drums when playing in a band. Apart from practicing technique and learning music theory, you’ll need to spend an equal amount of time practicing playing in time.

The easiest way to do this is to always practice with a metronome, but if you have the opportunity, I would recommend practicing with a drummer as much as possible so that you can also learn how to play along with the drums.

Bass Doesn’t Equal Guitar

Even if you already play guitar, you should remember that the guitar and the bass aren’t the same.

Some guitar techniques do translate to bass, and playing guitar will help you learn bass, they are still very different instruments that serve different purposes and are played differently.

Conclusion

How long it takes to learn how to play bass is going to vary from person to person, and there’s no definitive answer to the question. But I hope I’ve given you a decent idea of how long you can expect it to take, along with some useful tips to get you slapping some bass!

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About Dedrich Schafer

Dedrich is a guitar player, songwriter and sound engineer with extensive music production and studio experience. He mostly listens to classic rock and punk bands, but sometimes also likes listening to rap and acoustic songs.

4 thoughts on “How Long Does It Take to Learn Bass Guitar & Play Well?”

  1. I play a u-bass, you know, a bass in a uke body. It has been fun, but I’ve developed a horrible habit of strumming with my thumb, due to the fact that the u-bass has no resting sport for the thumb. Is there a piece of wood that could be applied to the body of the bass that I could park my thumb on, so I could unlearn that bad habit and switch to playing with the first two fingers? I feel doomed.

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  2. Been practicing for almost 8 months now and practice for about 1 to 2 hours a day hope I can be playing in a band before too long please let me know if I’m ok with 2 to 3 hours a day practice.

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  3. Yea I actually have some incredible time to burn, so I play for like, maybe 4 or 6 hours a day when I get nice vibes.

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  4. 3 hours a day is a little unreasonable for most people IMO due to work, studying, recreation/social stuff, etc. Unless you’re a music major, retired, or just have unbelievable amounts of time to burn(or are incredible at managing it), I’d guess that the average person might spend 30 minutes a day on practice. And that’s assuming the practice is actually quality practice, and not just messing about for half an hour like I often do.

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