benjuro wrote:NOTHING taught me this as much as putting the guitar down and learning to play bass. When I picked the guitar back up years later, that time playing bass made me a much better guitar player and all around musician, especially in a band context.
I had a buddy who's a KILLER guitarist tell me when he wanted to learn to play bass, he put the guitar in a case under his bed, and kept it there for three months. He knew the mechanics of playing bass really weren't that different than guitar, but wanted to understand the musical aspect of playing bass. He's probably the only guy I know that when he plays bass, doesn't sound like a guitarist.
And you're right. ANY time you can learn another instrument (and we're not talking that crap a lot of guys do when they say "Oh, the strings are the same so I can play ______" or "I already know how to play guitar, so _______ will be a piece of cake!"), and spend the time to learn its capabilities and nuances, you WILL benefit on your other instrument. I've been playing ukulele in a folk group for about two years now, and it's added a lot to how I approach basslines.
