I was in a band once where me and the bass player would swap instruments, it was a bit of a mission mid set, but it was pretty cool.

Well i see no problem there. If they think thats retarded, then maybey they are retarded themself.

Sounds fine to me, but don't change position during a song (live). Switch as you like between the songs.

Well usually when I look to get a band together I tend to think that person the would be an "expert" or really good at there instrument and can play things just the average player couldn't play,who has a couple years maybe of experince and is more serious, not a beginner or someone who just "kinda plays" I think maybe that's why they tend to only stick to one insurtment ya know the saying Jack of all trades, Master of none? But personally if are you multi talented and can make it work with good bandmates Id do it man, be different from anything Ive seen and cool.

I worked with some guys for a year or so were everyone played about 4 different things.. Not just guitar but for example, Guitar, Keys, Banjo, Mandolin Bass and drums all of them killer. That was just one guy, the other 4 were just as versatile with different things and just as exceptional playing them. It was GREAT fun but beyond that, People loved it. If you didn't like the way the guitar was done just wait, two songs later it will all change. Bit of a tap dance to get everything ordered but nothing too bad other than having something like 15 different instruments on stage at the same time. Since no two people play an instrument the same way exactly it was always exciting.

Drew GREAT crowds and had more work than we could handle.

So, Yeah, it has is advantages IF you get the right folks involved.

I used to do that with my solo act. Having a recording studio allowed me to record all the parts, then during a gig I'd decide which playback to use. I had each song missing one part so I could do that part live. Many songs had different cuts where a different part was missing from each cut, so I had the choice to play the drums, keys, bass or guitar. Vocals were ALWAYS live, but I would also record my own backup vocals.

This was a LOT of work. I was hauling the gear for an entire band and had a LOT more to consider than just a single instrument and how it sounded.

We are now working with a local songwriter, (who only writes lyrics and develops a melody in his head as he can't play an instrument.) My brother and I will switch off on bass, guitar and drums depending on the song. We're teaching the songwriter to play basic keys, (it gives him something to do and he's actually learning stuff as well.)

I had designs for another act, similar to this as well. My brother and I would play all the parts. Video of drums, keys, bass, or guitar, would be shown on separate large screen TV's, behind the live work, so you could see the parts being played as well as hear them. We had even worked out timing where we could interact with our video selves, walk behind a screen and appear on the screen, (previously recorded,) and then return to the stage by walking out of the TV.

The whole project fell apart as we didn't have the capital to get all the necessary synchronization equipment to allow us to sync multiple video feeds and keep the timing solid.

There's nothing wrong with playing multiple parts as long as you do it well.

It's a trade off. If you're a guitarist, you can either spend time learning another instrument on a performance level, or further your skill/musicality level on the guitar. Of course, your musical sensibilites would transfer from instrument to instrument, but the technical skills needed to get a decent sound out of a saxaphone for instance would take forever. The bass guitar is the exception, since the guitar and bass are so structurally similar, the learning curve would be much smaller. In my opinion, the higher the level of musicality, the more difficult multi instrumentalism becomes, jazz for instance. That said, in a Beatles type of pop setting, it's definitely possible and very fun. Me and my old bandmates used to switch instruments all the time.Teenage Fanclub is a band who does it on stage on the fly all the time.

"If you're a guitarist, you can either spend time learning another instrument on a performance level, or further your skill/musicality level on the guitar."


I STRONGLY disagree. There is NO rule that I'm aware of that says "once you play guitar that's all you do".
Practice guitar a couple of hours, Practice Keys a couple of hours, Practice (insert instrument here) a couple of hours.

Assuming you are "just a guitar player" if you are not learning different styles, (i.e Metal, blues, bluegrass) then you're really not progressing anyway. I play several different styles and things because I want to learn them. I can't just sit around and play scales or riffs all day.. I would go insane. Same with other instruments. I want to know how to do it. Am I a killer keyboard player? nope but I can hold my own assuming I'm not expected to play Bach or Van Claiborne.

I've seen Barbara Mandrell bounce from one instrument to another in the course of one song. Before she was through she must have played five different instruments and played them well. I couldn't find the video where she does that, but this will give you an idea of the versatility she has.

YouTube is giving me problems on this one so here's the URL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfdgET_n3Ok&feature=related

i play guitar keyboards, piano and a little bass (not really bass)..My main thing is guitar end of story because that is what i focus on. Who ever is best at which instrument should play however if your having fun of course there is nothing wrong with it. You know when Eddia and Alex Vanhalen were starting off Eddie Vanhalen started off on drums and Alex played guitar. Eddie started playing around and he became a better guitar player and they switched or they decided to switch because they were drawn to each other's instruments! Good thing they did huh?


hey not a fan of mandrell but that was an entertaining video. that's got to be difficult for the three of them to pull that off.

"I know scales, chord voicings, substitutions. Don't really have to learn or practice those. At this point they come naturally."

That's not me. Not even close. So I'll stick to learning those instead of picking up the accordian for now :)

"That's not me. Not even close. So I'll stick to learning those instead of picking up the accordian for now :)"

It's all good. :-) I would encourage you to step out of your "comfort zone" though.. Learn something completely different.

I would actually like to find someone either another guitarists or a vocalist that can play keys. I don't want keys in every song so having a dedicated keyboard player would be a waste of time for some songs.