You have been playing the bass guitar for a while now. But how well do you really know about this extravagant and elegant instrument?
The bass guitar is often known as the poor musician’s guitar. Basically, a bass guitar is an instrument built in the style of an electric guitar. This guitar plays a fundamental role in the overall music scene. It takes on multiple roles, but the key important elements are consistency and timing. Learning to play this instrument is an exciting adventure.
So what are the most popular facts about the Bass guitar?
The Four-string Bass is the Common Type of Bass Guitar
Though there are five-string, six-string, seven-string and eight-string Guitars, the most common type of bass guitar favoured by players worldwide is the four-string one. The five-string bass guitar is appropriate for rock musicians.
As far as strings are concerned, the bass guitar has very thick strings and this offers a better feel and touch, compared to the Acoustic Guitar. It is generally recommended that one should use the four-string guitar, to begin with. However, later you may upgrade to another level of strings if you are comfortable.
The Bass Guitar can be Played in Various Forms
One of the main styles of playing the bass guitar is the plucking and picking styles. However, in recent years, many styles have emerged and players have also begun slapping and popping the strings of the Guitar. The slap style, in fact is one of the most distinguishing features of the Bass Guitar. Slapping is done by striking the string with the left-hand side of the thumb. Popping is accomplished by the fingertip of the middle or index finger under the strings of the Guitar.
Also, the bassist is the most important person in any rock background. At any performance, with multiple bands and guitars being played, the bass may not be listened to by the audience. The bass guitarist knows his main job is to lead and carry on the band. It helps to connect other instruments being played. In a music genre such as Jazz, a bassist settles onto the groove and helps to accompany the drummer. In this way, the bass guitar has the most important role in the background.
The Bass Guitar has a Lower Pitch Strings
Bass Guitars have features that are very similar to other guitars, like thick strings, large body and necks among others. This allows lower notes to be created. It is important to remember that the bass guitar is tuned much lower than the normal electric Guitar. The bass guitar strings are tuned one whole octave. A four-string bass is traditionally tuned in 4ths, with specific tunings. Besides, the bass guitar has a longer scale length.
The Bass Guitar has Been Used by Famous Performers
Throughout history, there have been many players who have used the Bass Guitar to enthral their audiences and produce the greatest hits ever. Most of these players have been overlooked and not valued much by the public at large. Paul McCartney, Bootsy Collins, Mike Watts, Rick Danko, Lemmy Kilmister and Paul Jackson are some prominent players of the Bass Guitar.
These musicians mentioned above are elegant examples of true musicianship and they have undoubtedly spent hours working on their instruments in order to achieve the kind of name and fame they have got today. Their music has influenced innumerable people throughout the globe and should inspire us to practice our instruments well.
The Bass Guitar is Similar to the Acoustic Guitar
Did you ever know that the bass guitar is very similar to the acoustic Guitar? It is interesting to note that the music chords, scales and theory that is practised and learnt on the bass guitar are also played on the acoustic guitar. This is essential to remember because both the instruments are related to each other.
Hence, the choice of choosing between both is difficult, especially for beginners. It is good to know that one can switch to the other at any point in time.
