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Not surprisingly, the bass guitar remains true to the design originally intended for normal guitar. However, differences do exist. Four-stringed basses are the most common, which differ from the six-stringed guitars most people are used to seeing. The strings of a bass guitar are longer, as is the entire instrument. Most bass guitars are played through an amplifier, although acoustic basses are preferred by some. One deviation from the normal guitar design did occur when a few bass players began to remove the frets from the necks of their instruments, which has since been applied to normal guitars by an even smaller percentage of players. There are many methods to playing a bass guitar, and each method suits different styles of music. One might play a bass guitar with their fingers only, using their fretting hand to depress the strings and choose notes while their other hand plucks the strings. This fingerstyle method is prominent in all styles of music where bass guitars are used and is sometimes said to be the most versatile way to play. Another way to play a bass guitar is with a guitar pick. The strings of the bass are simply struck with a pick, and sound is produced. This pick style of playing is just as popular, if not more so, than the fingerstyle method. Bass Guitars in Modern Music Nearly all rock and roll bands use electric bass guitars. Bass guitars are popular in rock music because they not only provide a steady pulse for the guitars to latch onto, but the harmony of a song can be established at the same time as the rhythmic elements. Simply by playing notes at an even pace and moving from chord to chord, a rock bassist is contributing a lot to the song. Heavier, fast-paced hard rock and metal is often at the forefront of bass guitar innovations, and many bass players are turning up the gain and increasing the tempo every time they play. The bass guitar was synonymous with jazz since before the electric bass had even been invented, back in the days of the upright bass. Modern bass guitars are well suited to jazz because along with the drums, a bass guitar is perfect for maintaining the swinging feeling of jazz. Upright bass lines are perfect examples of jazz bass playing. As the bassist moves from chord to chord, playing one note per beat, you can literally feel the song swinging and rocking back and forth. Although the bass guitar may seem like an instrument that lacks versatility, looks can be deceiving. The bass guitar can be played in a variety of ways and is used to fill roles in many different musical genres. About the Author: More Articles About Guitars
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© 2008 The A-Z of Musical Instruments |
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