Every member of a band or group plays a really important part. However, there are a couple of key musicians who are almost entirely responsible for keeping everyone harmoniously on track and ensuring they stick to a metronomic rhythm. This responsibility is often the reserve of the drummer. Yet there are countless reasons and situations when a drummer might not be able to play – and of course it doesn’t do to rely on just one person, either. So when it comes to maintaining a steady pulse throughout a piece of music, sticking to the right rhythm, and generally making certain every band or group member keeps in time then the bass guitarist has it sussed as a definite VIP.
So, what is the bass guitar?
The bass guitar is very similar in appearance and build to an electric guitar. However, it has a longer neck and scale length, and normally four or six strings. A four-string bass guitar is usually tuned the same as the double bass, which means it produces a low, deep and gutsy sound.
Quite often, audience members don’t know what a bass is and it’s also sadly overlooked and overshadowed by its contemporaries. Yet despite its lack of popularity, it’s absolutely critical to any group or band. In fact, it’s so critical that you’ll rarely ever see a group or band performing without a bass player. Which naturally makes it one of the best instruments to learn if you’re looking to do something pretty serious with music; there is always a big demand for great bass players.
And why is a bass guitarist so important?
In music you have rhythm, harmony and melody. They are the bread and butter of any musical piece and each plays a serious role. Without rhythm, harmony or melody, you wouldn’t have music.
The rhythm is the pattern of regular or irregular pulses by the occurrence of strong and weak melodic and harmonic beats. It’s the constant pulse or beat of the music – and the rhythmic foundation is just like a heartbeat. Rhythm drives the music and keeps musicians playing together, like musicians!
The melody is made up of the words to a song or the main instrument in a piece of music. The melody is what you’d hum along to or belt out in the shower! It’s what sticks in your head.
The harmony is what makes the melody sound amazing – it’s the support act and can be described as notes that sound simultaneously and ‘harmoniously’. Harmony is notes that are all played together. And it’s the chords behind a piece of music or the accompaniment to a song. And whilst you can have a melody without a harmony (think one-handed piano playing!), it sounds lonely, empty and pretty uninspiring.
That’s where the bass guitarist comes into his or her own!
Any good music has a great rhythm, and it’s down to the bass guitarist to keep the rhythm steady and consistent. The bass guitar is a bit like a metronome keeping everything ticking along as it should be in the background.
The bass guitarist is responsible for creating the harmony and the bass guitar produces all those incredible deep sounds which support the melody – either sung or played by a higher pitched instrument.
Sometimes a lone musician (generally a pianist or guitarist) produces the melody and harmony together. However, for the purposes of a group or band, everyone has their own separate job to do in order to create the harmony collaboratively. And the bass guitar plays a phenomenally powerful role in how we, the audience, hear harmonies.
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