Bass...?

[neoism]

hey all...

i have been listening this word since long...but frankly...i don't know anything about it...!

can any-one explain me in lil detail...?

* what exactly bass is for...?

* why it's used in song ?

* when its needed...?

and some other info...plz...!

Love, Prayag

[Nightwolf]

Generally the word "Bass" refers to a frequency range somewhere around 260 Hz (Middle C) down to the ground. The Bass guitar which is closer the the question at hand usually plays lower notes than the piano/vocals/guitar and helps to fatten up the sound.

Used properly the Bass guitar can bee the "middleman" bee-tween the Lead instruments (Vocals and Guitar) and the rhythm of the Drums. Helping to tie together all of the elements of a "Band"

Consider any piano piece you like and listen to. The pianist is playing two parts, left hand and right hand. The right hand plays the "lead" part denoted by the "Treble" clef in written Music. The left hand plays the lower, usually more restrained "rhythm" part. The lower notes are denoted in written music on the "Bass" clef and start below "middle C".

Imagine what the piano piece would sound like if the pianist stopped playing with his/her left hand.

Treble Clef at top, Bass Clef at bottom:

[neoism]

thanks for the info Nightwolf...nut...i donno this western sound terminology...so could you explain it in the way i can understand...?

sorry about that...!

[thelevellers]

What he said!

To get a better idea try listening to some of your fav music (linkin park for example, if I remember right) and try listening specifically to the bass line, if it's not very clear for you try fiddling with the EQ on your music player (all PC media players have this function somewhere hidden in their controls) and up the bottom frequencies (the bars to the left usually) and try listening again ,ti will sound a bit rubbish as a song, but the bass line will be stronger, so you can then pick it out more easily when the EQ is normal again.

Also, you could try getting some power tabs from the internet (or ask me if you don't mind what the actual band is - I have a rasonable collection) And you can then turn of the bass or guitar and listen to how the two fit together with various songs, and so help get an understanding of why people love bass guitars

I can recommend listening to some Rage Against the Machine or Audioslave for some groovy bass lines in rock, Rage got me interested in trying (and eventually buying) a bass! Or even some punk will demonstrate how sometimes just a fatter sound really helps the overall song sound better ('true' punk basslines generally just follow the guitar playing the root note of each chord, pretty boring for the bassist, but it works for the genre...)

Our very own Mr. Nightwolf has written at least two articles on playing bass guitar, so go check out the articles on the site too

Rohan

[thelevellers]

Have you got a keyboard/piano handy? Cause middle C sits in the middle of a standard piano, making it the easiest demonstration of John's point - Everything above is treble, everything below is bass.

I think middle C might be the first C on a guitar, but I'm not sure of that, it's certainly not far away at any rate!

[Nightwolf]

thanks for the info Nightwolf...nut...i donno this western sound terminology...so could you explain it in the way i can understand...?

sorry about that...!

How bout Piercing and Rumbling. These are at opposite ends of the frequency bands.

High piercing notes that hurt your ears are treble notes and are higher on the frequency band which has bigger numbers.

Rumbling noise that you feel in your chest.. The BassDrum you can feel, these are bass frequencies which are smaller frequency numbers as I mentioned bee-fore 260 Hz and bee-low.

These are exaggerations just so you get an idea of frequency.

An interesting side note is that Bass goes through while treble goes around things. If your neighbor upstairs is playing loud music the bass is what you will hear coming through the floor but if you step into the hallway you will hear the treble coming down the stairs. Sorry that may just confuse

[Nightwolf]

Shameless Plug for my intro to Bass Playing

[Jules]

Hey neoism,

Don't want to butt in, but I can understand why all this may be confusing.

Being very limited in my musical vocabulary, in the easiest terms I would tell you,

The bass plays the same notes as a guitar, except tuned lower. It provides that "dum-dum-dum-dum" sound in songs, and generally adds to the rhythm in the song. You know when you stand outside a club and you can hear that distant "durn-durn-durn-durn-durn" sound? That's the bass.

Ever heard Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust?"

Well that main line is all bass. I'm sure after listening to that, you'll know what we're on about.

And sorry to Nightwolf and that - but if I wasn't familiar to bass that's how I would describe it to me. lol. I guess it's cause I've only been playing for a year, I can still relate to that feeling of "huh?"

[thelevellers]

Excellent It's been far too long since I had the feeling of 'huh?', so that's probably just what was needed

[neoism]

thanx every one...

rohan, yours trick was good...that bass one...and yeah...i worked...

i heard "califonication" by RHCP...great bass....!

again thanks every one...Nightwolf...rohan, jules...

Love, Prayag

[thelevellers]

Yeah, Chili's have great bass lines too, I knew I was forgetting someone obvious... Glad you found it

For a quite different to usual use of bass (I believe) try listening to some ska as well, as ska music tends to have 'walking' bass lines, which sound great, and then generally very simple off-beat guitar, so it's almost reversing the usual way of doing things...

Glad to be of assistance Gave me the inspiration to play some bass as well, so thanks to you too

[neoism]

i have one other question...

* why bass is always low pitched ?

means...what i could figure out is...it gives a base to the song {if i am not wrong}....i mean...one really need to concentrate to figure out bass line in a song...!

but now i can figure out...it's like finding a needle in a dark well using a candle...but not for all...as previously i mentioned "californication" has very good bass line...!

thanks again...all of you

[thelevellers]

John mentioned the reason for the low pitch - to give the song more bottom end and fatten up the sound, you might get an idea of how the songs would be by doing the opposite of what you just did, and turn OFF the bass completely (move the sliders to the bottom instead of top).

Generally I think how well the bass comes over is down to a) how well it was mixed (whether they engineer turned the bass up enough) and what sound system you listen on...

So, what speakers do you have? Have you got a sub woofer? Cause either a decent set of speakers (with bass and treble capabilities) or a 'proper' set with a sub woofer (which is just a big fat bass only speaker really) will help the bass standout more than if you only have cheap 2.0 (just the treble speakers) - they just don't do bass justice! Something I would really recommend doing is getting hold of some decent quality speakers if you really wanna enjoy, and maybe even record some of your own music... Ideally for recording you want to get monitors, but unless you wanna produce really top quality stuff, they're unnecessary expense for now really.

Wow, I'm starting to sound knowledgeable! Quick someone chime in and point out where I'm wrong, or it might go to my head

[neoism]

great stuff rohan...

thanks...i listen songs in my cell phone...sony erickson...and they've got best sound quality ever...

and as a matter of fact...now every song i listen i try to figuer out...ghooo...ghooo...ghooom of bass...

lol

[thelevellers]

Lies! until you have tried some 'proper' speakers I'll let you off tho I'm sure the quality is good, for a mobile phone but there is no way it could compete with the quality of a decent speaker set...

But I'm glad you're getting your ears 'tuned' for bass, once you get the hang of it, you'll find it's easy to have your own inner-EQ setup At least I do....

[neoism]

Lies! until you have tried some 'proper' speakers I'll let you off tho I'm sure the quality is good, for a mobile phone but there is no way it could compete with the quality of a decent speaker set...

no really...sony ericsson's headphones are f*cking amazing...one of the best...and they have this special feature called bass boost...!

But I'm glad you're getting your ears 'tuned' for bass, once you get the hang of it, you'll find it's easy to have your own inner-EQ setup At least I do....

yeah...i can recognize bass very easily...and yeah...."the offspring" has some good bass line...!

and HIM also...!

[Nightwolf]

"Bass Boost" is artificial Bass, it is not a true representation of the Music!!

[neoism]

its ok...

but i did the way Rohan told me...and funny thing is i can hear the bass even with my own custom EQ...then why do i need to buy an expensive music system...!?

now my ears have become bass toned...i can feel it...!?

[roxhythe]

Good stuff, here. I second the "feel" thing; from a scientific standpoint, that's probably because lower-frequency waves can penetrate solid objects, while higher-frequency ones cannot.

I have been mostly tone-deaf all my life, and the bass line is how I figure out chord progressions and melodies in a song. I don't hear the bass--I can *feel* it, and therefore I can follow it. If I want to know what the guitarist is playing, I have to look at his hands--otherwise, I'd never know.

Joe

[DAB]

Great thread, very informative