It shakes the earth with its deep and growling vibration; rumbles like the thunder of an approaching storm and drives the music. Yes, we are talking about bass. If you are new to music and guitar and ever been to a concert, then you probably might have wondered what the person, carrying a rather strange looking guitar, is doing on stage. He/She seems to be holding a guitar and pretending to pluck some strings thicker than those used as a curtain hanger at your home. You won’t believe me if I say he/she is the heart of the band, would you?
The guitarist we are talking about is said to be giving what we call “bass” in music and the strange looking guitar is called a bass guitar, while the guitarist himself/herself is called a bassist. The bass is the glue of rhythm and harmony. It is the heartbeat of the song. If in the right hands, the bass is a powerful tool in every kind of music. It gives a song its feel and attitude. Everyone in the band follows the bassist’s lead.
But along with the increased roles comes increased responsibility and challenges. A bass is one of the difficult instruments to play. The thick strings and wide fret boards of a bass guitar takes guitar playing to a whole new level. In addition to it you need to be super accurate as well. If a guitarist makes a mistake hardly anyone will notice. But, if the bassist makes a mistake everyone in the band and the audience will know that something went wrong.
Bass guitar is different from their highly stringed cousins(normal guitar) in many ways. Bass guitar traditionally have four strings while a normal standard guitar has six strings. The bass guitar has a longer neck and a longer string with pitch than than the normal guitar. Normally bass guitars are electric but acoustic bass guitars are also available in the market.
So, in a nutshell bass is an important tool in every music. A song without bass is like a human without flesh.
