Bass Guitars Rock!
Bass guitar is very similar to a typical electric guitar, except the standard version has only four strings (instead of six like the guitar) and it also has a wider body and a slightly longer neck. If you are planning on learning to play the bass, then firstly you should educate yourself about the instrument’s ‘role’ in a band, and secondly you might want to understand the varying techniques used which change depending upon the type of music genre that the particular song belongs to.
There are a variety of different and interesting techniques which can be used to play the bass guitar. For example, slapping is a technique where you use your thumb to strike the E string (normally) before quickly pulling it away to make a slapping sound. The E string is the largest string, the one that plays the lowest sound. Funk music is one of the genres that uses this technique extensively.
Another technique is known as ‘popping’ and this involves putting one of the fingers underneath the string and pulling it outwards, before releasing it so that it ‘pops’ back. These two techniques (slapping and popping) are often used in quick combination to create some amazing sounding riffs.
The electric bass guitar is used very closely in combination with the drums to create the ‘backbone’ of a band – they provide the rhythm, or the melodic ‘bottom’ of a melody and the harmonic foundation for other members of the band who are playing chords. Therefore it is important for the bass player to have good timing. There are a disproportionate number of men who play the bass because due to the thickness of the strings, it needs a certain amount of strength and finger toughness to play for long periods of time without causing injury (particularly if the music genre involves an aggressive, rapid style.)
Another reason for this, is that many larger men have wider fingers, bigger hands, and longer arms which makes it much more comfortable than easy for them to play the bass, whereas it can be quite difficult for them to cope with the intricacies of the electric guitar. For example, a rhythm guitarist will mainly play chords which are more suitable to smaller fingers and a dextrous hand. Therefore for someone with quite large fingers who is possibly a little more clumsy than someone without, the bass guitar might be a much better choice.
Bass guitars are most usually played by using the middle finger plus the index finger to alternatively pluck the strings. The thumb is usually used as a support and is most commonly rested just on top of the pick-up. You can also play the bass guitar with a pick (otherwise known as a plectrum) and there are bass pics manufactured specifically for the bass guitar-these are thicker and more sturdy than the typical electric guitar pick.
Before purchasing a bass guitar on the internet, it’s a good idea to make sure that the person selling it will be using suitable packaging to make sure that the guitar is not damaged in the post. If you’re looking to buy a second hand one, it is also wise to have a good look at pictures of the item to see if it has any damage, scratches or any other kind of signs of mistreatment or evidence that the guitar has previously been dropped, because in the worst case scenario, this can permanently affect the quality of the sound produced by the instrument.
Of course, as with any purchase on the internet, is a good idea to have a good look at the credentials of the summer (for example if the seller is on eBay) or if it is on a website, it is wise to thoroughly check out the legitimacy of the website, how long it has been selling for online, and any customer reviews who have previously bought from that website. Be sure to check out the refund policy as well as any other terms and conditions.
