Bass Guitar

Bass Guitar History

History & Use of the bass guitar - Sandra Stammberger

The bass guitar has been derived from the double bass, which was used in the late 1950's. Having 4 strings, these instruments add the lower tones to a musical performance. Experimentation with the bass had started as early as the 1920's. It wasn’t until the 50's however, that a proper bass instrument was formed.

In the mid 20th century jazz became popular. As double bass's were used those days, they were often not heard due to the lack of amplification. The drums, banjos and other instruments in the band drowned out the sound of the bass. Until the 1950 when the first electric bass came into existence with modern amplification techniques.

The bass guitar is played like all guitars with the player holding it close to his body in a horizontal position. The strings are plucked with hand or with the plectrum. In the 1970's, the slapping technique became popular.

Today, the bass guitar ranges from 4 strings up to 11 strings. The 5, 6 and 7 strings providing the mid range while the 11 string starts from a lower than human hearing going up to a very high active. Electric bass guitar players use various configurations. These changes are made by using preamplifiers and speaker sets. Signal processors are also varied to provide new soundscapes.

In night clubs, combo amplifiers are used. These amplifiers are fixed with single loud speakers to make them portable and effective.

The body of the instrument can be of wood or graphite. A wide range of finishing is applied to make it look good. IT can be colored or simply clear white. The work done on the body is fine engineering and delicate balances have to be maintained.

A hot debate rages on what to call this instrument. For non musicians, the term bass guitar is common, while hard core players like to call it electric bass or simple electric bass. Slowly but surely however, this instrument has gathered a large following which likes to use its own jargon.

The electric bass is a part of modern country music, post 1970 jazz and funk. Used mainly to provide backing, it adds a depth to the music. This instrument has added a whole new color to our musical pleasure. In sole music particularly, the bass guitar is effective.

Are sound effects used? Well, yes and no. As the bass guitar sets the tone for the rest of the band, sound effects are not often used, unlike electric guitars. Modern bands however have started experimenting with distortion units to add a new flavor to the bass and low key that they provide behind the music.

As we go into a new century, electric bass's become more and more popular. All bands use it today to add a subtle background. Many groups like U2 even use it to give a haunted feeling increasing emotional attachment with the music. Newer techniques have made this instrument a crucial part of any musical group today.

About the Author: Sandra Stammberger is the editor of The Bass Guitar. Get detailed information on playing guitar along with comprehensive resources on the best guitar online shops and guitar supply.

Read Guitar Music Chord

Ready to read guitar music?

Reading music is an essential skill to develop if you plan to start playing guitar. Guitarists, and those who write songs for guitar, have a few ways to pass those songs along...

• Record it and hope that the listener can figure out how to play it...
• Meet you in person, play a song, and teach it to you...
• or... Write the song down in a format that you can understand.

It's easier to read guitar music than it was to learn how to read this page. Just learn the basics, then build on those.

Microsoft once estimated that 90% of those who use Word, never use 75% of its features. The same is probably true with music notation. If you learn about 25% of it, you should be able to read 90% of all guitar music.

You have a choice of three notations to learn.

• Chord Charts, or Fake Sheets
• Tablature, aka Tab
• Music Notation, and...
• Once you can read guitar music with competence, there is a fourth notation used by many musicians as a short-hand: Nashville Notation.

The Basics

If music notation is like software... you can concentrate on learning about 25% of it, then build as you need to.

But which 25%? And which notation system has the right 25%?

Most beginners want to play familiar songs. They learn chords first... and are not capable of difficult solos. So to read guitar music, start with the notation that fits... Chord charts!

If you already know a few chords, and are ready for a simple solo... one of those famous riffs we hear on the radio every day. Then it's time to learn to read guitar music in TAB form.

As you make progress, or if you are interested in classical, flamenco, or other finger-picking styles of playing... then music notation is for you.

Finally, as time goes by and you learn to play with others, it's time to move on to the Nashville Notation System... a flexible shorthand for playing most popular music.

Chord Charts, or Fake Sheets

Chord Charts, sometimes called Fake Sheets, make it easy to read guitar music.

A well-written Chord Chart shows the lyrics to a song with chord names immediately above the words where each chord is to be played, and chord forms.

Sometimes one or more chord must be played as part of an Intro, or when there are no words. For those, the chords are placed above all lyric lines, or between them, in a position relative to where they should be played.

Chord forms, especially for unusual or optional chords, are very helpful. Say you want to learn a song with five chords... but you only know three of them. If the author includes all five chord forms you can both play the song and learn two new chord forms at the same time!

Chord Charts assume that you know the song. There is no information, for example, on rhythm patterns or the melody.

Here's a short sample:

Silent Night by Joseph Mohr & Franz Gruber

Tablature, or TAB

If you are more interested in solo's, or you have not memorized chord forms yet, you might want to read guitar music in TAB form.

Once again, TAB assumes you know the song. There is no standard way to indicate the timing of notes (how long to hold one versus another).

The better TAB notation authors include lyrics, so you get a sense of when to play the notes in relation to the words. Even these, however, have no way to show you how to play a passage with no words (such as an introduction, or a solo in the middle of the song).

I have seen some authors include notes on how to play a passage, but so far such notes are not standardized.

To read TAB, keep in mind that string-1, the high-E, is shown at the TOP. Numbers shown on each line indicate the fret position of the note on that string. So, a 3 on the top line means to play the 3rd fret of high-E string (which happens to be a 'G' note).

Vertical bars mark the end of a traditional measure, or the end of a phrase. If lyrics are given, the notes are plucked in rhythm with the lyrics.

Here is a short sample:

TAB for Silent Night by Joseph Mohr & Franz Gruber

Take a look at the Guitar TAB Guide to learn more about TAB, discover a few sites that list guitar TAB, understand why many sites have shut down, discover software that can help you write TAB, and a get a TAB reference guide!

Music Notation

Music notation is the set of lines, numbers, letters and symbols that most of us were exposed to late in elementary school (sometimes called grade-school or primary-school) or middle school (sometimes junior high school). If you learn music notation, not only will you be ready to read guitar music, but music for any instrument you decide to learn in the future!

The explanation of music notation would take more space than this page allows. If you need or want to learn more, there are some very good books on music theory and music notation, including "A Modern Method For Guitar: 1-2-3 Complete" by William Leavitt, and "Practical Theory Complete, A Self-Instruction Music Theory Course" by Sandy Feldstein.

Nashville Notation

Down the road... after you learn the other three ways to read guitar music... after you consider yourself a good musician... you may be in a position to work with other musicians in a studio setting. If so, you may be expected to know the Nashville Notation System.

It is another shorthand method that musicians use to document music for fellow musicians. The key advantage is that you can work in any key with the same sheet of shorthand. Why? Because unlike all other methods, the Nashville Notation describes a song using a number system that represents the chords to play in relation to each other.

So a song that includes the chords I, IV and B (as most songs do) could be played in C (using the chords C, F, G) or D (using the chords D, G, A) or any other key that is required. Why would they do this? Usually to accommodate the vocal range of a singer.

Want to learn more? Check out "The Nashville Number System" by Chas Williams.

How to Read Guitar Tab

Tab, or Tablature, is a means of representing musical ideas graphically. The horizontal lines represent the guitar strings. The bottom horizontal line corresponds to the low E string on a guitar. The topmost horizontal line corresponds to the high E string on a guitar. The numbers on the tab lines represent frets. For example, the number 5 on the topmost tab line would indicate the 5th fret of the first (E) string (an A note). The numbers beneath the tab lines indicate suggested fret hand fingerings. For further clarification, refer to the diagram below. It is an example of "tab."

The Fret Hand

The Pick Hand

"Tabbed" songs that are to be "fingerpicked" are apt to include additional notation in the form of the letters p, i, m, a, and c. These letters are applicable to your picking hand. The presence of a 'p' beneath the tab indicates that you are to pluck the string with the thumb, 'i' indicates the index finger, 'm', the middle finger, the letter 'a' tells you strike the string with your ring finger and a 'c' tells you to use your little finger. The example below demonstrates this through its use of a "tabbed" D chord. The notes are to be picked individually rather than "strummed."

GUITAR CHORD

The example shown below dissects a scale diagram (sometimes called a "scale pattern") of the type used in this, and other, guitar reference documents. In the example below, an 'A' blues scale is demonstrated. This type of diagram is normally read left to right, and then, right to left. In other words, the diagram suggests that you practice the scale both ascending (low to high) and descending (high to low). Key to remember: the low E string is on the far left and the high E string is on the far right. Therefore, the strings are, from left to right -- E, A, D, G, B, E.

The tab diagram below suggests a way to play the scale diagram shown above. Scale diagrams are normally used as a reference. For many guitar players, scale diagrams are an easy way to memorize scales because they present the scales as patterns.