From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The bass guitar[1] (also called electric bass,[2][3][4] or simply bass; 
/ˈbeɪs/) is a stringed instrumentplayed primarily with the fingers or thumb (by fingering, slapping, popping, tapping, or thumping), or by using a pick.
The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a longer neck andscale length, and four, five, six, or eight strings. The four-string bass—by far the most common—is usually tuned the same as the double bass,[5] which corresponds to pitches one octave lower than the four lower strings of a guitar (E, A, D, and G).[6] The bass guitar is a transposing instrument, as it is notated in bass clef an octave higher than it sounds (as is the double bass) to avoid excessive ledger lines. Like the electric guitar, the bass guitar is plugged into an amplifier and speaker for live performances.
Since the 1960s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music as the bass instrument in the rhythm section.[7] While the types of basslines performed by the bassist vary widely from one style of music to another, the bassist fulfills a similar role in most types of music: anchoring the harmonic framework and laying down the beat. The bass guitar is used in many styles of music includingrock, metal, pop, punk rock, country, reggae, blues, and jazz. It is used as a soloing instrument in jazz,fusion, Latin, funk, and in some rock and metal styles.
- ^ According to the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, an "Electric bass guitar [bass guitar] [is] a Guitar, usually with four heavy strings tuned E1'-A1'-D2-G2." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell (London, 2001)
- ^ The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians defines the term bassthus: "Bass (iv). A contraction of Double bass or Electric bass guitar." Ibid.
- ^ The proper term is "electric bass", and it is often misnamed "bass guitar", according to Tom Wheeler, The Guitar Book, pp 101–2. Guitars by Evans and Evans, page 342, agrees.
- ^ Although "electric bass" is one of the common names for the instrument, "bass guitar" or "electric bass guitar" are commonly used and some authors claim that they are historically accurate (e.g., "How The Fender Bass Changed The World" in the references section).
- ^ Bass guitar/Double Bass tuning E1=41.20 Hz, A1=55 Hz, D2=73.42 Hz, G2=98 Hz + optional low B0=30.87 Hz
- ^ Standard guitar tuning E2=82.41 Hz, A2=110 Hz, D3=146.8 Hz, G3=196 Hz, B3=246.9 Hz, E4=329.6 Hz
- ^ Roberts, Jim (2001). 'How The Fender Bass Changed the World' p. 56 "The surf/instrumental rock genres of the early 1960s were crucial proving grounds of the still-newfangled electric bass..."