Origins of the Bass Guitar
From old music to new music, there has always been a musical line written for a bass part. Whether it’s the big bowed orchestral bass, the huge bass pipes of a cathedral organ or the ultra low warm sound of a vintage synth bass, the bass line serves as a root and foundation for most music. Without a bass line to provide a point of reference for the chords and harmony, much of the music we listen to would sound incomplete. As music styles evolved into modern jazz, blues, rock and roll and r&b, there was a need for a new type of bass instrument to provide the necessary strong bass line support. This is when the bass guitar came into play.
Bass guitars have been around since the 1930’s though not quite in the exact same form as the Fender bass guitars that we know today, but you could say that their predecessors, the acoustic Basses, have been around for many years longer. The bass guitar was different from the bass that everyone had been familiar with for many years though. Held and played horizontally like a regular guitar, the electric bass differed from it’s predecessor, the upright bass not only in it’s orientation during playing but also in it’s ease of use and portability. Electric bass players were no longer burdened with a huge lumbering akward instrument to carry and protect. The bass guitar looks similar to an electric guitar in that it’s body is solid, but the bass guitar has a longer neck than an electric guitar. Also while similar to an acoustic guitar in playing position, the Fender electric bass differs in it’s sound production. The bass guitar has pickups underneath it’s strings, the pickups send the sound to the amplifier which the bass is connected to and we hear the notes via the amp’s speakers. Tuned an octave lower than a guitar, the bass guitar initially had only 4 strings and to this day, that is the most common configuration. It is often played by plucking or thumping the strings, unlike other guitars which are strummed. The bass is probably one of the closest interacting instruments to the drums; it’s because of this relationship that the bass guitar is a prominent rhythm section instrument. The combination of bass and drums and their unique interaction can completely influence the feel and vibe of the music.
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Tags: Bass Guitar, Electric Bass, fender, Fender Bass Guitar, Fender Electric Bass, Vintage Bass
