The bass guitar is a key instrument in a band. It is responsible for keeping the other players in the band on tempo to adding new levels and depth to the music. Rhythm, harmony, and melody are the three most important parts of music and the bass player creates the foundation as well as provides support to these elements. The bass brings all the music together, and both holds and guides the performance, demonstrating the power of this vital instrument.
Shine Music School offers Bass guitar lessons in Barcelona with qualified music teachers. Bass classes can be held in our studio, one-on-one in a private class or online from the comfort of your home. Classes are fun and our teachers have years of experience sharing their love of music. If you have been thinking of picking up a new hobby or expanding your musical repertoire, then a bass lesson could be for you. Our bass lessons are suitable for both adults and kids, and each lesson is adapted to the student. Our bass classes from Barcelona are affordable and our teachers are able to teach in Spanish, English or Catalan. Check out our price guides, or read on to discover more about the Bass instrument.
What is Bass Guitar?
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass, is a member of the guitar family. It is the lowest pitched instrument of all the guitars and typically has four to six strings. Since the mid-1950s, the bass guitar has largely replaced the double bass in popular music. In the 1930s, musician and inventor Paul Tutmarc created the first electric bass guitar as we recognise it today. The bass is a fretted instrument, played horizontally as opposed to upright and standing like the double bass. During the 1950s, Leo Fender and George Fullerton worked on manufacturing this type of electric bass on a large scale. The Fender Bass revolutionised the bass for gigging musicians. In comparison its large and heavy upright cousin, which had been the main bass instrument during the early 20th century, the electric bass guitar could now be easily transported to shows. The addition of frets enabled bassists to play in tune more easily than on fretless acoustic or electric upright basses, and allowed guitarists to transition to the instrument relatively easily. Electric bass guitars are played when plugged into an amplifier.
Why play the Bass?
It makes you a great musician
Like a heartbeat, bass plays the rhythm that we all respond to. This is more often than not the foundation to the harmony of the music. When multiple notes are played the bass rhythm ties them all together in a pleasing way, supporting the harmony. The bass can guide a song giving it both soul or funk and a consistent beat, this is the heartbeat of the band. Essentially the bass is what makes your audience tap their foot, or dance to the music. Learning the bass gives you a perfect in grounding in music as you study how to “feel” the music by playing the beat. It can also help in your composing and arranging, as studying bass gives you good knowledge of how the music works together in a combo.
It’s great for Shy musicians
Bass players are an essential part of the band, and a good bassist is a sought after element in any musical group. Without the added pressure of being the “frontman” they still make up the backbone of the music alongside the drummer, and popular music today would not be able to do without them.
Great Bassists know that their beat punches a powerful beat
But don’t only listen to us! Science can even back up how vital the bass is to any piece of music!
The bass affects listeners and how it helps them perceive the music other instruments play. Studies have indicated that more people respond to the rhythm when it is a lower-pitched instrument that plays it. This is because deeper bass notes have a unique effect on peoples’ minds and bodies. The actual beat of the bass can resonate through our bodies and we can not only hear it, but feel it as well. In fact the bass is what deaf people respond to when music is played to them, as they can feel the rhythm and beat of the music. It has also been shown that your heartbeat can even sync to the deeper bass beat of the music you are listening to.
Its clear that bass is a unique and important instrument and can be a great musical instrument to learn to play.
