Why Learning Under Electric? The Instrument That holds The Band
The low binds the rhythm and harmony, and nearly every group needs one. We tell you what trains and what glows and who goes well with them.
Because bass is the instrument that converts a group of musicians into a band. Unite the rhythm of the drummer with the harmony of guitars and keyboards, defines how each chord feels and makes people move. Learning it trains your pulse, listening and harmony in a very useful way and allows you to play with others quite soon.
Also, more guitarist than bassist are often put together in schools, universities and neighborhoods, so someone who plays well with low barely ever gets to play with them. Here we tell you what she does, what she trains, what genres she's leading and what challenges to know.
To sum up
- The bass is the bridge between rhythm and harmony: it binds to the drum bulb and defines the base of each chord.
- He trains a firm pulse, listening to the whole band and applied harmony, because every line comes out of the chords.
- He's leading in salsa, rock, funk, reggae, vallenato, cumbia and jazz, among many other genres.
- There's usually less bassist than guitarist, so a reliable bassist finds a group with ease.
- His challenges: to play can only sound incomplete, needs amplification and the long mast requires stretching and patience.
What's the bass with a band?
If you take his bass from a song, most people can't say what's missing but feel that everything's been floating. That sums up his paper: his bass isn't always listening conscious but sitting in his body.
Tackle up the rhythm.
The bassist and the drummer run as a single machine. The bass usually coincides with the bulb, complete its spaces and put note to what the drummer sets. When that couple's well synchronized, the groove appears: the feeling that music pushes and wants to move.
Define harmony
The most serious note that sounds determines how we perceive a chord. A bigger do with do at the low sounds stable and the same with me at the low sounds in motion as if I wanted to go somewhere else. The bassist makes those decisions in real time and so has more control about the color of a song than it looks.
What training to play low
- A solid pulse. You learn to play just in time and also to place a little ahead or back of the pulse as a matter of style; that difference doesn't look at the score but it feels.
- Listen up and get up. While you play, you listen to the drummer and his voice and others. A good bassist spends more time listening to his fingers than thinking about his fingers.
- Harmony with his fingers. To put a line together you have to know what grades each chord has: fundamental, fifth, third and passing notes.
- Economics. The low teaches that less is more: a well put and well sustained note is more than ten quickly.
- Sound monitoring. Silage the strings that should not sound, decide how long each note lasts and dose the attack is half of the job.
To the pulse, the [methonomic]](/herramientas/metronomo) That's your best practice partner. A exercise that many teachers demand: put them to sound only at times 2 and 4, as a battery box, and feel the groove around that click.
Genders where the bass's leading
One of the benefits of the low is that the same basic technique serves you for quite different styles. What changes is how you think about the line:
| Gender | What's the bass up to? | What does she teach you? |
|---|---|---|
| Salsa | The Seville: anticipates chord at the drawback of 2 and 4 and barely ever sets time 1. | To feel the key, to have a clear look and to listen to the percussion. |
| Rock | Stretch tights on the core, sometimes with a pow, tied to the bulb. | Resistance, precision and a compact sound. |
| Funk | Sycopate lines, ghost notes and, if you're interested, snap. | A branch with half-lives and right-hand control. |
| Vallenato | A very active line that intersects with an accordion and a box. | Mobility through the mast and listen to the melody. |
| Cumbia and Tropical Music | The fundamental and fifth patterns intertwined with the percussion. | Constancy, pulse and taste in repetitive patterns. |
| Reggae | Serious and melodic lines with a lot of space between notes. | Patience, silent handling and a bad sound. |
| Jazz | Walking bases: a long note that walks through chords. | Harmony, conduct and improvisation. |
The pop and urban music also have low, although in many productions they are made with synthesizer and live, a bassist with good sound and good pulse cover that paper without problem.
Where you can play bass in Colombia
- Rock, pop or fusion bands from school, university or neighborhood.
- Orquestas of salsa and tropical music, including those that encourage weddings and parties.
- Filling joints, with a low and a modern format with an accordion, a box and a guacharaca.
- Church praise groups, where many bassist play every week.
- Jazz combs and groups that mix bamboo, cumbia or currulao with other languages.
- Reg projects, whether their own or their own: how to record a good bass is useful to any producer.
In all these spaces, a bassist who arrives in time, we know his themes and plays with good pulse rarely remains without a group.
Who's good with bass?
- To those who enjoy more feeling music with their body than being the centre of attention.
- Whoever likes to dance: if your feet move with salsa or cumbia, you have half way to go.
- To guitarist who wants a new role in the band, if you doubt between them, read guitar or bass: what to learn.
- To drummers and percussionists who wish to add melody and harmony without letting go.
- To those who wish to play as a group soon: with simple lines and good pulse can be put up.
And if what's appealing to you is the acoustic sound of jazz or orchestra, look at them as well [why do we learn from them]](/blog/por-que-aprender-contrabajo): shares tuning with an electrical bass but it's another technical world.
Honest challenges of the electrical bass
- It can only sound incomplete. A low line without the rest of the band doesn't always appear. That's why it's been performed with clues, with a methonomer or with an album and it's best to play with others as soon as possible.
- You need equipment. In addition to low, a practice amplifier or an interface with hearing aids are required and without them, the instrument can barely be heard.
- The serious are travelling. In an apartment, low frequencies pass through walls and plates with ease. The hearing aids are your allies to practice at night.
- Hands and stretching. The mast is long and the cords thick. At first it costs to open his hand and tiredness appears and a proper technique and pauses avoid tensions.
- A lot of responsibility. If the bass's wrong with chord or accelerating, the whole group's feeling it. That's good pressure, but at last pressure.
Frequently asked questions
Can you play low without knowing how to read music?
Yes, many bassist start with an ear, with a tablature or with an encryption. Still, Learning how to read with a fa key will open up doors to you in orchestras, salsa groups and recording sessions, where they often give you the written part.
How's an electrical bass pounding?
The four-string bass sharps my, the, re, sun, from the most serious to the most acute: the same notes from the four serious guitar strings, an octave lower. low tuning online before every practice.
Is it better to play low with a stick or with his fingers?
The two techniques are valid. Fingers have a more round sound and are most common with salsa, funk or jazz and with púa the attack is more defined and widely used in rock. The usual thing is first to build a good base with fingers and add the púa to the styles that interest you.