I was curious how important people though bass, as in bass guitar, was in music. I play bass, and I've had a lot of stabs taken at me from friends and roommates telling me that 'bassists don't matter', or 'no one listens to the song for bass'. While I know this isn't true, I was curious as to what everyone else else though. I'd like ya'll to be honest as to weather or not you care/think its important/listen for it/ect.
Bass in music
- Thread starter Grimsinger
- Start date
Dude just listen to some RHCP, listen to Flea's awesome bassing and you will know that bass can be a hell of an instrument. People don't see it as an important instrument but it's not about what you play it's how you play and the energy you produce while playing that will get others into it.
I say those things in jest because they are stupid long running jokes.
Honestly, I think bass is one of the most important things in music, they hold down the beat with the drummer, and they can have some pretty damn cool bits in songs.
Honestly, I think bass is one of the most important things in music, they hold down the beat with the drummer, and they can have some pretty damn cool bits in songs.
Completely depends on the song.
Listen to Jaco Pastorius or Richard Bona. Are you going to tell me the bass doesn't matter in their music?
In recent pop music and rock, the bass is rarely an essential element in the songs. The bassist is often left to just play one or two notes for every chord, but a song without bass will still end up as horribly dull unless you're aiming for a specific treble-heavy sound.
The bass isn't necessary to make a song. But it's necessary to make a good song. It's what adds that little extra feel and depth.
Also:
It's not the number of strings that counts. It's the girth.
I really like the subtle role of the bass. The best song is one where you don't notice the individual components, but any one of them disappearing would ruin it.
And the instrument is just so versatile.
Listen to Jaco Pastorius or Richard Bona. Are you going to tell me the bass doesn't matter in their music?
In recent pop music and rock, the bass is rarely an essential element in the songs. The bassist is often left to just play one or two notes for every chord, but a song without bass will still end up as horribly dull unless you're aiming for a specific treble-heavy sound.
The bass isn't necessary to make a song. But it's necessary to make a good song. It's what adds that little extra feel and depth.
Also:
It's not the number of strings that counts. It's the girth.
I really like the subtle role of the bass. The best song is one where you don't notice the individual components, but any one of them disappearing would ruin it.
And the instrument is just so versatile.
Bass is the best part of songs. Being a tuba player (meaning I have one of the lowest sounds in a concert band), I've come to appreciate bass and the simplistic but enhancing sounds it makes.
The two most important instruments in rock, for me, are lead guitar and bass/bass guitar. Bass lines sound awesome, and some songs have bass as the most important part. I find Pink Floyd's 'One of These Days' and Bob Seger's 'Turn The Page' good examples of cool bass lines driving a song.
Heh, I'm a huge fan on flea, its like mandatory if your into slap bass, and Larry Graham of coarse.6SteW6 said:
Bah, there are jokes about every part of the band. What do you call a guy who hangs around musicians?
The drummer.
And this is coming from a trombonist, not particularly much higher up in terms of tone.
The drummer.
While it's nice to anchor the sound, bass is nowhere near the best part.TheYellowCellPhone said:
And this is coming from a trombonist, not particularly much higher up in terms of tone.
I'm trying to learn to play bass, so I might be a little biased but I do think it is important for many genre's/bands but the key is all about context. Sometimes it seems as though it can get drowned out, other times a bass line can be the most memorable part of a song:
So to me bass is a very integral part of music, even if sometimes you really have to listen out for it.
So to me bass is a very integral part of music, even if sometimes you really have to listen out for it.
Bass is very important depending on the genre and style of the music, it can often be a main part of a song and a lot of people don't realise that (Then again a lot of people don't pay much attention past the vocals and occasionally the lead guitar)
Also:
Also:
I find it insulting how music classes will ignore songs like these which show how a bassline can practically dominate a song, Rush should be on the syllabus over here dammit.Vivi22 said:
