1. Bass Appreciation
Its role and sound
throughout the years
Tony T. Tran
South Bay Learning Night
Nov. 2015
2. Why is Bass Under-Appreciated?
• Often times, hard to hear
• It isn’t what people hum/sing to
• Bass often just follows guitars
• Leads to preconception that bass is not
important, boring, and easy.
4. Rhythm
• Commonly associated with drums
• Maintaining a pulse
• So how is the bass a rhythmic instrument?
• Percussive sound to maintain a beat
5. Harmony
• Combination of notes (tones) played together
• Chord
• How does the bass play harmony?
• We use the lowest frequency note as a reference point.
6. Putting it all together
• Provides the beat (foundation)
• Provides the context for the melody
• All together, it helps provide the feeling
for the song
8. Walking Bass Lines
• Steady beat – simulates walking
• Origin: Baroque (?)
• Commonly found in:
• Swing Jazz, Blues, Boogie
• Notes:
• Bass walks up (down) from one chord to the next
9. Syncopated Beats
• Syncopate - displace the beats or accents in music (or
a rhythm) so that strong beats become weak and vice
versa.
• Predominant in Latin music and African rhythms
• Commonly found in:
• Ragtime, Jazz, Funk, Gospel, Reggae, Samba …
• Notes:
• Rhythmically more complex – accents the upbeat
• Still has strong structure
• Forms the groove by accents and space
10. Slap (& Pop) Bass
• Heavy emphasis on interesting rhythm
• Extremely percussive sound
• Common in:
• Funk and Soul
• Notes:
• Slapping is percussive like a bass drum
• Popping cuts through like a snare
11. Motown
• James Jamerson!
• Played on more #1 hits than The Beatles,
Rolling Stones, and Beach Boys combined
• Melodic style of bass playing
• but still very funky
• One of the most influential electric bass
players ever, but completely
underappreciated.
12. The Hook
• A riff that is used in popular music to catch
the ear of the listener
• Late 70s - early 80s bass lines become more
popular and prominent through these hooks
• Notes:
• Very recognizable bass lines
13. Rock
• It’s here because many of us are familiar
with and were raised on rock music
• Notes 1:
• Bass provides a lot of the progression for the
song – recall guitar/drum example
• Slap bass technique used
• Notes 2:
• Melodic bass line
• Influences of walking lines
• Listen to how the bass is a reference point for
the guitar