30th August 2022
Should I Take Up The Bass Guitar? - An Introduction to the Bass
History of the Bass Guitar
The bass guitar has its roots in the double-bass (rather than the six-string guitar). In the rock and roll era (the 1950s) bass players needed to be heard, and the acoustic double-bass could not easily cut through the sound of the other amplified instruments in the band.
Indeed, early rock and roll bands such as Bill Haley and the Comets, and Elvis’s backing band did still have double-bass players in the mid-1950s, and the upright bass still features in many ‘Rockabilly’ bands (such as the Stray Cats).
The first commercially available bass guitar was produced by Fender in 1951 – the ‘Precision’ Bass. This is probably still the most popular model of bass guitar used in pop and rock music today!
1951 Fender Precision Bass 2022 Fender Precision Bass
Although the styling has changed a little, this 2022 version is in fact closely based on a 1957 model. So the design and the requirements of bass guitars have barely changed in 70 years.
The other advantage the bass guitar has over the double-bass is its portability. It’s a lot easier to get a bass guitar onto the bus or into a small car to get to your band rehearsal than to travel with a double-bass.
Of course, as with the electric guitar, your bass guitar needs an amplifier. However, there will generally be an amp available at a rehearsal studio. Or you can get yourself a pretty small and portable practise amp, which still makes the bus a viable proposition! Indeed, in recent years there has been a trend towards high-quality and powerful compact bass amps, with companies like Markbass, Ampeg and Ashdown producing excellent gigging ‘combos’. Even a low wattage model (e.g. 30W or below) can be used at a gig by sticking a microphone in front of it, or taking a ‘line-out’ with a cable linking it to the PA system at the venue.
Why Should I Want to Learn the Bass?
The bass guitar tends to appeal to musicians who like rhythm. The bassist works closely with the drummer to establish the underlying beat and ‘groove’ of the song. This is true in rock, pop, jazz, R&B, Hip-Hop and pretty much any genre of contemporary music you can think of.
The deep strong notes of the bass, played in a regular rhythm, really hold a song together. There are plenty of bands without a keyboard player and even some without an electric guitar. But with the exception of some electronic bands (like Depeche Mode or the Pet Shop Boys), who usually ‘sequence’ (i.e. program) the bass on a keyboard, you won’t find many groups that don’t have a bassist. The Doors are a well-known exception, but in fact they did use a bass guitarist for most of their recordings. However, in live performances their keyboardist (Ray Manzarek) played bass notes on his organ. The Dandy Warhols have also employed this approach.
Taking up bass guitar is a pretty good way to get yourself into a band!
There are plenty of young guitar players around looking to strut their stuff in a rock group, but not so many who are keen to be the bassist. I know from personal experience that I always seem to end up on bass when I get involved in a band because I am willing and able to do it, whereas everyone else wants to be the guitar hero!
And the bass is not that difficult to learn. I would say that for a beginner you can get yourself to a good enough standard to join a band more quickly than by learning the guitar. For one thing, you don’t need to learn chords – you are just going to be playing individual notes, and not necessarily that many of them! Also, for a lot of musical styles it is a positive advantage to be able to ‘keep it simple’ on the bass. You need to be accurate and rhythmic, but that’s true of any instrument. But the role of the bassist is usually to ‘root things down’. Most musicians prefer to play with a solid and reliable bassist than with someone flashy, who allows the underlying groove of the song to drift.
How do I get Started?
So how do I play the bass? How similar is it to the guitar? In fact, the bass is pretty similar to the guitar, and guitarists are generally able to pick it up quickly.
A standard bass guitar has four strings and these are tuned to the same notes as the bottom four strings (strings 3, 4, 5 and 6) of a regular guitar, except they are an octave lower. So the strings are:
1st string (nearest the floor!) G
2nd string D
3rd string A
4th string (nearest the ceiling!) E
As with the guitar, as you move up each string fret-by-fret, the notes become the same as the next open string at the 5th fret. So playing the 5th fret of the fourth string gives you an A – the same note as the open 3rd string. And so on….
Other than that it’s a matter of knowing the chromatic scale. Starting from bottom E, that is:
E, F, F#, G, G#, A, A#, B, C, C#, D, D#, E … and so on.
Or for a key with flats:
E, F, Gb, G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb, E
How do I Know Which Notes to Play?
So I’ve joined a band, and they want me to play a song they are learning. They want a strong, simple rhythm which holds the song together. How do I do this, and how do I know which notes to play?
Well the simple answer is, you listen! Generally, you need to know what the chords are, and play notes that fit with those chords. Typically, the notes you play will be the root notes of the chords (i.e. the note the chord is based upon). So for a G chord you play G, for an Am chord you play A and for Dmaj7-5 you play D! Playing root notes is usually a pretty good start, and once you have got those ‘down pat’, you can think about any variations you want to make. Playing the 3rd or 5th notes of the scale are often good options.
I usually find it helpful to write out a chord chart if I haven’t been given one – there’s usually at least one other person in the band who knows what the chords are if you don’t!
Sometimes, you might want to play descending notes based on a major or chromatic scale, that fit with the chords. This often makes a song sound ‘classic’ and memorable. You have created a hook right there!
So for a chord sequence that goes:
Am E G D F C Bm E you could play:
A G# G F# F E D E
But in the end, if it sounds good, then play it!
What Rhythms Should I Play?
This is something you will usually work out with the drummer. If she or he has already settled on a beat then you can usually copy what their bass drum is doing. You don’t have to be slavishly tied to the bass drum – you can miss a note here and there to give the song some space, or you can add a passing note just before the main pulse to give it some extra movement if you think it needs it.
Again, it’s up to you, but I would recommend trying to get some time with the drummer and maybe one other musician to lock-in your rhythm. To re-iterate, the bass guitar usually plays closely with the bass drum to obtain that ‘tight’ groove.
This video (lasting about 13 mins) gives a good overview of some popular bass rhythms:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AJcWam5BBk
(thanks to Luke from Become a Bassist - check out some of his other videos).
What Type or Make of Bass Should I Buy?
As mentioned before, a standard bass guitar has 4 strings, and you should probably start with one of those, rather than attempting to get to grips with a 5 or 6 string bass.
There are three main ‘sizes’ of bass guitar:
‘Long’ Scale (34” scale)
‘Medium’ Scale (32” scale)
‘Short’ Scale (30” scale)
(The ‘scale’ referred to here is the distance between the Nut and the Bridge of the bass guitar).
Unless you are a tall person or have very large hands, I would suggest you might want to start with a ‘short scale’ bass. ‘Short Scale’ basses are especially good for smaller people and children, but a fully grown adult will also be perfectly happy playing one. Incidentally, a lot of guitarists like to play a short-scale bass because it feels more like a guitar. It is also likely to be lighter in weight and more comfortable to hold.
As with electric guitars, there are now some high-quality affordable basses you can buy. The Fender Squier range is good (Precision, Jazz, Bronco and Mustang models are the best known). Ibanez also do some great beginner models, especially their short-scale lines.
Here is a list of some short-scale bass guitars I would recommend for beginners:
The Hofner models I’ve listed are very light in weight because they are hollow-bodied. They have slightly less sustain in their tone (i.e. the note doesn’t ring on for so long), but give more of a ‘thump’ sound, which a lot of people like - possibly because it sounds more like a double-bass. Paul McCartney of The Beatles famously played a Hofner Violin Bass, and still does to this day. However, I actually prefer the look of the Hofner ‘Club’ Bass, which sounds similar, but is possibly even cooler looking – but clearly very ‘retro’ in appearance.
I suggest you spend some time looking for these and other models on the Web – I always think that how a guitar or bass looks and how it makes you feel is as important as any other consideration! If you love the look of your guitar, you are going to want to play it!
The Mustang bass I’ve included above is a bit more expensive, but looks fantastic!
Bass Amplifiers (added 06/10/2022)
Just a quick late addition to this article. I recently did some research on Bass Amplifiers for beginners, and thought I should add it here.
Models that I would suggest (because I have used/heard them or they have a good reputation) are:
SubZero V15B 15 Watt 1x6.5" Practice Bass Amp at Gear4music (£59.99)
Gear4Music 25 Watt 1x8" Electric Bass Amp at Gear4music (£69.99)
Eden EC-8 20 Watt 1x8" Bass Combo (£99.99)
Sub-Zero V35B 35 Watt 1x10" Practice Bass Amp at Gear4music (£99.99)
(this has a 10” speaker and is 35W, so is a bit bigger and louder. Usable for practising with a band)
Fender Rumble 15 V3 15 Watt 1x8" Bass Combo (£109.00)
Ashdown Studio Junior 15 Watt 1x8" Bass Combo (£109.00)
Ampeg RB 108 30 Watt 1x8" Bass Combo (£135.00)
(Ampeg is my favourite bass amp manufacturer, and this one has great reviews. 30W, so pretty loud).
(1x8" refers to the loudspeaker size. Usually, the larger the speaker, the fuller and deeper the sound. 8" is fine, even for gigs. 6.5" may be a little small to get a full tone, but is more portable and takes up less room!).
The Fender and the Ashdown models will be a notch up in quality. If you want to push the boat out, you could get the Ampeg. But the SubZero and the Gear4Music are good value for money, and fine for practising at home.
The higher the Wattage, the louder they can go!