The origin of bass
Bass
Traditional jazz generally uses the original bass (double bass) to reflect its original flavor. In modern jazz (especially fusion jazz), the synthesized bass timbre of electric bass or electronic synthesizer is often used to increase its modernity. "Taking the bass" is the most distinctive way of jazz playing, that is, on the basis of stable rhythm, it is played through chord decomposition.
1. Brief introduction
Bass is decomposed upward, downward and alternately up and down. Example: upward decomposition 5 7 2 4 │ 5 6 b7 7 │ downward decomposition 1 b7 5 3 │ 1 b7 5 3 │ upward alternate decomposition135b7 │1531│ Because this way resembles the pace of marching, it is called "marching". Due to the characteristics and difficulty of music (that is, music theory, rather than performance technology), four-string electric bass is commonly used in rock, five strings are popular, and six strings are used in jazz. But this is by no means inherent, just a general rule. Typical representatives: Mr.Big, Bill Nast, Chicorrea, John.
The electric bass is the highest position and the most important in band performance. It is the essence of the whole (followed by drums, guitars and keyboards). So a band without a good bass player is not a qualified band. This conclusion-not from my personal opinion; It is different from the obvious guitar and keyboard sounds in the ears of a musician who has just set foot in an electro-acoustic band.
In terms of playing methods, electric bass has been around various modern music styles produced in the 20th century. The most common is fingering, and almost all young people who play electro-acoustic bands can play it a few times. This playing method is suitable for almost all pop music, and it is also the most important basic playing method for jazz and Latin music. The simplest, most difficult and most flexible way to play. There is also a kind of play borrowed from PickedBass, which comes from electric guitar. Its voice is brighter than the hand, and it is mostly used in rock and punk music. It should be noted that this plucking method is not suitable for playing electric bass. There is also a way of playing that best represents the characteristics of electric bass, that is, the so-called SlapBass, which is also a way of playing with fingers. Fingers are not used for ordinary playing, but for striking and hooking strings with big fingers and other fingers. Its sound is the brightest, and it is usually used for funk and fusion music.
2. Evolution process
Electric bass appears around 1920s. In the past hundred years, its playing method and musical instrument structure have made great progress.
It was originally made according to the tuning of string bass and the structural principle of guitar. In other words, it is a bass guitar, and the strings are set according to the double bass. Later, due to the needs of performers in jazz performances, this role was removed. But in contemporary times, this kind of unpretentious bass is often used in Soul, HipHop, R& etc. B and other music.
The accessories of early models are black guard, detachable bridge cover, single-coil pickup, and the same volume and tone control settings as TELE.
The whole piano has been finished, and the next step is to name it. LEO named the new electric bass Precision, which means precision, because the characters on the neck can let the bass player control the pitch well. Good play.
Precision bass was exhibited in the musical instrument exhibition of 1952, which immediately attracted the attention of many musicians. FENDER Precision BASS immediately became the new favorite of bassists because of its compact shape and convenient operation. Finder later renamed this bass as 5 1' precision bass-bass. Commemorate its historical value. And become a member of the American Fanta classic series.
3. Introduction to gameplay
In terms of playing methods, electric bass has been around various modern music styles produced in the 20th century. The most common is fingering, and almost all young people who play electro-acoustic bands can play it a few times. This playing method is suitable for almost all pop music, and it is also the most important basic playing method for jazz and Latin music. The simplest, most difficult and most flexible way to play. There is also a kind of play borrowed from PickedBass, which comes from electric guitar. Its voice is brighter than the hand, and it is mostly used in rock and punk music. It should be noted that this plucking method is not suitable for playing electric bass. There is also a way of playing that best represents the characteristics of electric bass, that is, the so-called SlapBass, which is also a way of playing with fingers. Fingers are not used for ordinary playing, but for striking and hooking strings with big fingers and other fingers. Its sound is the brightest, and it is usually used for funk and fusion music.
These are the three most commonly used accompaniment methods. You can also use some techniques such as point string and overtone in solo, or you can combine fingering and beat.
There are four strings, five strings and six strings in the common electric bass. Usually use or learn the four strings first. The four notes it tunes are: one string -G, two strings -D, three strings -A, four strings -e, one string is the highest and four strings are the lowest.
4. Four-string bass function
The characteristics of these four kinds of strings are:
The first line is brighter than others, and the sound head is better. In ordinary performance, the timbre in the middle and high position is more obvious, which is often used for solo and tonic. Overtones are also often played on one string. Hook string and point string are also commonly used as one string, and occasionally they are also used as percussion strings.
The second string plays the role of connecting the first string with the third string and connecting the upper and lower strings. Full timbre, but not suitable for root sound. Pop music filling and jazz swimming sound mode are often used.
The timbre of Sanxian is the least distinctive, but it is still the most commonly used. Usually do an accompaniment, including the skills of playing strings. Hook strings are not often used in three strings. When you accompany, you can go up and down three notes with C as the center, and sometimes even to F, but no matter how high the handle is, it is not commonly used, because when the middle and high handle of Sanxian is used as the accompaniment root, the sound head is not good and the timbre is turbid. You can play an empty string with a key when you are low. If the quality of the piano and chords is not very good, you can play a four-string and five-key piano. Because the three-string empty string A sometimes seems a little scattered. 、
The timbre of the four strings is the lowest, and the high position is ugly, so it is generally not used. Unless necessary, solo. Ordinary playing and striking strings are the best. You can go to a or even Bb when you are with me. This kind of string is most commonly used when playing rock and pop music.
Five-string electric bass is based on four strings, adding a lower B string. Playing D will have a good effect, and C# can also be played sometimes. C and b are not commonly used, and the pitch is blurred. The high handle position of the five strings is also not commonly used. There are also some pianos that add higher strings to the top strings. But it is not common.
The six-string electric bass is based on the lower five-string electric bass and the higher C-string. This kind of piano is often used for solo.
5. The development of bass.
Before the birth of P-BASS, bass players in the band could only use huge double bass. This cello-like bass is very inconvenient and clumsy to carry. Moreover, the volume of the double bass is very low, and many bass players have to be played, which is incredible now. LEO FENDER found this problem and considered what instrument to use instead of the huge bass.
In 1930s, electric bass appeared, which had no resonance box and relied on simple pickups to get sound. After this bass appeared, the response was not enthusiastic, and at the same time. In the 1940s, many guitarists were forced to lose their jobs because of the need of music. Because of the prevalence of dance music, the size of the band was forced to shrink, making the guitar, which was originally an accompaniment instrument, useless. These unemployed bass players found Leo Finder because they thought the double bass was too difficult to learn. They need a musical instrument that is easy to learn.
LEO FENDER came across a Mexican wandering band in Orange County, USA. He suddenly found that one of the band's musicians was playing a guitar-like instrument (which can be seen in the movie once upon a time in mexico), which greatly encouraged Leo. It turns out that the bass can play like a guitar. LEO got another inspiration from a musical instrument called MANDOBASS (MANDOBASS is a mandolin-like instrument that plays in the same way as the double bass), which has the same characteristics as the guitar. According to these circumstances, Leo Finder began to develop a new electric bass.
At this time, FENDER has matured, and the design of TELECASTER (or BORADCASTER) has been accepted by many people. Leo decided to use TELECASTER as the prototype design. At the same time, Leo also recruited some bass players to help him develop bass. The prototype was successfully developed in a short time. As this is the first attempt, it is inevitable that there will be some patchwork feelings. Because it is difficult to find a reel suitable for bass string strength, Leo had to install a reel for bass. In addition, the strings are specially made by them. The piano head is still a small piano head dedicated to TELECASTER. At this time, Leo was puzzled again. It is difficult for him to grasp the length of the neck because he needs to find a length that can be comfortably grasped by the bass player. And can maintain a good balance, as long as possible. Leo borrowed a physics textbook from his secretary. His secretary's name is Elizabeth nagel Hai Zi Wright. She is a student at UCLA. By chance, LEO found the data of 34 inches, so he tried it and the result was very satisfactory, so the effective length of the bass neck was 34 inches. Made of maple. & lt Because the bass body is relatively large, LEO made some improvements on the original TELECASTER, and the improved bass body is double-cut. Double-cut piano body is more conducive to the overall balance. This design was more fully applied in STRATOCASTER three years later.