Playing music is a hobby you can never age out of, and it is a great way to decompress and get all the stress of the day out of your system in a beautiful way. Musical instruments provide us with a distinct language to express ourselves. One of the coolest musical instruments that many individuals choose to play is the bass guitar because learning how to play bass guitar is much easier than learning how to play the acoustic and electric guitars. It is used to play low sound, or in other words, ‘bass lines’. Read on if you are interested to learn more about this amazing musical instrument and how it is played.
Bass Guitars Are Easier Than Electric and Acoustic Guitars
An electric or acoustic guitar has 6 strings, while the bass guitar usually has 4 or 5 strings, which makes it easier to play for beginners. The fewer strings of a bass guitar also make it easier to tune, especially that all of them are the same interval apart. Compared to regular guitars, bass guitar focuses on the rhythm, not the melody, and focusing on the melody can be much harder than focusing on the rhythm, unless, of course, you lack the sense of rhythm.
The Role of Bass Guitar
The bass is what drives the energy from the audience as it is the main connection between the rhythm and the melody. Any mistake that is done while playing the bass guitar will be felt by the audience rather than just recognizing that it sounded wrong because the Bassists are the ones who create harmony among the other group members and their instruments. The main role of the bass guitar is to follow the rhythm and hyping up the audience.
Parts of the Bass Guitar
If you are planning to learn how to play bass guitar, you need to know the anatomy of it: the headstock, fretboard, and internal truss rod.
- Headstock: it is the wider part of the neck where you will find the tuning pegs.
- Fretboard: a thin piece of wood that can vary in its quality and smoothness and is usually arched from the sides.
- Truss rod: is what connects the neck to the instrument.
All are part of the guitar neck.
How To Tune a Bass Guitar
Tuning the guitar is crucial as an untuned one won’t only sound off but will also hinder the progress of your listening skills. Practice makes perfect, so the more you practice tuning your guitar, the more you will get better at it. The bass guitar pitch is 1 octave lower than the guitar, and the strings are tuned to the lowest 4 strings in the guitar (E-A-D-G). Get one string in tune to use it as a reference to the rest of them. Tuning the bass guitar requires training your ear to adjust to the right tune.
How to Practice Bass Guitar
Practicing for a minimum of 30 minutes every day is preferable till you get the hang of playing the bass guitar. Also, it is better to search for bass songs for beginners to start with, then proceed to more complicated rhythms. As you do more practice, it is also important that you keep a practice log as this will help you document your progress and work on what you are lacking. Make sure that you stay focused on each note you play till you gain precision. When practicing, you need to stay away from anything or anyone that might distract you, so find yourself a quiet spot before you start your practice.
How to Choose a Bass Guitar
As a beginner, it is better to start with an entry-level bass guitar, and then as you progress and get the hang of it, you can switch to a more advanced bass guitar. The first thing to do is to set a budget, then head to the music store, find the ones that are within your budget range, and try them out till you find the one that feels right for you.
Learning how to play any musical instrument requires dedication, discipline, and of course, passion. Give it all that you have got, and the rewards will exceed your expectations as playing music is a stress reliever, and believe it or not, offers added cognitive benefits as musicians depend on brain connectivity more than their memory. Bass guitars are an excellent choice, especially for beginners because they are a bit easier and faster to learn, and nonetheless one of the coolest musical instruments with a leading role in music groups. This instrument is the adhesive that holds other instruments together, the one that drives out energy and emotions from the audience. If the bass guitar is your passion, then set your budget, head to the nearest music shop, and let the journey begin!
