Role of Bass in popular music - short essay contest :)

[Gear_Junky]

when i was first getting into bass i remember intuitively feeling that any band needs a bass (that's why i got into it, being a guitar player, and that's what also turned me into a musician and a better guitar player, too).

going through various online amateur lessons i remember various attempts to describe bass - it's a "bond between rythm and melody", etc.

I propose a 1-paragraph "contest" - how would you describe to a beginner musician or a beginner bassist what the role of bass instruments is in music (i don't care if it's violin bass, electric bass or keyboard bass, organ bass or tuba).

Don't be afraid to use technical/poetic/eloquent terms, but please watch your grammar and punctuation

[cowsgomoo]

to outline the fundamental harmony and rhythm of a piece of music

[Ground Pounder]

It's like I tell the women:

"Drums make your head pound, guitars make your ears bleed, vocals make your heart melt...

... but I'll make your thighs rumble."

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Originally Posted by Ground Pounder

It's like I tell the women:

"Drums make your head pound, guitars make your ears bleed, vocals make your heart melt...

... but I'll make your thighs rumble."

You get my vote!

[Gear_Junky]

(in a voice of a 5-year-old) "WHY?"

non-bass rhythm instruments can do that, why do we need bass?

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

to outline the fundamental harmony and rhythm of a piece of music

(i'm not picking on anyone, just want to see who nails it. not that I know the right answer)

[ibanezshredder]

Bass holds down the groove and the rythme section of the band and is also the back bone.

[cowsgomoo]

because it's low and harmony is built from the bottom upwards...

and because it's low it's also ideal for setting a clear rhythmic pulse... try playing a root -5th tuba line on a trumpet and it's clearly not as good at giving you a solid rhythm

[Jimtoonz]

Bass is the point at which the harmonic and rhythmic structure of the song directly meet and is the weld that holds them together.

[skaliwag66]

What's the prize?

[EddieN]

Originally Posted by skaliwag66

What's the prize?

OP gets a passing grade.

[Gear_Junky]

so far this is my favorite answer. most bass-like phrases don't even sound interesting on guitar, let alone a trumpet

the idea of a "pulse" makes sense too, because the low-freq vibrations make themselves known, even if they're subsonic and can't be heard.

I imagine that bass+drums make it a whole lot easier for dancers to hear/feel the music.

(which is why balet needs a lot more DRUMS! just kidding )

terms like "groove" are not "wrong" but highly subjective and hard to define.

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

because it's low and harmony is built from the bottom upwards...

and because it's low it's also ideal for setting a clear rhythmic pulse... try playing a root -5th tuba line on a trumpet and it's clearly not as good at giving you a solid rhythm

P.S. The prize will be announced when there's a winner (which will never really happen, because everybody's right )

[Limelight]

I see the bass as an instrument with huge versatility, It can be a heavy grove machine, viciously holding down the bottom and holding the rythym together. Yet also, it can be a lead part of the band as well, using elements of melody and solos to get it's "point across". It can fullfill anyone's desire for an instrument.

[DistantTremor]

In the composition, the bass is primarily a combination of rhythm and melody, to add both as substance.

The instrument itself has the diversity to be more melodic or more rhythmic.

By the way:

Originally Posted by Ground Pounder

"Drums make your head pound, guitars make your ears bleed, vocals make your heart melt...

... but I'll make your thighs rumble."

Pure genius.

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by Ground Pounder

It's like I tell the women:

"Drums make your head pound, guitars make your ears bleed, vocals make your heart melt...

... but I'll make your thighs rumble."

That's beautiful.

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

harmony is built from the bottom upwards...

Well, technically that's only true for music where the harmony is built from the bottom upwards...but since the OP did specify "popular music" it's a valid assumption.

Personally, I think the role of Bass in popular music is to encourage chicks to wanna bang the bass player.

[RONQUITO]

While guitar, keyboards and drums get people´s attention more easily, there is one discreet instrument that holds harmony and rythm together, it´s the one that goes along with the kick drum while at the same time sings beautiful melodies in a time keeping fashion, when we hear a guitar drawing the lines of what will be the principal idea of a song, then the drums enter to fill space with rythm and strenght, the experience it´s not complete until the bass gets in. This of all instruments is the one that unites the rest.

(A very subjective and personal view of what bass playing should be)

[Seussbass]

Originally Posted by Ground Pounder

It's like I tell the women:

"Drums make your head pound, guitars make your ears bleed, vocals make your heart melt...

... but I'll make your thighs rumble."

/Thread anyone?

[just_me]

I guess the dance is what makes DANCE !!!!
.... I mean, I guess....

[Gear_Junky]

ok, remember that i'm not picking on anyone, so nothing personal, but...

..this is "correct" but in popular music as we know it, is it really "complete" without drums/percussion? sure, it's possible to not have guitars in some genres of pop (and rock is included in popular music for this conversation's purposes) but without drums (even with a bass) it's all kind of "folkie"

(this isn't even "my subjective opinion", i don't necessarily really "feel" this way, but somebody's gotta play "devil's advocate" and continue the conversation)

Originally Posted by RONQUITO

...the experience it´s not complete until the bass gets in. This of all instruments is the one that unites the rest.

(A very subjective and personal view of what bass playing should be)

[RONQUITO]

Originally Posted by Gear_Junky

ok, remember that i'm not picking on anyone, so nothing personal, but...

..this is "correct" but in popular music as we know it, is it really "complete" without drums/percussion? sure, it's possible to not have guitars in some genres of pop (and rock is included in popular music for this conversation's purposes) but without drums (even with a bass) it's all kind of "folkie"

(this isn't even "my subjective opinion", i don't necessarily really "feel" this way, but somebody's gotta play "devil's advocate" and continue the conversation)

This is what happens when one´s feelings get poured out at the wrong place...., it surely will not happen again. I stated out very clearly that it was MY view. Thank You.