How many octaves...?

[DaMaGe, Inc.]

How many octaves lower is a bass than guitar? One, right?

I'm going to do a 'speech' for English class tomorrow, so I thought I'd ask here just to make sure.

[DaftCat]

Sounds correct to me.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

On a normal four-string, the low E is an octave lower than the low E on a guitar. Although some subcontra basses are going down to a low C# at this point (a full octave and three half-steps below a bass' low E).

[Mike Money]

only one octave?

I thought the low E on a 4-string bass was atleast 2 below a low e on a guitar?

[Disco_Gee]

Originally Posted by Mike Money

only one octave?

I thought the low E on a 4-string bass was atleast 2 below a low e on a guitar?

Yeah I thought it would be about 2 octaves as well.

[reiver1]

I seem to remember that it's 2 octaves ; but it's written 1 octave lower to fit on the staff.
Maybe someone with better theory than I have will chime in.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by Mike Money

only one octave?

I thought the low E on a 4-string bass was atleast 2 below a low e on a guitar?

Play the E on the D string of your bass-it's the same octave as the low E on a guitar.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by reiver1

I seem to remember that it's 2 octaves ; but it's written 1 octave lower to fit on the staff.

Both guitar and bass are transposing instruments. That means that the written notes are not the ones you hear. For both instruments, transposition is the same: They're written one octave higher than the actual pitches. For instance: The open E (1st string) on the guitar is written in the fourth space, treble clef, but you hear the first line E. The bass' open G is written in the fourth space, bass clef, but you hear the first line G. (Lines and spaces on music notation are understood from bottom to top)

Now, as for the difference between them, the bass' open G sounds the same than the guitar's G on the sixth string, 3rd fret (timbric considerations aside, of course). The open low E of the guitar sounds the same than the bass' E on the D string, 2nd fret. If you compare both instruments' open low Es, there's a difference of ONE octave between them.

Hope this helps.

[tplyons]

One octave here in Jersey.

Cept my piccolo bass, they seem to be the same...

[Munjibunga]

One octave.

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I'm surprised so many people thought it was 2 or more-the first thing I do when I play for a guitar to tune to or tune to a guitar is to fret the E on the D string.

[superbassman2000]

didn't adler make a bass tuned eadg only two octaves lower? i think i recall seeing it here. i think it was somewhere around a 39" scale, maybe it wasn't adler...

[DaMaGe, Inc.]

Thnx for the help.

So when you compare both instruments open strings, like both open E's, or a both open A's ect. ect. to eachother, it's one octave.

I was always sure it was, but a friend of mine started about a bass being tuned two octaves lower and that got me confused.

[DougP]

ok, so i am mis-informed somewhere along this line or reasoning and need to be corrected:

If the A string on a guitar is 440 (this maybe where my theory starts to go bad) and an octave is a doubling of frequency...then the A string on a bass would be 220 Hz. The E string would then be
~164Hz and the low B would be 123 Hz. But since we know the low B is really ~31 Hz....my math isnt adding up.

so where did i go wrong?

[msquared]

This might help: http://www.contrabass.com/pages/frequency.html

Low A on a guitar isn't 440. A440 is the A above "middle C" on a piano, and is a couple octaves higher than a guitar's low A.

Your math is correct otherwise.

[dlloyd]

Originally Posted by DougP

ok, so i am mis-informed somewhere along this line or reasoning and need to be corrected:

If the A string on a guitar is 440 (this maybe where my theory starts to go bad) and an octave is a doubling of frequency...then the A string on a bass would be 220 Hz. The E string would then be
~164Hz and the low B would be 123 Hz. But since we know the low B is really ~31 Hz....my math isnt adding up.

so where did i go wrong?

As msquared said, open A on a guitar is 110Hz, it's 55Hz on a bass.

[DougP]

...and knowing is half the battle. thanks

[mattmcnewf]

bass is only a octave lower but its has alot more bassy than a guitar note in the same octave.

[j-raj]

y'all serious?

[scorpionldr]

Originally Posted by DaMaGe, Inc.

How many octaves lower is a bass than guitar? One, right?

I'm going to do a 'speech' for English class tomorrow, so I thought I'd ask here just to make sure.

with one of those conklin seven strings, you CAN be two