Do you sometimes hear a bass note as two notes or a chord?

[THany]

Ok. Strange questions maybe, but here it is: I always had a very good musical ear, since I was a child, with bass everything is different... first of all, I sometimes hear a note and I cant tell between 2 or 3 notes that are a part of a cord... its like my head is automaticly making a chord, its only with bass, not other instruments, also, sometimes the note is "changing in front of my ear" it starts as a certain note (attack?) Then goes up or down, sometimes its so bad, I feel everything is out of tune, but when I check, its ok. With the vox amplug and earphones it happens less. Sometimes I feel Im losing my hearing (and my mind) the changing pitch thing of the notes, I remember it happening to me as a teen. (When listen to reggae, for example, when the notes are slower and longer ...
Is it normal? (My father says the same thing happens to him )

 

[mongo2]

Early in the day I sometimes feel pitch drifts and checking shows it's in tune. I attribute it to my ears not being awake yet. After several minutes it gets better.

 

[dramatwist]

+1. Never admitted it until now. When I practice in the living room, the rest of the instruments just play in my head. The tuning thing happens to me on occasion as well.

 

[THany]

+1. Never admitted it until now. When I practice in the living room, the rest of the instruments just play in my head. The tuning thing happens to me on occasion as well.

Now, that's what you call drama twist!

 

[Tommyc]

Bach implied harmonies in his single line works for cello and violin all the time, so you’re in good company.

 

[THany]

Bach implied harmonies in his single line works for cello and violin all the time, so you’re in good company.

I love bach. My father used to put me to sleep as a child with "Musicak offering"

 

[xaosbass]

Every jazz or P bass type guitar had that same occurrence. Never happened with either of my ricks or my T-40. I suspect pickup placement. Just sayin'.

 

[spufman]

I hear that way, too. It's more pronounced with some basses, my L2000 being the biggest offender. If (unplugged) I press the upper horn around my ear and strike a long sustaining note, it really seems to blossom and drift. Big magnetic pull? Characteristics of the wood? Psycho-acoustics? Dunno!

 

[Sbassman Scratch]

TH, how are you at transcribing a line? Just wonder if, how that might be affected. I find I get the intervals pretty good but I'm off pitch by a fifth.

 

[THany]

TH, how are you at transcribing a line? Just wonder if, how that might be affected. I find I get the intervals pretty good but I'm off pitch by a fifth.

Im not sure what you mean by that, English isnt my native language. Can you explain? Do you mean taking out the bass line from a song?
(Just for the record, I play bass only 3 months)

 

[Chasarms]

There are so many harmonics and overtones in an oscillating string. You likely are hearing those in a pronounced way for some reason.

 

[THany]

There are so many harmonics and overtones in an oscillating string. You likely are hearing those in a pronounced way for some reason.

Yes, its possible. Ive been told that a few times in my life, in general... All my sences are over sensitive, lol, I usually smell things most ppl dont.

 

[Sbassman Scratch]

Im not sure what you mean by that, English isnt my native language. Can you explain? Do you mean taking out the bass line from a song?
(Just for the record, I play bass only 3 months)

Hi TH,
Yes, listening to a song you know and trying to copy the bass line. It's a great way to train your ears, or test them. Mine are not, alas, very sharp. But it's not surprising to find I'm off by a perfect interval, partly because of the harmonics.

 

[THany]

There are so many harmonics and overtones in an oscillating string. You likely are hearing those in a pronounced way for some reason.

I also have another strange thing: lots of time hear a quinta as an octav. I have a friend who's daugter has the same "thing"

 

[THany]

Hi TH,
Yes, listening to a song you know and trying to copy the bass line. It's a great way to train your ears, or test them. Mine are not, alas, very sharp. But it's not surprising to find I'm off by a perfect interval, partly because of the harmonics.

I only started doing that, it depends on the amount of instruments and clearness, I will usually mistake only between the tunes that are part of the the note's cord

 

[La Faro]

1st Harmonic - Fundamental
2nd harmonic = octave
3nd harmonic = fifth in the second octave
4th harmonic = 2 octaves
5th harmonic = Major third in the third octave

With the low fundamentals, the harmonics are moving into our more sensitive octave range.

Could this be what you are hearing?

 

[THany]

1st Harmonic - Fundamental
2nd harmonic = octave
3nd harmonic = fifth in the second octave
4th harmonic = 2 octaves
5th harmonic = Major third in the third octave

With the low fundamentals, the harmonics are moving into our more sensitive octave range.

Could this be what you are hearing?

Wow, I have no clue, I dont know theory and dont read notes ( dislexya) I only know the names of the intervals.
I would have to look into what you've wrote and try to understand it ( may take years) to answer that

 

[cnltb]

Do you sometimes hear a bass note as two notes or a chord?
Yes, but only when I play it that way.

 

[dramatwist]

Wow, I have no clue, I dont know theory and dont read notes ( dislexya) I only know the names of the intervals.
I would have to look into what you've wrote and try to understand it ( may take years) to answer that

I think we have a disconnect... the folks who read music, and those who don't. You can listen to some "music teacher" talking all day about notes and quack, quack, quack... reading music from a piece of paper is fine, if you want to do that... I've just never thought of music that way... I don't relate it to little black dots...

 

[La Faro]

All harmonic instruments have the same harmonics, but at different amplitudes. This creates the timbre. With a flute it's the length of a pipe, with a piano or guitar it's the length of the string. They vibrate along a length. Enharmonic instruments such as a drum head of a cymbal are round, and don't have a length as such, so don't have these harmonic intervals.

When a string vibrates is create a harmonic on it's length, the fundamental.
There is a second harmonic created where the string is vibrating to it's middle on both sides, this is the same as putting your finger an octave up.
The string also splits in three, the third harmonic. Press a string one third from the bridge, you get a fifth in the second octave.
The fourth splits the string in four, do the same on the fret and you have the second octave.

This goes on and on in the string, splits in 5,6,7,8,9,.... all the ways up, but the amplitudes get smaller and it moves into less sensitive frequency spectrum areas of our hearing, and then out of a range.