How do you explain what a bass is to someone?

[verycoolname]

"It's like a guitar, but cooler...plus bassists aren't douchebags."

 

[fhm555]

I always tell them it's a guitar they took 2 strings off of so simpletons like me can handle it, since 6 strings are just too many for people like me to figure out.

 

[bassbully]

Don't worry about it. For 99% of the people who will ever watch you play live do not know what bass is and really don't care.

 

[Temezki]

That's why you have to play so loud that they don't have to know what a bass is THEY WILL FEEL IT!

 

[Tennesseemick]

Like a guitar only without the self esteem issues.

+1,000

 

[Groove Doctor]

I'm the guy doing the boom boom in the back that makes you wanna dance.

Love it!!



Bass is the foundation..... every building has a foundation, same with music.
(but if you have to explain foundations..... )

 

[p-lo]

"I'm the one that makes the asses shake and keeps the dance floor full"

 

[SnowCal]

If you can't afford a real guitar you get a bass instead. It has 1/3rd fewer strings so it's 1/3rd cheaper.

 

[Hues]

It's the heartbeat of the music.

 

[Funk_Pirate]

"I'm the one that makes the asses shake and keeps the dance floor full"

Lol, I said this to my guitard once and he claimed it was him that made them dance. After the gig that night I asked him if he was the one making them dance, why were they on my side of the stage all night?
I still have yet to get an answer from him..... Lol

 

[Jason Wilson]

Maybe it could be explained as we are the left hand of a pianist. The guitarist plays the higher notes, the right hand, and we play the lower ones, left hand

 

[bassinplace]

 

[wild4oldcars]

Its just a guitar that can play lower notes. Its kinda used to hold down the groove fort, so to speak.

That wouldn't be a half bad band name, The Groove Fort.

 

[LazyGecko]

Maybe it could be explained as we are the left hand of a pianist. The guitarist plays the higher notes, the right hand, and we play the lower ones, left hand

That's what I always say.

 

[Groove Doctor]

"Music is usually broken down into melody, rhythm and harmony. But what about the very lowest notes in music, that can have an impact on all three? In this film Howard looks at the abiding fascination musicians and composers have had with the bass.

For half a millennium instrument makers have been trying to construct instruments of all shapes and sizes capable of thudding, sonorous low notes. Only with the arrival of the synthesizer did they succeed in producing a rival to the mighty organ. With disco, dance, and drum 'n' bass, the bass has arrived centre stage.

But bass notes have another, crucial role. Far from just plodding away in the background, bass lines can have a critical effect on the whole structure of a piece of music, helping to drive the chord progressions.

Howard looks at the dark horse of the musical family, and its use in the hands of such diverse musical talents as Johann (and Richard) Strauss, John Philip Sousa, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Albinoni, Bach and Motown's resident bass maestro, James Jamerson."

 

[Roy Vogt]

This is fun, too! Maybe too much information for the layman, but cool nonetheless!

 

[Kukulkan61]

I tell them:The beginning of Micheal Jackson's Billy Jean...

 

[gumtown]

This...

Link Removed

 

[Bill G.]

The other is a guitar that got through puberty.

Awesome!

 

[vibhas_2310]

Loving every post on this thread! Thanks a lot guys! Keep 'em coming!