Why is the bass inherently more rhythmic?

[Flatwoundround]

Compared to say guitar?

I think it is because the bass plays one note at a time in rhythmic fashion as opposed to playing chords. Also the lower frequency somehow has more rhythmic punch too.

This is just my conjecture though and would be curious to hear others thoughts.

Thanks.

 

[BassChuck]

Either by training or experience we tend to hear the higher pitches as more prominent and so that is the melody. (that's why when the bass solos, everyone else takes a break so it's clear what's going on). Regardless of the style of music, the lower notes will tend to have rhythmic and harmonic support.

We can all thank Leo Fender for coming up with an instrument that can project a clear pitch. Without that, basses would still be in the rhythmic support category, but cool basslines wouldn't happen the same way. Leo can rightfully be given the credit (or blame) for rock and roll moving on from its 1940's R+B roots. That said, we'll still be providing support and driving the bus.

 

[ddnidd1]

Plus the frequencies of the bass have Much more percussive energy than a guitar, which adds to the punch/rhythm.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

My two cents. We all seemed to answer at the same time. --- Plus 1 to the low frequencies do not carry a melody as well as the solo instruments. If we solo it's in the upper locations of our neck Key of F at the first fret and then key of F at the 13th fret. First fret for rhythm, 13th fret for melody.

Plus they need us for the rhythm, other people take care of the melody. We are primarily a rhythm instrument. We do that playing chord tones in sync with the drummer. If there is no drummer then we are the beat master and that is best handled with notes of the harmonizing chord. How many and which ones would be best handled in another post.

Nothing new in fact same thing you said in your first post.

This is, however, an interesting question and brings up another point. I play rhythm guitar in another band that has someone else on electric bass. The vocalist count on the bass for the beat and to help them not speed up. My role with the rhythm 6 string guitar is to ---- provide what? The lead vocalist is also accompanying his vocals on rhythm guitar so he is providing harmony and rhythm for his vocals. Another rhythm guitar (me) playing the same chords can get muddy.

That's why I play mostly in another voice using one finger chords, i.e. tenor guitar. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Providing rhythm and harmony while using another voice augmenting not steeping on anyone's toes. My point, we all have a specific job to do and while doing that we should not get in the way of the other guys/gals. Back to the bass....

That is why, on bass, I leave the melody to the solo instruments that are built for that job and I take care of the harmony and rhythm that my bass was built for.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

to me it is because ... our instrument got caught in the "rythm section" mentality which killed everything the instrument could hope to be. The guitar then got a few names ... rythm guitar and lead guitar which I find quite stupid but show that the guitart started as a "rythm section" instrument in jazz until it finally took the lead role.

I don't know why, we musicians, need so much to put everything in little boxes and never ever try to leave them. See a Db can do the melody, it can do everything a violin can do ...

 

[Spin Doctor]

to me it is because ... our instrument got caught in the "rythm section" mentality which killed everything the instrument could hope to be. The guitar then got a few names ... rythm guitar and lead guitar which I find quite stupid but show that the guitart started as a "rythm section" instrument in jazz until it finally took the lead role.

I don't know why, we musicians, need so much to put everything in little boxes and never ever try to leave them. See a Db can do the melody, it can do everything a violin can do ...

The role of electric bass is still evolving. Starting out as part of the rhythm section hasn't killed anything. It's still moving forward as is evidenced by innovators such as Michael Manring, Victor Wooten, et al. And, as a distinct instrument, it's barely 60 years old, so personally, I wouldn't waste too much energy getting wound up about it being "stuck". If you want to go outside of the "rhythm section" role, no one is going to stop you. I think that electric bass will ultimately become one of the most versatile instruments.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

The role of electric bass is still evolving. Starting out as part of the rhythm section hasn't killed anything. It's still moving forward as is evidenced by innovators such as Michael Manring, Victor Wooten, et al. And, as a distinct instrument, it's barely 60 years old, so personally, I wouldn't waste too much energy getting wound up about it being "stuck". If you want to go outside of the "rhythm section" role, no one is going to stop you. I think that electric bass will ultimately become one of the most versatile instruments.

it is the mentality that is killing it or should I say, keep it from being an instrument instead of a "role". Innovators ... hum Micheal Manring sure but not Victor Wooten in my book. Sure his way to see the instrument is interesting but the way he is playing it is clearly rythm heavy and most of what he does his like the basic role of the bass on steroid.

Every instrument is versatile in my book and can be every "role" our little box society like.

 

[Spin Doctor]

it is the mentality that is killing it or should I say, keep it from being an instrument instead of a "role". Innovators ... hum Micheal Manring sure but not Victor Wooten in my book. Sure his way to see the instrument is interesting but the way he is playing it is clearly rythm heavy and most of what he does his like the basic role of the bass on steroid.

Every instrument is versatile in my book and can be every "role" our little box society like.

I'm not sure what your point is here. If your goal is to divorce the bass guitar from playing any type of rhythm simply because it usually plays rhythm, exactly what does that accomplish? Just do what you want. If you want to be innovative, be innovative. No one will stop you!

Complaining all the time about every aspect of music just gets old... Do something about it.

 

[JimK]

Compared to say guitar?

I think it is because the bass plays one note at a time in rhythmic fashion as opposed to playing chords. Also the lower frequency somehow has more rhythmic punch too.

This is just my conjecture though and would be curious to hear others thoughts.

Thanks.

...have you seen Get On Up...the James Brown biopic?
There's a scene where JB is giving the band some instruction during a rehearsal, essentially, telling "Clyde Stubblefield" to displace/move his drum groove 'to the right' in the bar. Saxophonist "Maceo Parker" sez that would put things out of time with each other.
So, JB explains how every instrument in the band is a DRUM.

Read up on some Latin Jazz musicians...you'll read how they are all drummers-first.
Guitarists, bassists, pianists, horn players, vocalists...it does not matter. The way that music sounds? It makes sense & it shows.

Hopefully, a guitarist plays chords with rhythm. I know many that do not.

So, I do not think the bass is inherently more rhythmic than a guitar.
Caveat...I have, many times, explained to non-musician people that they should think of the bass as a drum with strings.

 

[Nev375]

I don't think the premise is accurate at all.

The rhythm or melody or harmony is inside you.

The bass is just an instrument and is very capable of all three.

The only limitation is your mind and the biasses you've adopted just because everyone else tends to play it one way rather than the others.

 

[hintz]

What's wrong with the bass keeping it all together??

If you listen to alot of older music, mostly jazz, the bass provided more rhythm than the drums would, same with old country...some of those country groups didn't even *have* drummers....bass just lends itself well to a Rhythmic role

Of course you can do whatever you want, nobody will/can stop that, just don't expect anyone to be knocking down your door for gigs if you can't groove and/or keep time...

Me, I'm more than happy playing the supportive role in a group

 

[Dogbertday]

There's a study oitvthere about how rhythmic accuracy is more apparent in low frequencies than high ones. It goes deeper than that, but I'm just sayin there SOME science to back up the "why"

 

[MVE]

It's not...
That's just one of the boxes we put it in.
That's not necessarily a "bad" thing, even though the old cliche tells us, 'to think outside of the box.'
Sometimes those boxes actually help focus our creativity.
Especially with music, you can't always think outside the box.

 

[Ulf Buck]

We are the bridge between the rhythm and the melody.
We support both and are both. We are the most important instrument and player.
Live there and many doors will open. (Don't tell anyone about being the most important. It's our secret.)

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I think of the bass as a liaison between the drums and the guitar/keyboards, etc. It's both rhythmic and harmonic. That having been said, I have'nt seen all that many booties hitting the dance floor because of a guitar or sax riff.

 

[cheapimitation]

it is the mentality that is killing it or should I say, keep it from being an instrument instead of a "role". Innovators ... hum Micheal Manring sure but not Victor Wooten in my book. Sure his way to see the instrument is interesting but the way he is playing it is clearly rythm heavy and most of what he does his like the basic role of the bass on steroid.

Every instrument is versatile in my book and can be every "role" our little box society like.

I am with you. While of course we can do what we want with our instrument, if say 5 players (horn, piano, guitar, bass, drums) get together at a jam session, it is unlikely that the bass player will automatically be granted as much time playing lead melody and solos as the others (ex-drums). We shouldn't have to be any more demanding about this than any other instruments, nor be expected to play all the time throughout a tune.

 

[tonemachine]

Compared to say guitar?

I think it is because the bass plays one note at a time in rhythmic fashion as opposed to playing chords. Also the lower frequency somehow has more rhythmic punch too.

This is just my conjecture though and would be curious to hear others thoughts.

Thanks.

Lots of good points here, except for the gripers about what bass "should" do and what it's "limitaions" are. TB really needs a "do not like" button for use on those sorts of guys.

I'll add, if it hasn't already been added, bass is only typically more constantly playing a rhythm, whereas guitars come in and go out and play more flourishes and solos in addition to groove playing. Talking pop music here (not including varieties oF rock where the whole band is constantly banging out eights or sixteenth all the time... I like some if that stuff but while it's rhythm, it's not really rhythmically interesting (this isn't to say that hard rock can't groove, it clearly does sometimes. In other forms of music, as already noted the lines get much more blurry. If you listen to funk or soul you will find that guitars are used very rhythmically and often much like a bass. As you can see, there's no easy answer when you consider a wide variety of musical styles. Bass, indeed, is the predominant instrument that makes the booties shake, though. It's a frequency thing, hits people right where it counts.

 

[I Need a six...]

My two cents. We all seemed to answer at the same time. --- Plus 1 to the low frequencies do not carry a melody as well as the solo instruments. If we solo it's in the upper locations of our neck Key of F at the first fret and then key of F at the 13th fret. First fret for rhythm, 13th fret for melody.

Plus they need us for the rhythm, other people take care of the melody. We are primarily a rhythm instrument. We do that playing chord tones in sync with the drummer. If there is no drummer then we are the beat master and that is best handled with notes of the harmonizing chord. How many and which ones would be best handled in another post.

Nothing new in fact same thing you said in your first post.

This is, however, an interesting question and brings up another point. I play rhythm guitar in another band that has someone else on electric bass. The vocalist count on the bass for the beat and to help them not speed up. My role with the rhythm 6 string guitar is to ---- provide what? The lead vocalist is also accompanying his vocals on rhythm guitar so he is providing harmony and rhythm for his vocals. Another rhythm guitar (me) playing the same chords can get muddy.

That's why I play mostly in another voice using one finger chords, i.e. tenor guitar. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] Providing rhythm and harmony while using another voice augmenting not steeping on anyone's toes. My point, we all have a specific job to do and while doing that we should not get in the way of the other guys/gals. Back to the bass....

That is why, on bass, I leave the melody to the solo instruments that are built for that job and I take care of the harmony and rhythm that my bass was built for.

I really really 100% disagree that it dosen't carry a melody as well. An to the op, plenty of bassists use chords. In my opinon it's just that since it's birth it's been part of the rythem section, just what it was made for, it's since broken free of that restriction and become Somthing a lot more than That.

 

[M0ses]

It is not.

 

[P-BASS BILL]

I've played for 50 years, but feel a little intimidated posting my thoughts here since I've had ZERO formal musical training ... so here goes.

Baja Clarkko and Ulf Buck hit on something that I feel as well. When I'm playing and I'm in the groove with my drummer, we mutually reinforce each other. I'm in sync with his kick drum (which was called a BASS drum way back in the day; which pretty much says it all!) and every snap of his pedal reinforces a particular note ... that extra PUNCH. Also, since the pattern I'm playing consists of notes that reinforce the rhythm guitarist or keyboard player's chords; we're in a groove together as well. And when all 5 or 6 of use are in that groove ... it's a GROUP ... it's a BAND ...it's MUSIC! There are NO individuals ... we are as ONE! So I see us as a bridge between beat and the chords the vocalist, guitarist, pianist or whomever is playing within at the moment ... or the GLUE, if you like.

Ulf Buck ...I like the idea that we are the most important instrument in the band. (Shhhhh!)

Here's a thought. Remember when NOBODY wanted to be a Bass Player? Many of us who became Bass Players got the position because: "well, somebody's going to have to do it". Sounds like it was going to be a suck job ... but the lucky amongst us KNEW better ... something happened the moment we picked up a Bass. There WAS something magical about it. If we were smart, we never let on about the "best kept secret in the world ... BASS IS KING"!

My great friend and former lead player for 28 years now spends more time playing Bass than Lead and he constantly bitches at me: "Why didn't you tell me that you were having so much fun?" Well, why would I, Walt? Then you'd want my job and I'd be stuck playing Lead? NO THANKS!

Just before I go ... many years ago one of my cousins caught me humming a tune. Nothing particularly unusual about that; except for her comment. "You must play Bass?", she said. My response: "How did you know?" Her reply: "Easy. You weren't humming the melody ... you were humming the Bass line!" BUSTED! Magical? Sure is ... and it gets in your blood!