Songs continually are becoming an embodiment of the society, As such, singers have now become popular more than ever. What this has done is to attract more singers into the industry as well as new playing tricks. While the bass guitar has been around for a long time, its use has never been popular than it is now in bands. So many wonder what’s its necessity is in bands.
Even though it falls under the underrated instruments in the band, a bass is one of the important instrument in any song. While many take the lead guitarist as the common element and most popular guitar, they got it wrong. Actually, without the bass especially coupled with the drums, there is no rhythmic foundation of the song. So this makes a guitar a basic element in any song and so is the band.
Most of the times in most bands, the bassist is position at the back of the other guitar players and this assumed position translates to their popularity. However, everyone assumes the bassists, he forms the most basic fundamental person in any song. A song playing without a bass is the hollowest song you will find so is a band playing without a bass player.
How Important Is A Bass Player In A Band?
As stated earlier, bass players form the fundamental part of every band. As such, they are important elements in any song. Many ask how. Here is the reason why.
As a Rhythmic Foundation of Song
When playing alongside the drums, the bass guitar gives the rhythmic foundation in any song. On this foundation, every other instrument is anchored. As such, a consistent pulse is provided for by the bass guitar and the drummer. It is a very crucial thing for the drummer and the bass guitar to be in sync.
This rhythmic foundation can be felt by everyone that’s why you node to the beat. It is however indicated that even though the drummer and the bassist must be in sync, each must also be independent in addition to giving out a solid sense of rhythm by their own.
Harmony Supporting
When multiple notes are played together in a manner that they give a pleasant effect is referred to as harmony. As such, a bass guitar also plays an important role in supporting the harmony in any song. Harmony brings all the difference in any song while on the other hand can result to a dull but bright song.
While it is easy to harmonize with just one instrument, a couple of instruments put together results into a hard task to bring out harmony, and as such the bass notes become the becomes the point of reference of any other harmonies. As such they are compared to it.
Do Bands Need A Bass Player?
A good question you may ask yourself while setting up a band is do you really need a bass player? Yes and definitely yes. While there are very few bassists in the market today, the role of the bass player in the band can never be downplayed.
While there are three most important elements for any song, the melody, rhythm and harmony, the bass player plays a key role in two of the above, the rhythm and the harmony. As such, even if you were to wish a bass player off, it will result in a poor played song.
How Important Is Bass In Metal?
While the guitars in metal produce low frequencies that could be mistaken to being the bass guitar, the role of the bass guitar can never be overlooked. In metal the bass guitar can either be played as a pillar on the rhythm but also can be played as a lead by use of chords as well as licks.
However, the low end sound produced by the bass guitar forms the major reason why a bass guitar is important in metal. Without these low tones, there is no heavy sound required in metal. Baselines in metal vary with each subgenre and so do the feel between different players of the bass.
What Is The Point Of Bass?
A study on how low frequency note affects listeners gives the reason why a bass is important in any band as well as a band. When you hear a song play, you most probably will node to the rhythm of the song and you will notice you node along the bass line.
One of the pints is rhythm change detection. It has been noticed that were it not for the low frequencies, rhythmic changes are hard to grasp. As such, a bass helps the brain detect every rhythmic change in a song quickly
The second point is on strength and power. Low frequencies feel heavier as well as with as stronger than higher frequencies. As such, where playing of instruments is a key thing especially in rock music, the bass guitar helps bring out the power and the strength of the song.
Bass Guitar in Rock
The bass guitar can be referenced as a pillar in music. As such, lack of a pillar, the house crumbles down. As such, in rock, the bass guitar gives you the reinforcement needed for the rhythm of the song.
Secondly, the bass guitar brings out the harmony in any song. As such, it offers the definition of every other chord played by every other person. Often, if the bass player hits a wrong root, then the rest of the band members are deemed wrong. This is so because every other person takes the bassline to define what each player must play.
I Can’t Hear Bass in Songs
Not hearing the bass play in songs may be as a result of many factors. To start with, for you to hear a bass in a song, the speakers you use must have an adequate bass response capability. If not, then you will not hear the bass. Having large speakers with high bass response will help.
The second reason you may not hear bass in songs is not having a musical ear that identifies and differentiates the different instruments in the song. Whether it is the bass line and the basic beat in addition to other melodic components of the song.
The third reason you may not be hearing the bass play in your song is because of the type of the song you are listening to for instance thrash metal. This kind of music has guitars played to produce same low frequencies as the bass guitar does. As such, it becomes hard to identify as well as single out the bass guitar in the song.
Only if you were able to mute the bass guitar would you tell the difference. A break where the bass stops might be termed as if every other instrument has been stopped. But not at all, it is because it’s the loudest instrument in any song and gives the punch of the song.
A fourth reason may be due to the noise surrounding you. For instance while in a car, the noise around might drown your bass frequencies as such inaudible.
Why Can’t You Hear Bass in Metal
The major reason why you won’t hear bass in metal lies in the fact that the manner in which guitars are played in the songs produces low frequencies that are in tandem with the frequencies produced by the bass guitar. As such, it is covered by the hard rocking guitars. However, people with good musical ears can tell when the bass stops or when playing.
Conclusion
A bass guitar is one of the most important instruments in any band. While there are those that play without a bass guitar, the main reason may be due to lack of one. Over time the bass guitarist has been underrated and this has led to anyone picking up the bass guitar and thinking they can get away with it.
Even if a guitarist can play a bass, having the right mindset on the role of a bass guitar in any song as well as any band gives the best sound ever. Furthermore, while the bassist is important in any song or band in terms of providing the rhythm of the song, being in tandem with the drummer gives the best results.
Therefore, the bassists is dependent to the drummer and together they complement each other in creating the rhythm of any song.