2. Thesis To create a better understanding of the elements and techniques of bass guitar, and explore the mechanics and development of the bass guitar and how it correlates to role models and music itself.
4. Importance Of Music Music is something that can be taken from the soul making it unique and meaningful to many. Not only can music trigger emotions and feelings in the musician him/herself, but it can change the listener in their own unique perspective.
5. “Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life”. ~Ludwig van Beethoven
6. Presentation Overview Parts/Accessories Head, tuning machines, tuner, nut, frets, fingerboard, back of neck, pickups, bridge, control knobs. What Are The Basic Techniques Music theory Understanding the sound Performing right hand warm-ups/ same-string stroke Coordinating left hand with right hand Fret/finger placement Cleaning/Maintenance
7. Presentation Overview Contd. Reading Tablature Song Stone Love Where Did The Bass Originate Who is Cliff Burton Special Thanks To… Conclusion Application, works cited & class activity
22. What Are The Basic Techniques? Musical Basics (Melody, Harmony, & Rhythm) Understanding the sound Performing right-hand warm-ups/same-string strokes Coordinating your left hand with your right hand Fret/finger placement (Pfeiffer and Patrick)
23. Rhythm The underlying pulse of a piece of music Rhythm patterns are prominent in Dance music Rock music Pop music Groups of repeating beats (Freeth and Nick, 46-47)
24. Melody Pitches presented in some orderly arrangement in time Tunes built up from successions of single notes Pitch and rhythm apply to a single line Everything supports the melody The melody is the starting point of the music (Thaddeus Jones and George, 87-88, 138-139) (Freeth and Nick, 46-47)
25. Harmony The chords that support a melody The simultaneous combination of chords Blend well to the ear All parts move together in time Emphasizes vertical or horizontal aspect of music (Freeth and Nick, 46-47) Harmony, Dictionary.com
26. Understand The Sound The vibration is the sound one hears as the pitch or tone. This is the note The speed at which each note vibrates This is the frequency The more tension a string has, the higher the pitch and vise versa (Pfeiffer and Patrick 71-72)
27. Performing Right-Hand Warm-Ups/Same-String Strokes A few minutes a day of proper exercising helps! Use right hand as striking/plucking hand Place thumb on pickup for support Use your index finger and middle finger alternating Go up and down the strings switching off fingers (Pfeiffer and Patrick 72-74)
28. Performing Right-Hand Warm-Ups/Same-String Strokes Contd. Don’t lift fingers or slap them down When strings are slapped, unwanted noise is acquired Pluck into the instrument to receive full and round tone Once calluses are formed one can pick/strike strings all day (Pfeiffer and Patrick 72-74)
29. Coordinating Your Left Hand With Right Hand Press down the string on the appropriate fret Spread your fingers one on each fret and play them one at a time: 1 2 3 4 while the right hand strikes the string to sound each note When you mastered this try doing it backwards: 4 3 2 1 (Pfeiffer and Patrick 77)
30. Coordinating Your Left Hand With Right Hand Contd. Next try jumping combinations: 1 2, 1 3, and 1 4 When you can do this properly try doing this backward 2 1, 3 1, and 4 1 (Gallagher, Mike)
31. Fret/Finger Placement Keep thumb back behind the neck While playing a note keep finger as close as possible to metal fret for better sound quality Try not to let the note play longer than needed, for if it is left to ring out an unwanted ringing noise will sound (Gallagher, Mike)
32. Cleaning/Maintenance Always play with dry and clean hands Wipe oils off strings with t-shirt Clean fingerboards and frets of dirt Don’t use steel wool, for bits of “wool” can affect the magnetic pickups If action is too high or the strings are too far from the fingerboard adjust saddles or nuts where you can adjust the built in truss-rod (Pinksterboer and Hugo 107-109, 144-157)
33. You Can Read Tablature Too! Your probably thinking what the heck is this? ============== Well let me break this down for you. Stone Love Bass Tab
38. Where Did The Bass Originate? The original bass guitar was the violin bass This type of bass was used for more classical, jazzy music After 8 different versions of the solid-body guitar, the bass guitar was created Leo Fender realized he could make bass guitars the same way that solid-body guitars were made This freed the bassist form a bigger “doghouse” style of bass This also provided loads of extra volume too (Pinksterboer and Hugo 159-162)
39. Where Did Bass Originate? Contd. Double basses don’t have frets, but Fender used frets on their first electric bass guitars The name of this electric bass was Precision Precision referred to “precise” intonation of a fretted instrument (Pinksterboer and Hugo 159-162)
40. Who Is Cliff Burton? Was born on February 10th, 1962 and died September 27th, 1986 Started playing bass for a band named Trauma Left Trauma and joined Metallica soon after Helped create albums “Kill ‘Em All”, “Ride The Lightning”, and “Master of Puppets” Was recognized for his lead bass approach, odd jazz timings and psychedelic melodies (http://www.metallicaworld.co.uk/Cliff%20Burton.htm, Beller and Bryan pg.50,51)
41. Who Is Cliff Burton? Contd. Burton died when his tour bus flipped and he was pinned under it Was an inspiration to me so I learned the songs “Seek & Destroy” and “(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth” on the “Kill ‘Em All” album. (Beller and Bryan pg.50,51, http://www.metallicaworld.co.uk/Cliff%20Burton.htm )
43. Mike Gallagher First picked up a guitar at the age of 13 when inspired by Van Halen Attended Berklee College of Music Currently plays in the band Midnight Angel Many of Mike's songs have been placed in shows on ABC, FOX, VH1, MTV2, ESPN, Nickelodeon and E! Entertainment, as well as Touchstone and Disney movies. http://www.mikegallagheronline.com/bio.htm
44. Mike Gallagher Contd. Currently Mike teaches guitar and bass in the Philadelphia area Also, offers weekly lessons right out of his household Find our more at http://www.mikegallagheronline.com/bio.htm
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46.
47. “Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.” ~Jimi Hendrix
49. Works Cited "Cliff Burton." Metallica World - The Most Interactive Metallica Fansite on the Web! Web. 2010. <http://www.metallicaworld.co.uk/Cliff%20Burton.htm>. Freeth, Nick. "Chapter 3: Theory and Practice." Teach Yourself Guitar. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2005. 46-49. Print. Beller, Brian. “Beyond Brutality.” Bass Player 19 Dec. 2008: 50-51, 84. Rpt. in Beyond Brutality. N.p.: n.p., 2008. 50-51, 84. EBSCO Eldercare. Web. 23 Nov. 2009. Pfeiffer, Patrick. Bass Guitar for Dummies. Illus. Rich Tennant. Ed. Allyson Grove and Tracy Boggier. 2003. IndianapolisA: Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2003. Print.
50. Works Cited Contd. Pinksterboer, Hugo. Tipbook Electric Guitar and Bass Guitar. 3rd ed. 2002. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2008. Print. Tipbook. "Mike Ghallagher Bio." Mike Ghallagher Online. Web. 2010. <http://www.mikegallagheronline.com/bio.htm>. "Tablature." Def. 1. Dictionary.com. Random House Dictionary, Inc 2010. Web. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tablature>. Stone Love Bass Tab. Digital image. Ultimate-guitar. Web. Mar. 2010. <http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/p/pepper/stone_love_btab.htm>.
51. Works Cited Contd. Jones, George Thaddeus. Music Theory. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1974. 87+. Print. Beller, Brian. "Beyond Brutality." Bass Player 19 Dec. 2008: 50-52. Proquest. Web. 2010. Gress, Jess. "10 Things You Gotta Do To Play Like." Guitar Player July 2009: 78-86. Proquest. Web. Compton, George S., and Grove G. Fields. Electric Bass Guitar and Bridge Therefor. Patent 3538233. 3 Nov. 1970. Print.
52. Works Cited Contd. "Harmony." Def. 3. Dictioanry.com. Random House Dictionary. Web. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/harmony>.
Editor's Notes
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akahodag/2586271674/
I was inspired to learn bass guitar for my SGP for multiple reasons. I have kept music as a big part of my life and through the SGP I saw the opportunity and had the desire to learn the bass guitar. In 4th grade I wanted to play an instrument so instead of drums my mother forced me to play clarinet. As you can see I gave it up just as fast as I picked it up, it just wasn’t the same.http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegirlsmoma/2221753555/http://stonessoundstudio.com.au/stone/Custom%20Bass%20Guitar%20Speaker6.jpg
Have you ever gottengoosebumps while listening to a song that is extremely meaningful? That is how you know it is a song with real meaning to you and your soul. This can affect your emotions and influence us everyday. For example, when Muddy Waters plays his song “Manish Boy” telling how he grew up, I feel as though everything he says is from the soul and is good/true blues from the heart.http://www.flickr.com/photos/planetschwa/307156886/
When Beethoven said this quote I felt a deep meaning behind it. In my own opinion I really liked this quote because to me music brings my spirits up and whenever something is wrong I can always put on my headphones and I completely forget about any problems I have had in reality or sensual life.http://www.flickr.com/photos/picaas/3588884035/
The head of the bass guitar is located at the top of the neck just after the nut. The head also holds the four tuning machines.
The Tuning Machines adjust string tension as well as pitch and tone of each string. These machines can help improve the quality and strength of each sound or in other
When trying to tune your bass or guitar an electric tuner can be handy. When a string is played a meter will pop up and show if the note is in tune or off key. If it is off key the meter will fall under the flat or sharp symbol. If it is under the flat symbol to the left then the string must be tightened and if it is under the sharp symbol to the right the string must be loosened. At the end, when the string is in tune a green light will pop up and the meter will be directly in the middle.
The nut is the small black bar in between the head and the fingerboard. This part of the bass guitar allows access to the truss-rod which is an adjustable metal rod that runs through the neck to control curvature of neck and fingerboard. If for some reason the strings are too far away from the fingerboard then they the nut allows string action to be adjusted to proper spacing.
Frets are the thin metal strips embedded in the neck along the length of the fingerboard. Without frets it would still be possible to create noise however, it would be more difficult to find the specific sound wanted to achieve. Also without frets it would be impossible to read tablature or the notes played in a song.
This is a diagram of what a typical 4 string bass guitar looks like. The strings from top to bottom are E A D then G. E is the thickest string of the bass and G is the thinnest string of the bass. Each fret has a letter name. If you look at the E string you can see it goes F G A B C D E and back to F again. In between each letter are sharps and flats.http://www.suewilliamsmusic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Fretboard-12-frets.png
This is the symbol for a flat note. A flat note is the note that you desire to play but one fret closer to the head of the basshttp://www.clker.com/clipart-8472.html
This is the symbol for a sharp note. A sharp note is the note you desire to play but one fret closer to the body of the basshttp://www.decodeunicode.org/en/u+266f/data/glyph/196x196/266F.gif
Once again the fingerboard holds the frets and is located on the flat side of the neck and is directly beneath the strings.
The back of the neck is the ideal place to rest the thumb flat upon it for best control of the instrument. Typically the back of neck is made of a different type of wood than the front of neck and fingerboard.
Pickups consist of magnets embedded in plastic bars which lie underneath plucking area of strings. These pickups translate the vibrations given off into electrical signals. These electrical signals are then converted into sound by the amplifier.
Holds one end of each stringIs located at the end of the bodyHolds saddlesHelp with the action of the strings
Used to adjust volumeUsed to adjust toneControls trebleControls bass
You can’t become a pro at the bass overnight. One must at least spend a good amount of time understanding the basic techniques and practicing them. Before I started actually learning how to play the bass my teacher recommended that I learn the basic techniques to the full extent. This way I would be prepared to play when the time came.http://www.flickr.com/photos/pascalbovet/4233752189/
Rhythm is the underlying pulse of a piece of music. Usually Rhythm gets the person to tap their foot or pulls them into the song itself. The reoccurring groups of beats can make up rhythm in dance, pop, rock, blues, and waltz. Usually when talking about Rhythm you are talking about groups of beats. For example, you may hear an musician saying to himself or tapping his foot to 1234 1234, or 12 12 12 12. Additionally, there is usually an emphasis on one of the numbers.http://www.dragonartz.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/_vector-music-melody-preview-by-dragonart.jpg
The best way to describe a melody is comparing it to an essay. Melody is the basic words without the adjectives, superlatives, and other fancy things to spice it up. The melody is the starting point of music.http://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/4252454213/
Harmony as well as Rhythm support the melody. Harmony is the simultaneous combination of chords that blend well with the ear and time. Harmony also emphasizes vertical or horizontal aspects of music
The bass produces a quite different deeper sound than the guitar. It’s thinnest string is still bigger than a guitars thickest string therefore a deeper more powerful sound is produced. Pitch and tone through vibration can be thrown off to sound like its ringing or rattling. This is when the bass needs to be tuned. The harder one pulls a string the faster the frequency and the softer one pulls a string the slower the frequency. Also, tension has a big role in if the strings of the bass are tuned properly.
Warming up your hands drastically can help aid in the playing of bass. If proper exercising is achieved then your fingers will become quicker, stronger, and rougher. http://www.flickr.com/photos/giuliag/1312969901/
After about a week of playing and attempting to avoid lifting fingers or slapping them down it will not be necessary to look at the pulling fingers. Finding strings suddenly becomes a natural skill. Soon enough calices are formed and fingers become durable.
Drumming can be hard since you need to multitask, yet playing the bass is similar. To play it is again necessary to pull your string at the same time your other finger is on the desired fret. Without this your once ear candy will now sound like nails on a chalkboard. Although this is one of the first steps in developing my playing skills I needed this skill to jump from one fret to a completely different fret.http://www.flickr.com/photos/toniblay/84892084/
These numbers and lines probably do not make sense to you, however I will teach you step by step how to read it and incorporate what we learned. These numbers and lines are called tablature. The meaning of tablature is any of various systems of music notation using letters, numbers, or other signs to indicate the strings, frets, keys, etc., to be played.
Bass tablature can be confusing. One would think the thickest string E is the top line displayed, but instead it is read upside down. For example, the top string in this picture is actually the thinnest string G on the Bass Guitar.
The difference between a note played on the 7th fret rather than the 4th fret is that the closer the note is toward the pickups the more high pitched the sound is. The closer the note played is toward the head the deeper the sound is.
When a 0 occurs in the tablature you must pull only the string that it is on and no frets. Also, a slide in this case would be if I played the 7th fret note on the A string and as I was playing it just slid my finger down to the first fret on the A string.
Pepper gives a reggae feeling while still being a rock band. One song in particular that I really enjoyed the bass line was a song off of their Kona Town album called Stone Love. Although it is repetitive it is catchy and provides a good foreground for the other instruments to play on top of as well as base their playing off of.
The original bass was a violin bass which was used for more jazzy and classical music. After 8 different versions of the solid-body guitar, the bass guitar was created by Leo Fender the creator of Fender Guitars and Basses. This bass was much more portable and electric giving it loads of volume and freedom to move around.http://www.flickr.com/photos/seguin_maxim/80205119/
This is the very first page I was given to practice for my weekly lessons in my practice book. This practice book entry dates back to early November when I first started playing. Like I said in the beginning I started off learning the string names and working on finger exercises.
This is the very last note page I was given to practice in my music book. Six months later I have shown a noticeable improvement to my skills. As you can see I started off with easy simple techniques like finger exercises and string names, but now I have advanced so much. Now I am beginning to learn blues patterns and riffs for bass guitar and arpeggios as well.
This quote by Jimi Hendrix was very powerful to me because music is expression of self. When he says this quote he means that music is powerful and can change people. Also, we cant change the world we live in, but music can take you away from the flaws in our everyday society.http://www.flickr.com/photos/johannahobbs/1462808331/
http://www.musiclearningworkshop.com/image-files/kid-playing-guitar.jpgFor my application I learned the bass guitar. I learned copious songs but I would like to play the song “Seek & Destroy” by Metallica originally played by Cliff Burton. The song is 6 minutes and 55 seconds but has multiple repetitions. I will only play the whole song once through and you can imagine what the rest sounds like.
