Introduction Electric Bass Guitars

Most music has always had a bass line be it written or implied, today the bass part is fundamental to most of the music we listen to. No matter what the instrument is, a bass line is usually always represented in some form or another, from the lower instruments of an orchestra, to the bass notes played by a solo acoustic guitarist, the bass line serves as the foundation and root for the music. Without a bass line to provide a point of reference for the chords and harmony, much of the music we listen to would sound incomplete. With the advent of jazz, blues and then rock and roll, a different type of instrument was needed to play a strong bass line. This is how the electric bass guitar era came into being.

Technically, the electric bass guitar was invented in the 1930's although it never enjoyed a mass popularity at that time. It's predecessor has existed for many prior years in the form of the double bass or acoustic bass.  The electric bass guitar offered a distinct change from the sounds that people had grown accustomed to hearing from previous upright basses. Unlike the acoustic bass which is played vertically, the electric bass guitar is played horizontally like a regular guitar. With the exception of a longer neck and having 4 strings instead of 6, the electric bass guitar looks very much like the electric guitar as they both have a solid body that is often shaped the same. Also while similar to an acoustic guitar in playing position, the electric bass differs in it's sound production. The bass guitar has pickups underneath it's strings, the pickups send the sound to the amplifier which the bass is connected to and we hear the notes via the amp's speakers. A bass guitar typically has four strings which are tuned an octave lower than the lowest strings of a regular guitar. While guitars are primarily strummed and picked, the bass can be played with a variety of techniques as well including, fingering, picking, slapping,thumb play, muting thumping and more. Because bass guitars lay the foundation of the music harmonically as well as keeps the beat, like the drums, it is considered a rhythm instrument.