Chapter 114: Bass

Thursday, November 12th

Theo was once again in his recording studio after saying goodbye to Aurora when she went to school.

Theo wanted to start learning a new instrument today.

And it was another essential instrument in a music band.

The electric bass!

The bass guitar, upright bass, tuba, bassoon, and the far left keys on a piano are just a few overlooked instruments in music - they are all bass

instruments, playing lower frequency notes in

relation to the rest of the band.

The electric bass is certainly the most overlooked instrument in a music band.

It's normal for the listeners to not be able to hear the bass playing.

Many different factors cause bass to be difficult to pick out of a song. The anatomy of the human ear is mostly to blame, and things like overtones, recording techniques, rhythmic arrangement, and others can make learning to isolate bass in your ear even more tricky.

Human ears are made of three main parts. Outer,

middle and inner.

The outer is the part we see, the flesh and

cartilage that sound waves bounce off of when

sound enters. Its shape allows us to localize and

focus sound in the brain.

The middle of the ear acts as an amplifier for

sound waves - this is where the eardrum lives.

The eardrum is named accordingly, as it acts as

a drum. Sound bounces off of it and creates

vibrations that are sent to the inner part of the

ear.

The inner part of the ear is really what makes

hearing happen. Inside the inner ear is the

cochlea. The cochlea converts these vibrations

into electrical signals that our brains can

process.

pᴀɴdᴀ The cochlea is more effective at converting

vibrations into auditory signals when those

vibrations are at higher frequencies.

The general

range of human hearing is 20Hz to 20kHz

according to cochlea.org. This is the range in

which the cochlea is most effective; hearing

pitches lower than 20Hz is possible but difficult.

Different animals have different ranges as well,

which I think is interesting.

It's why dogs respond

to dog whistles, and elephants would be better at

hearing bass than we are; they hear from 16Hz.

Primarily speaking, the bass is hard to hear because of the human hearing range.

Though bass notes are usually a higher frequency than 20Hz, the minimum frequency we can hear, songs have many other auditory stimulations layered on top.

When you begin adding more music, bass notes

are easily muddied.

To summarize:

The Electric Bass falls in a range of frequencies that are naturally more difficult for the human ear to hear.

The accessibility and abundance of music have

desensitized our ears to be able to actively

listen to all of the parts in a piece of music.

The low frequency of the bass is competing

with other higher-range and brighter tone color

instruments in music.

Bass notes are often paired with drums. In

some songs, bass notes will hit on the same

beat as the kick drum, making it more difficult

to hear.

Recording techniques, effects, and distortion

can further dampen the bright tones in the bass

lines.

It's because of all these reasons that most people are unaware of the cruciality of the bass in music.

Before explaining the importance of the bass in music.

It's important to ask.

What is music?

This question might seem rudimentary, but it's

important to the conversation. Music is comprised

of three main elements:

Melody - The single-line phrase of notes on a

staff that is usually recurring throughout a

song.

Rhythm - The placement of sounds in time.

Harmony - The simultaneous occurrence of

two or more tones.

Some melodic instruments include saxophone,

flute, harp, and a vocalist. Melody is usually

the "singable" part of a song - like a happy birthday or twinkle twinkle little star.

In music, all instruments should be played in time.

But drums, marimba, and timpani are a few under

the category of rhythmic instruments, which help

drive the rhythm along.

Harmonic instruments would be your guitar, piano,

or violin. Harmony can also be created by multiple

instruments or voices, such as a symphony or a

choir.

The unique aspect regarding bass is that it falls

into two of these categories at once - rhythm and

harmony!

The bass plays two roles at once.

If someone is looking for an answer to the question of why bass is so important in music, first the person should know what sets bass instruments apart from a drum kit or a guitar.

In a rock band, the bass guitar acts as a bridge

between drums and guitar. The bass guitar can

drive a rhythm like the drums while also playing

pitch like a guitar. It's the bassist's responsibility to

hold the band together in rhythm and harmony.

The harmonic function of the bass provides a reference point for all other higher frequencies played over it. When our brains process a chord, the emotional content of that chord stems from the lowest pitch - the bass note.

Changing the bass note can completely alter the

feeling one gets upon hearing the chord.

Harmonically, the bass provides a foundation

that music is built upon.

The rhythmic function of the bass is the following.

Bass in music resonates with us because rhythm

is naturally occurring - in nature and our bodies.

Bass is harder to hear and easier to feel. Low-

range frequencies produced by bass

instruments cause resonance and vibrations

otherwise difficult to recreate using drums or

guitar.

It's these vibrations that get our feet

tapping and deeply resonating with the consistent

and repetitive rhythms we are familiar with, like a

heartbeat.

To sum it all up:

Bass is important in music because It bridges the gap between guitar and drums.

It provides a harmonic context and reference

point.

It resonates with the rhythms occurring

naturally in our bodies.

It supplements the stability of a song.

It's because Theo knew all of these things, that he paid extra attention whilst he learned the instrument.

But with the tempo practice that Theo did for learning the drums, he had much less difficulty learning how to play the electric bass.

After all, one of the functions of the bass was to work with the drums to set the rhythm of the song.

Therefore, his drumming skill was handy as he was learning the instrument.

And his enhanced musical ear and amazing motor coordination played a crucial part again in his learning experience.

By the end of the day, Theo was able to play songs as if he played bass for years.

He reached the professional skill in one day!

It was much faster than when he was learning guitar and drums.

Mainly because he had the experience of learning new instruments and the base skills in drumming.

To finish the day of learning before he went to the restaurant to cook.

He started playing a famous song from his past life that had an amazing bass solo.

Californication by Red Hot Chilli Peppers!

DUM DUN DAN DAN

[…Marry me, girl, be my fairy to the world, be my very own constellation

A teenage bride with a baby inside getting high on information

And buy me a star on the boulevard, it's Californication…]

Theo played skillfully and the popular song from the North American rock band was heard for the first time in that world.

The electric bass made its entrance!

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