Hammond Music

Posts Tagged ‘acoustic bass guitar’

Buying A Bass Guitar

A bass guitar is pretty similar to a normal electric guitar, except the typical version only has four strings and it has a larger body plus a slightly longer neck. The first lesson in learning bass is to understand the instrument’s role in the band and the second lesson should be to get a grasp on the different ways to play the guitar depending on the different genres of music adopted by the band.

There are a variety of different and interesting techniques which can be used to play the bass guitar.  For example, slapping is a technique where you use your thumb to strike the E string (normally) before quickly pulling it away to make a slapping sound.  The E string is the largest string, the one that plays the lowest sound.  Funk music is one of the genres that uses this technique extensively.

Another technique is known as ‘popping’ and this involves putting one of the fingers underneath the string and pulling it outwards, before releasing it so that it ‘pops’ back. These two techniques (slapping and popping) are often used in quick combination to create some amazing sounding riffs.

The main backbone of a band is made up of the electric bass guitar working closely with the drummer. This section provides the rhythm, the main melody and the basic harmonic foundation for the rest of the band who play chords over the top of this foundation. Obviously, the bassist therefore needs to have particularly good timing. You will normally find more men than women playing the bass, not least because of how thick the strings are, therefore it needs a reasonable amount of finger strength and toughness to be able to play the instrument for very long periods of time without causing injury.  It is more likely to be the case if it is a particularly aggressive, rapid style of bass playing required for that type of music.

Another reason for this, is that many larger men have wider fingers, bigger hands, and longer arms which makes it much more comfortable than easy for them to play the bass, whereas it can be quite difficult for them to cope with the intricacies of the electric guitar.  For example, a rhythm guitarist will mainly play chords which are more suitable to smaller fingers and a dextrous hand.  Therefore for someone with quite large fingers who is possibly a little more clumsy than someone without, the bass guitar might be a much better choice.

Bass guitars are most usually played by using the middle finger plus the index finger to alternatively pluck the strings.  The thumb is usually used as a support and is most commonly rested just on top of the pick-up.  You can also play the bass guitar with a pick (otherwise known as a plectrum) and there are bass pics manufactured specifically for the bass guitar-these are thicker and more sturdy than the typical electric guitar pick.

If you are looking to buy a bass guitar on the internet, some good tips are to check that the sender will be using adequate packaging to protect the item in transit. Also, you should view pictures of the guitar closely if it is second-hand in order to try and find any marks or other giveaway signs that the instrument has been mis-treated or dropped, as any damage could affect the quality of the sound produced by it.

Of course, as with any purchase on the internet, is a good idea to have a good look at the credentials of the summer (for example if the seller is on eBay) or if it is on a website, it is wise to thoroughly check out the legitimacy of the website, how long it has been selling for online, and any customer reviews who have previously bought from that website.  Be sure to check out the refund policy as well as any other terms and conditions.

The guitar can refer to many diverse versions of guitars. Although the shapes and sizes of guitars may seem endless, the basic types are few.

Classical Guitars

It is fitting to begin with the classical guitar as its history goes back thousands of years and from this type of guitar comes all other guitars.The wider neck of the classical guitar enables the musician to play much more graceful and sophisticated music

These days guitar strings are made from nylon instead of animal intestines.The nylon guitar string operates under much less tension than does a steel guitar string.The softer tone of the classical guitar is different than the acoustic steel string guitar.

Acoustic Guitars

Acoustic guitar simply means the guitar needs no external amplification.The striking of the strings combined with the vibrating of the guitar body, provides the sound.Acoustic guitars are almost always made from wood, although with time has come the use of plastic bodies.The instrument many people start to learn music on is often the acoustic guitar.

Electric Guitars

The sound of the strings on an electric guitar are amplified by pickups and speakers.The electric guitar comes in more shapes and sizes than you can imagine but they all use amplification to be heard.Some of the famous makers of electric guitars are Fender and Gibson.

The face of music has changed dramatically since the invention of the electric guitar.

Electric Bass Guitars

The electric bass  guitar plays the notes an octave lower than the standard guitar.

The electric bass guitar generally has four strings although it may have 5 or sometimes six.The standard bearer of electric bass guitars is the Fender Jazz Precision Bass .

Acoustic Bass Guitars

The acoustic bass guitar is not known by many people, save the admirers of Mariachi music.To hear the sound of the strings in an acoustic bass guitar you must have a large body on the guitar.

Learning music is very often started on the guitar and is a obvious choice for today’s music hopeful