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What does "bass" mean now?
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bassmonk
Member
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:55 pm Posts: 64 Location: Scotland
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
mike kemp wrote: No wrong answers, apart from 42. Unless we're talking about Level 42.......?
_________________ David Stewart http://twitter.com/davidstew_arts
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:51 am |
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earthgene
Site Donor
Joined: Wed May 25, 2011 3:28 pm Posts: 4105
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
Loving this thread Mike. All plus 1's here, especially on Alain's foundation approach. In the house of music, bass is always the foundation.
I recall Rodrigo's definition of bass from Randy Clere's FHF (also, a fine bassist). The way he said it was just as relevant as what he said. He said that he approaches bass in such a way that he wants to inspire other people around him to make great music WITH him.
And then, there was the rest of my life....
So, to me, YES bass is an instrument, YES bass is a clef, YES bass is knob on your amp, but really, to me, bass is the feeling you get when you play a series of notes with such care and expertise, that people around you also want to be a part of it.
It's a bridge between the rhythm and the melody. That's what bass means now to me.
_________________ Gene Perry http://www.geneperry.com http://www.freehandsacademy.com
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:57 am |
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ArmyDoc
Contributor
Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2015 9:03 am Posts: 244 Location: Augusta GA
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
_________________ #6877 Rosewood, 12 String Grand, PASV-4, turquoise linear inlays and Pearl Gray tuners, tuned in Mirrored 4ths
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:35 am |
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bassmonk
Member
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:55 pm Posts: 64 Location: Scotland
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
Normally we'd say the three most important elements and the first to get right in a mix are bass, drums and vocals.. And we'd say that music is basically made up of melody, harmony and rhythm. So putting this together, bass is the primary harmony in music that bridges melody and rhythm and holds them together. Just my thoughts..
I never thought of myself as a guitarist - I came to the bass guitar from a piano background and have never approached it as a guitarist would - but I wouldn't have come into the world of "stringed instruments" if it hadn't been for my love of the bass part in music, which I always listened for and found exciting and inspiring. Bass guitar was the doorway into a new world of music and instruments, including the Stick.
What does bass mean now?.. It's not just an instrument, it's more foundational than that.. It's a part in the music, a part that everyone has a vested interest in, not just the "bassist"..
_________________ David Stewart http://twitter.com/davidstew_arts
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:41 am |
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bassmonk
Member
Joined: Mon Apr 12, 2010 5:55 pm Posts: 64 Location: Scotland
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
earthgene wrote: It's a bridge between the rhythm and the melody. That's what bass means now to me. Haha sorry just read your comment Gene - didn't mean to copy you, honest!
_________________ David Stewart http://twitter.com/davidstew_arts
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:43 am |
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BSharp
Master Contributor
Joined: Tue Aug 08, 2023 4:45 am Posts: 1183
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
Bass on a Stick are those three lowest strings creating roots, inversions and passing tones. If it extends up into the higher register, it becomes either the chordal element of your left hand or else a contrapuntal bass line against the melody line.
Bass in the room creates the big waves, casting a sheen over all the harmony and melody that's splashing about.
A chord inversion with the 5th scale degree in the bass seems suspended to my ears, hovering above the harmonic terrain. With a flatted 7th in the bass, I get a feeling of forward movement. A major 3rd in the bass seems very dissonant, as if the chord must quickly move somewhere.
Here's my proud moment, a reinterpretation of the classic jazz substitution chord with root related to the "lead sheet" chord by a flatted 5th. If you're in tonic C7 and moving to the IV major chord, you can lead into it with a transitory F#7 (the major 3rd and flatted 7th degrees switching roles in the process). Then you resolve down a half step to F major. Instead of naming this substitution chord "F#7", I give it the bass/chord inversion treatment, naming it C7/F# bass or C7/b5 bass.
Just for fun of course. OK, Steve A.?
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 3:24 pm |
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Alain
Elite Contributor
Joined: Wed Dec 09, 2009 5:02 am Posts: 2586 Location: Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
BSharp wrote: Bass on a Stick are those three lowest strings creating roots, inversions and passing tones. If it extends up into the higher register, it becomes either the chordal element of your left hand or else a contrapuntal bass line against the melody line.
Bass in the room creates the big waves, casting a sheen over all the harmony and melody that's splashing about.
A chord inversion with the 5th scale degree in the bass seems suspended to my ears, hovering above the harmonic terrain. With a flatted 7th in the bass, I get a feeling of forward movement. A major 3rd in the bass seems very dissonant, as if the chord must quickly move somewhere.
Here's my proud moment, a reinterpretation of the classic jazz substitution chord with root related to the "lead sheet" chord by a flatted 5th. If you're in tonic C7 and moving to the IV major chord, you can lead into it with a transitory F#7 (the major 3rd and flatted 7th degrees switching roles in the process). Then you resolve down a half step to F major. Instead of naming this substitution chord "F#7", I give it the bass/chord inversion treatment, naming it C7/F# bass or C7/b5 bass.
Just for fun of course. OK, Steve A.? Don't know if Steve agree with this...but I do...lol.
_________________ Grand Stick, Wenge, 12 strings, MR, SN 6667 http://soundcloud.com/Kataway http://www.youtube.com/user/Shawinijazz https://alainauclair.bandcamp.com/
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:28 pm |
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Lee Vatip
Site Donor
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2007 10:06 am Posts: 3230
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
Steve A not only agrees but uses this concept often. If you cycle down fiths using dominated chords you can see the tritone (3rd and b7) descending chromatically. Works well on Stick. Lee Vatip also uses this a lot
SA
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:03 pm |
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Jayesskerr
Elite Contributor
Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 9:43 am Posts: 4039
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
Tritone substitution...
Dmin7 G7 Cmaj7 becomes
Dmin7 Db7 Cmaj7
G7 = GBDF Db7 = DbFACb (Cb is a 'B' of course)
3rds and 7ths get inverted a tritone up, but still the same notes...B&F or F&Cb (B) It sounds really cool, all the kids are doing it these days...
_________________ GUITAR RULES https://www.facebook.com/scottsguitarstuffMy FB Page
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 7:35 pm |
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Boaz
Elite Contributor
Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2015 10:08 pm Posts: 1571 Location: Tel-Aviv, Israel
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Re: What does "bass" mean now?
the glue between rhythm and melody
_________________ Boaz Bar Levy
#7159, Grand Railboard,Plum, RMR tuning, MIDI melody. Manufactured Dec. 2018
#2001,10 strings Shedua, MR tuning Stickup, Fretrails Manufactured March 2002
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqNYL ... JdyVB5aBZQ
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Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:09 pm |
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