Just wondering... most songs I've heard, the vocalist obviously stands out, the guitarist stands out the second most, and the drums are very obvious too. So you can tell if someone is a good singer, guitarist, or drummer... but it's very hard to hear a bass, especially in a loud song, where the guitar seems to be taking over everything.
Is it because I listen with my headphones? A lot of people say, "this song has awesome bass" but I can't judge it...
2007-07-19 06:04:34 · 12 answers · asked by Sub Poofy 5 in Entertainment & Music ➔ Music ➔ Rock and Pop
Bass isn't necessarily always meant to stand out. A lot of the time bassists are working hard to coordinate the rhythm section with the chordal parts. The bass may be playing a similar line to the guitar only an octave or more lower in order to make the chords or riff sound fuller. You'll notice it if you heard it missing, but you might assume it's other instruments making the noise.
Also, as suggested by someone else, make sure you know what a bass sounds like, it has more range than you might think and can be mistaken for a guitar, especially if it has a distorted tone.
If you want to hear the bass guitar as a focus of the music there are a number of bassists who are up front in the mix of their recordings. Besides Flea there's Les Claypool of Primus, Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Geddy Lee of Rush. Any of these will help you to appreciate a few different artists all doing more "flashy" work on the bass.
2007-07-19 10:28:31 · answer #1 · answered by Gard Dawg 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In modern rock, the bass is the least heard and usually just follows the guitar. But in some rock songs and other genres, the bass stands out allot. I agree that you feel the bass more than you hear most of the time, especially when you play the music loud. This is because to hear is just to feel with you ear, so you can also 'hear' the bass with anywhere else.
Also, I'd like to note there is no bass in White Stripes, not even in Seven Nation Army. Jack white just ran his guitar through a whammy pedal one octave down.
2007-07-20 13:31:28 · answer #2 · answered by Jimmy C 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
look for the core rhythm of the song.....the bass tends to be the backbone of the song.....if you can find that, you're golden
Some songs that a bass line is relatively easy to find:
Alice In Chains - Would
The Beatles - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Sublime - What I Got, Santeria,
Faith No More - Falling To Pieces, Epic
Incubus - Drive, I Wish You Where Here
Jimi Hendrix - Fire
Led Zeppelin - Ramble On, Immigrant Song
Nirvana - Love Buzz
Pearl Jam - Jeremy
Rancid - Time Bomb
RHCP - Give It Away, Higher Ground, Under The Bridge
Staind - Mudshovel
White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
311 - All Mixed Up
2007-07-19 13:11:00 · answer #3 · answered by Dani G 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋
The bass of a song isn't necessarily the bass guitar itself, it's more like that deep vibrating noise that's commonly associated with a car blasting rap music and shaking from the noise being produced. A bass guitar can defintely produce similar wavelenghts like that but again there's really 2 definitions of bass.
Of course if you want some noticable bass guitar I'd have to recommend Red Hot Chili Peppers, In some cases Flea will actually override the guitar himself, I know it sounds crazy but it's true. If you want a great example of their bass guitar and bass wavelenghts I'd recommend you check out their song "Throw Away Your Television" from By the Way ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm3f_tvN8qE )
2007-07-19 13:17:10 · answer #4 · answered by I want my *old* MTV 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I agree, it's very hard to decipher. Your ear has to be sharp because must of the time, the bass sounds like a drum or like the guitar. It's constant and keeps up the tempo of the song.
Good luck!
-Stef
2007-07-19 13:07:49 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
To identify a bass you have to know what it sounds like. If you can hear the drums, you should be able to hear the bass because they are often locked in to a groove.
2007-07-19 13:09:25 · answer #6 · answered by bpo462 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Drums and Bass keep time for the rest of the band. You really FEEL it more than hear it. Bass vibrates down to your bones.
2007-07-19 19:04:41 · answer #7 · answered by DJAM 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
get a sub woofer or some bass boost head phones and set the equalizer for bass boost then play another one bites the dust, money, and roundabout
2007-07-19 14:32:29 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
just ask flea of the red hot chili peppers. hes jumpin around and has plenty of great bass solos
2007-07-19 13:16:21 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
listen to red hot chillie peppers korn or limp bizkit and you will hear cool bass.
2007-07-19 17:29:31 · answer #10 · answered by ralph p 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋