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Bass (musical term)

 

 
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Bass (musical term)
 
 
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Bass ( as in base), when used as an adjective, is used to describe tone
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
s of low frequency
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 or range
Range (music)

In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing register , this is known as vocal range....
. Played in an ensemble
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
/orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
, such notes are frequently used to provide a counterpoint
Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more Register that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony....
 or counter-melody
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
, in a harmonic
Harmony

In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously, and chord s, actual or implied, in music. The word is related to the word "harmonic" which implies related wavelengths of waves....
 context either to outline or juxtapose the progression of the chord
Chord (music)

In music and music theory a chord is a set of two or more different note that sound simultaneously. Most often, in European-influenced music, chords are tertian Sonority that can be constructed as stacks of thirds relative to some underlying musical scale....
s, or with percussion
Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
 to underline the rhythm
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
. In popular music the bass part most often provides harmonic and rhythmic support, usually playing the root or fifth of the chord and stressing the strong beats.

noun, a bass is a musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
 or singer with a low range: see: bass (vocal range) and bass (instrument)
Bass (instrument)

Bass refers to a variety of musical instruments that can be collectively regarded as bass instruments since they produce tones that are in the bass range ....
.






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Bass ( as in base), when used as an adjective, is used to describe tone
Pitch (music)

Pitch represents the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. It is one of the three major auditory system attributes of sounds along with loudness and timbre....
s of low frequency
Frequency

Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit time. It is also referred to as temporal frequency.The period is the duration of one cycle in a repeating event, so the period is the reciprocal of the frequency....
 or range
Range (music)

In music, the range of a musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play. For a singing register , this is known as vocal range....
. Played in an ensemble
Musical ensemble

A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. In each musical style different norms have developed for the sizes and composition of different ensembles, and for the repertoire of songs or musical works that these ensembles perform....
/orchestra
Orchestra

An orchestra is an Musical ensemble, usually fairly large with string, brass, woodwind sections, and possibly a percussion section as well. The term orchestra derives from the name for the area in front of an theatre of ancient Greece reserved for the Greek chorus....
, such notes are frequently used to provide a counterpoint
Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more Register that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony....
 or counter-melody
Melody

In music, a melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity....
, in a harmonic
Harmony

In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously, and chord s, actual or implied, in music. The word is related to the word "harmonic" which implies related wavelengths of waves....
 context either to outline or juxtapose the progression of the chord
Chord (music)

In music and music theory a chord is a set of two or more different note that sound simultaneously. Most often, in European-influenced music, chords are tertian Sonority that can be constructed as stacks of thirds relative to some underlying musical scale....
s, or with percussion
Percussion instrument

A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being hit with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration....
 to underline the rhythm
Rhythm

Rhythm is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events....
. In popular music the bass part most often provides harmonic and rhythmic support, usually playing the root or fifth of the chord and stressing the strong beats.

Instrument or singer

As a noun, a bass is a musical instrument
Musical instrument

A musical instrument is an object constructed or used for the purpose of making music. In principle, anything that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument....
 or singer with a low range: see: bass (vocal range) and bass (instrument)
Bass (instrument)

Bass refers to a variety of musical instruments that can be collectively regarded as bass instruments since they produce tones that are in the bass range ....
. In a jazz or orchestral context, the term may refer to the double bass
Double bass

The double bass or contrabass is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow string instrument used in the modern orchestra. It is a standard member of the string section of the orchestra and smaller string musical ensembles in European classical music....
, the largest and lowest pitched bowed string instrument. In a popular music
Popular music

Popular music is music that is accessible to the mainstream and disseminated by one or more of the mass media. It belongs to any of a number of musical genres, and stands in contrast to classical music, which historically was the music of the elite and upper strata of society, and traditional music which was disseminated orally....
 context, the term often refers to the bass guitar
Bass guitar

The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
, a four-stringed instrument from the guitar family that is used to perform bassline
Bassline

A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, and electronic music for the low-pitched Part#Music or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the bass guitar, double bass or keyboard ....
s in rock and pop. In electronic music
Electronic music

Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology....
, programmed bass is used to fill out the frequency range and add more bottom-end to the song in order for it to sound more full and drive the song.

See also

  • Figured bass
    Figured bass

    Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate interval , chord s, and nonchord tones, in relation to a bass note....
  • Bass clef
  • Bassline
    Bassline

    A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, and electronic music for the low-pitched Part#Music or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the bass guitar, double bass or keyboard ....
  • Basso continuo
  • Bass note
    Bass note

    The bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. While the bass note is often the root or fundamental of the chord, it does not have to be, and sometimes one of the other pitches of the chord will be the root....
  • Ground bass
  • Sub bass