South African Music Magazine
In Western Classical Music the most popular three scales used are: 1) The Major Scale 2) The Harmonic Minor Scale 3) The Melodic Minor Scale (We will only deal with the ascending versions of the two minor scales.) These three scales could be started from different points and we get what we call the modes. Read More »
The electric bass guitar is only about 50 years old and there are so many aspects of the instrument yet to be discovered. In this issue I would like to give a short overview on bass guitar technique. A musical instrument is normally designed with the following in mind: 1) The sound it needs to Read More »
In the previous issue I discussed the influence of various types of wood on shaping your bass sound. Pickups also play a major role in achieving the desired sound. In this issue we will go for a basic overview. We get (in order of popularity) MAGNETIC, PIEZO and the newest kind available, the OPTICAL pickup. Read More »
Choosing the right bass is not always as easy as one would think, but with some research, and if you have a good idea of what you are looking for in a bass, you will probably find an instrument that satisfies your needs. Some very important questions to ask yourself are the following: 1. What Read More »
The type of strings we use on our instruments play an enormous role in how it both sounds and feels.We should never under estimate the role strings play in the overall tone we get out of our basses. Understanding the various aspects of bass strings will help us know which ones to use for our Read More »
Tutorial: Play Better Bass BASS in WORLD MUSIC (Part 2) We dealt with some Rhythm aspects in World Music in Part One in the previous issue. In this edition we will look at some more of the Melodic approaches. The bass lines used are very much derived from scales used in the melodies of the Read More »
Play Better Bass I do not think that there are a lot of people that can come up with an absolute definition of what world music is. This is a short summary of my humble view. It is a style or styles of music and instrumentation that unites musicians from all over the world to Read More »
Bass Playing styles can be divided into four main categories. Finger-style Picking (plectrum/picks) Slapping and Popping Tapping Finger-style is by far the most popular style. Players alternate between the Index and Middle fingers. (Right Hand for right handed players) You can also use the other three fingers. The thumb sometimes gets used in African Read More »
As bassists, it is essential that we learn to trust and openly communicate with our comrades on the drums. Bassists and drummers should have a healthy, honest and trusting relationship. Below, I have outlined several key points that you should consider when working and locking in with your drummer. Both the bass Player and the Read More »
The effect you use on bass should add to, not detract from, your performance. So choosing the right effects takes some careful thought. Use of an effects pedal on bass, as I mentioned earlier on is nothing new. Paul McCartney used fuzz on his bass on Think for Yourself on The Beatles landmark 1966 LP Read More »
