bass guitar - wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

3/29/15 9:24 PMBass guitar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Bass guitar

A Music Man StingRay bass

String instrument

Other names Bass, electric bass guitar,electric bass

Classification String instrument (fingered orpicked; rarely strummed)

HornbostelSachsclassification

321.322(Composite chordophone)

Inventor(s) Paul Tutmarc, Leo Fender

Developed 1930s

Playing range

(a standard tuned 4-string bass guitar)

Related instruments

Electric guitarDouble bassAcoustic bass guitar

Musicians

Bass guitarFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The bass guitar[1] (also called electric bass,[2][3][4] orsimply bass; /bes/) is a stringed instrument playedprimarily with the fingers or thumb, by plucking,slapping, popping, (rarely) strumming, tapping, thumping,or picking with a plectrum, often known as a pick.

The bass guitar is similar in appearance and constructionto an electric guitar, but with a longer neck and scalelength, and four to six strings or courses. The four-stringbass, by far the most common, is usually tuned the sameas the double bass,[5] which corresponds to pitches oneoctave lower than the four lowest pitched strings of aguitar (E, A, D, and G).[6] The bass guitar is a transposinginstrument, as it is notated in bass clef an octave higherthan it sounds (as is the double bass) to avoid excessiveledger lines. Like the electric guitar, the bass guitar isplugged into an amplifier and speaker for liveperformances.

Since the 1960s, the bass guitar has largely replaced thedouble bass in popular music as the bass instrument in therhythm section.[7] While types of bass lines vary widelyfrom one style of music to another, the bassist usuallyfulfills a similar role: anchoring the harmonic frameworkand establishing the beat. Many styles of music utilise thebass guitar, including rock, metal, pop, punk rock,country, reggae, gospel, blues, and jazz. It is often asoloing instrument in jazz, jazz fusion, Latin, funk,progressive rock and other rock and metal styles.

Electric bass training is available from various collegesincluding the Bass Institute of Technology, the BerkleeCollege of Music, and Humber College, and someuniversities offer degrees in electric bass, such as theManhattan School of Music. Electric bassists can alsotake private lessons or learn by ear, by copying bass linesfrom records and CDs and playing in a number of bands.

Contents

1 History

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List of bass guitarists1.1 1930s1940s1.2 1950s1.3 1960s1.4 1970s1.5 1980sPresent

2 Design considerations2.1 Fretted and fretless basses2.2 Strings and tuning

2.2.1 Alternative range approaches3 Pickups and amplification

3.1 Magnetic pickups3.2 Non-magnetic pickups3.3 Amplification and effects

4 Playing techniques4.1 Sitting or standing4.2 Performing techniques

4.2.1 "Slap and pop"4.2.2 Picking techniques4.2.3 Palm-muting techniques4.2.4 Fretting techniques

4.2.4.1 Two-handed tapping5 Uses

5.1 Popular music5.2 Jazz and jazz fusion5.3 Contemporary classical music

6 Pedagogy and training6.1 Formal training6.2 Informal training

7 See also8 Footnotes and references9 Further reading10 External links

History

1930s1940s

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Musical instrumentinventor Paul Tutmarcoutside his music store inSeattle, Washington

Design patent issued toLeo Fender for thesecond-generationPrecision Bass

A FenderStandard JazzBass (front andback views)

In the 1930s, musician and inventor Paul Tutmarc from Seattle, Washington,who was manufacturing lap steel guitars, developed the first electric string bassin its modern form, a fretted instrument designed to be played horizontally. The1935 sales catalog for Tutmarc's electronic musical instrument company,Audiovox, featured his "Model 736 Bass Fiddle", a four-stringed, solid-bodied,fretted electric bass instrument with a 3012-inch (775 mm) scale length.[8] Theadoption of a "guitar" form made the instrument easier to hold and transport,than any of the existing stringed bass instruments. The addition of frets enabledbassists to play in tune more easily than on acoustic or electric upright basses.Around 100 of these instruments were made during this period.

Around 1947, Tutmarc's son, Bud, began marketing a similar bass under theSerenader brand name, prominently advertised in the nationally distributed L.D. Heater Music Company wholesale jobber catalogue of '48. However, theTutmarc family inventions did not achieve market success.

1950s

In the 1950s, Leo Fender, with the help of his employee George Fullerton,developed the first mass-produced electric bass.[9] His Fender Precision Bass,introduced in 1951, became a widely copied industry standard. The PrecisionBass (or "P-bass") evolved from a simple, un-contoured "slab" body design anda single coil pickup similar to that of a Telecaster to a contoured body designwith beveled edges for comfort and a split single coil pickup with four poles oneach half, two poles for each string. This "split pickup", introduced in 1957,appears to have been two mandolin pickups (Fender was marketing a four stringsolid body electric mandolin at the time). The pole pieces and leads of the coilswere reversed with respect to each other, producing a humbucking effect.

The "Fender Bass" was a revolutionary new instrument,which could be easily transported to a gig, and amplified tojust about any volume without feeding back".[10] MonkMontgomery was the first bass player to tour with theFender bass guitar, with Lionel Hampton's postwar bigband.[11] Roy Johnson, and Shifty Henry with Louis Jordan

& His Tympany Five, were other early Fender bass pioneers.[9] Bill Black, playing withElvis Presley, adopted the Fender Precision Bass around 1957.[12] The bass guitar wasintended to appeal to guitarists as well as upright bass players, and many early pioneersof the instrument, such as Carol Kaye and Joe Osborn, were originally guitarists.

Following Fender's lead, in 1953, Gibson released the first short scale violin-shapedelectric bass with extendable end pin, allowing it to be played upright or horizontally.Gibson renamed the Electric Bass in 1958 to the EB-1 [13] (The EB-1 was reissuedaround 1970, but this time without the end pin.) Also in 1958 Gibson released the maple arched top EB-2described in the Gibson catalogue as A hollow-body electric bass that features a Bass/Baritone pushbutton

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Gibson EB-3

for two different tonal characteristics.[14] In 1959 these were followed by the more conventional-lookingEB-0 Bass. The EB-0 was very similar to a Gibson SG in appearance (although the earliest examples have aslab-sided body shape closer to that of the double-cutaway Les Paul Special).

Whereas Fender basses had pickups mounted in positions in between the base of theneck and the top of the bridge, many of Gibson's early basses featured onehumbucking pickup mounted directly against the neck pocket. The EB-3, introducedin 1961, also had a "mini-humbucker" at the bridge position. Gibson basses alsotended to be smaller, sleeker instruments; Gibson did not produce a 34-inch(864 mm) scale bass until 1963 with the release of the Thunderbird, which was alsothe first Gibson bass to use dual-humbucking pickups in a more traditional position,about halfway between the neck and bridge. A small number of other companies alsobegan manufacturing bass guitars during the 1950s: Kay in 1952, and Danelectro in1956;[12]

1956 saw the appearance at the German trade fair "Musikmesse Frankfurt" of thedistinctive Hfner 500/1 violin bass made using violin construction techniques byWalter Hfner, a second generation violin luthier.[15] The instrument is often knownas the "Beatle Bass", due to its endorsement by Paul McCartney. In 1957Rickenbacker introduced the model 4000 bass,[16] the first bass to feature a neck-through-body design; the Fender and Gibson versions used bolt-on and glued-onnecks.

1960s

With the explosion of the popularity of rock music in the 1960s, many more manufacturers began makingelectric basses. First introduced in 1960, the Fender Jazz Bass was known as the Deluxe Bass and was meantto accompany the Jazzmaster guitar. The Jazz Bass (often referred to as a "J-bass") featured two single-coilpickups, one close to the bridge and one in the Precision bass' split coil pickup position. The earliestproduction basses had a 'stacked' volume and tone control for each pickup. This was soon changed to thefamiliar configuration of a volume control for each pickup, and a single, passive tone control. The Jazz Bass'neck was narrower at the nut than the Precision bass 112 inches (38 mm) versus 134 inches (44 mm).

Another visual difference that set the Jazz Bass apart from the Precision is its "offset-waist" body. Pickupshapes on electric basses are often referred to as "P" or "J" pickups in reference to the visual and electricaldifferences between the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass pickups.

Fender also began production of the Mustang Bass; a 30-inch (762 mm) scale length instrument used bybassists such as Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads and Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones ("P" and "J"basses have a scale length of 34 inches (864 mm), a design echoed on most current production electricbasses of all makes). In the 1950s and 1960s, the instrument was often called the "Fender bass", due toFender's early dominance in the market. The Fender VI, a baritone guitar, was tuned one octave lower thanstandard guitar tuning. It was released in 1961, and was favored by Jack Bruce of Cream.[17]

Gibson introduced the short-scale 3012-inch (775 mm) EB-3 in 1961, also used by Jack Bruce.[18]

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1970s FenderJazz Bass withmaple fretboard

A Rickenbacker4001 bass.

1970s

The 1970s saw the founding of Music Man Instruments by Tom Walker, Forrest White and Leo Fender,which produced the StingRay, the first widely produced bass with active (powered) electronics. Thisamounts to an impedance buffering pre-amplifier on board the instrument to lower the output impedance ofthe bass's pickup circuit, increasing low-end output, and overall frequency response (more lows and highs).Specific models became identified with particular styles of music, such as the Rickenbacker 4001 series,which became identified with progressive rock bassists like Chris Squire of Yes, and Geddy Lee of Rush,while the StingRay was used by Louis Johnson of the funk band The Brothers Johnson.

In 1971, Alembic established the template for what became known as "boutique" or "high-end" electric bassguitars. These expensive, custom-tailored instruments, as used by Phil Lesh, Jack Casady, and StanleyClarke, featured unique designs, premium hand-finished wood bodies, onboard electronics for

preamplification and equalization, and innovative constructiontechniques such as multi-laminate neck-through-body constructionand graphite necks. In the mid-1970s, Alembic and other boutiquebass manufacturers, such as Tobias, produced four-string and five-string basses with a low "B" string. In 1975, bassist AnthonyJackson commissioned luthier Carl Thompson to build a six-stringbass tuned (low to high) B0, E1, A1, D2, G2, C3.

1980sPresent

In the 1980s, bass designers continued to explore new approaches.Ned Steinberger introduced a headless bass in 1979 and continuedhis innovations in the 1980s, using graphite and other newmaterials and (in 1984) introducing the TransTrem tremolo bar. In1982, Hans-Peter Wilfer founded Warwick, to make a Europeanbass in contrast to the Asian and American basses. The first basswas a Streamer Bass Bass, which is similar to the Spector NS. In1987, the Guild Guitar Corporation launched the fretless Ashborybass, which used silicone rubber strings and a piezoelectric pickupto achieve a "double bass" sound with a short 18-inch (457 mm)scale length. In the late 1980s, MTV's "Unplugged" show, which

featured bands performing with acoustic instruments, helped to popularize hollow-bodied acoustic bass guitars amplified with pickups.

During the 1990s, as five-string basses became more widely available and more affordable, an increasingnumber of bassists in genres ranging from metal to gospel began using five-string instruments for addedlower rangea low "B". As well, onboard battery-powered electronics such as preamplifiers and equalizercircuits, which were previously only available on expensive "boutique" instruments, became increasinglyavailable on modestly priced basses.

In the 2000s (decade), some bass manufacturers included digital modelling circuits inside the instrument torecreate tones and sounds from many models of basses (e.g., Line 6's Variax bass). Traditional bass designssuch as the Fender Precision Bass and Fender Jazz Bass remained popular in the 2000s (decade); in 2011, a60th Anniversary P-bass was introduced by Fender, along with the re-introduction of the short-scale FenderJaguar Bass.

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An early 1980s-era Steinbergerheadless bass

Design considerationsBass bodies are typically made of wood, although other materials such as graphite (for example, some of theSteinberger designs) have also been used. While a wide variety of woods are suitable for use in the body,neck, and fretboard of the bass guitar, the most common type of wood used for the body is alder, for theneck is maple, and for the fretboard is rosewood. Other commonly used woods include mahogany, maple,ash, walnut, and poplar for bodies, mahogany for necks, and maple and ebony for fretboards.

Other design options include finishes, such as lacquer, wax and oil; flat and carved designs; Luthier-produced custom-designed instruments; headless basses, which have tuning machines in the bridge of theinstrument (e.g., Steinberger and Hohner designs) and several artificial materials such as luthite. The use ofartificial materials (e.g., BassLab) allows for unique production techniques such as die-casting, to producecomplex body shapes. While most basses have solid bodies, they can also includehollow chambers to increase the resonance or reduce the weight of the instrument.Some basses are built with entirely hollow bodies, which change the tone and resonanceof the instrument. Acoustic bass guitars are typically equipped with piezoelectric ormagnetic pickups and amplified.

Instruments handmade by highly skilled luthiers are becoming increasingly available.Exotic materials include woods such as bubinga, wenge, ovangkol, ebony and goncaloalves. Graphite composite is used to make lightweight necks[19][20] Exotic woods areused on more expensive instruments: for example, Alembic uses cocobolo as a body ortop layer material because of its attractive grain. Warwick bass guitars are also wellknown for exotic hardwoods: most of the necks are made of ovangkol, and thefingerboards wenge or ebony. Solid bubinga bodies are also used for tonal and aestheticqualities.

A common feature of more expensive basses is "neck-through" construction. Instead ofmilling the body from a single piece of wood (or "bookmatched" halves) and thenattaching the neck into a pocket (so-called "bolt-on" design), neck-through bases areconstructed first by assembling the neck, which may comprise one, three, five or morelayers of wood in vertical stripes, which are longer than the length of the fretboard. Tothis elongated neck, the body is attached as two wings, which may also be made up ofseveral layers. The entire bass is then milled and shaped. Many players believe neck-through construction provides better sustain and a mellower tone than bolt-on neckconstruction. While neck-through construction is most common in handmade"boutique" basses, some models of mass-produced basses such as Ibanez's BTB seriesalso have neck-through construction. Bolt-on neck construction doesn't necessarilyimply a cheaply made instrument; virtually all traditional Fender designs still use bolt-on necks for instruments costing thousands of dollars, and many boutique luthiers buildbolt-on basses as well as neck-through.

The number of frets installed on a bass guitar neck may vary. The original Fender basses had 20 frets, andmost bass guitars have between 20 and 24 frets or fret positions. Instruments with between 24 and 36 frets (2and 3 octaves) also exist.

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A fretless bass withflatwound strings; markersare inlaid into the side of thefingerboard, to aid theperformer in finding thecorrect pitch.

The long scale necks on Leo Fender's basseswith a scale length (distance between nut and bridge) of 34inches (864 mm) set the standard for electric basses, although 30-inch (762 mm) "short scale"instruments, such as the Hfner 500/1 "violin bass" played by Paul McCartney, and the Fender MustangBass are also common. While 35-inch (889 mm), 3512-inch (902 mm), and 36-inch (914 mm) scale lengthswere once only available in "boutique" instruments, in the 2000s (decade), many manufacturers beganoffering these "extra long" scale lengths. This extra long scale provides a higher string tension, which mayyield a more defined tone on the low "B" string of five- and six-stringed instruments (or detuned four-stringbasses).

Fretted and fretless basses

Another design consideration for the bass is whether to use frets on thefingerboard. On a fretted bass, the frets divide the fingerboard into semitonedivisions (as on a guitar). Fretless basses have a distinct sound, because theabsence of frets means that the string must be pressed down directly onto thewood of the fingerboard as with the double bass. The string buzzes againstthe wood and is somewhat muted because the sounding portion of the stringis in direct contact with the flesh of the player's finger. The fretless bassallows players to use the expressive devices of glissando, vibrato andmicrotonal intonations such as quarter tones and just intonation.

While fretless basses are often associated with jazz and jazz fusion, bassistsfrom other genres have always used fretless basses, such as Freebo (country),Rick Danko (rock/blues), Rod Clements (folk), Steve DiGiorgio (metal),Colin Edwin (modern/progressive rock). Some bassists use both fretted andfretless basses in performances, according to the type of material they are performing, e.g. Pino Palladino orTony Levin.

The first fretless bass guitar was made by Bill Wyman in 1961 when he converted an inexpensive Japanesefretted bass by removing the frets.[21][22] The first production fretless bass was the Ampeg AUB-1introduced in 1966, and Fender introduced a fretless Precision Bass in 1970. Around 1970, Rick Danko fromThe Band began to use an Ampeg fretless, which he modified with Fender pickupsas heard on the 1971Cahoots studio album and the Rock of Ages album recorded live in 1971.[23][24] Danko said, "It's a challengeto play fretless because you have to really use your ear."[25]

In the early 1970s, fusion-jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius created his own fretless bass by removing the frets[26]

from a Fender Jazz Bass, filling the holes with wood putty, and coating the fretboard with epoxy resin.[27]Some fretless basses have "fret line" markers inlaid in the fingerboard as a guide, while others only useguide marks on the side of the neck.

Tapewound (double bass type) and flatwound strings are sometimes used with the fretless bass so the metalstring windings do not wear down the fingerboard. Some fretless basses have epoxy coated fingerboards toincrease the fingerboard's durability, enhance sustain, and give a brighter tone.

Strings and tuning

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Note positions on a right-handed four-string bass in standard EADGtuning. The dots below the frets are often inlaid into the wood of bassnecks, as a visual aid to help the player find different positions.

The tuning machines (with spiralmetal worm gears) are mounted onthe back of the headstock on thebass guitar neck.

Washburn XB600, a sixstring bass

The standard design for the electric bass guitar has four strings, tuned E,A, D and G,[28] in fourths such that the open highest string, G, is aneleventh (an octave and a fourth) below middle C, making the tuning ofall four strings the same as that of the double bass (E1, A1, D2, G2).This tuning is also the same as the standard tuning on the lower fourstrings on a six-string guitar, only an octave lower. String types includeall-metal strings (roundwound, flatwound, halfwound, ground wound,and pressure wound); as well as metal strings with different coverings,such as tapewound and plastic-coatings. The variety of materials used inthe strings gives bass players a range of tonal options. In the 1950s andearly 1960s, bassists mostly used flatwound strings with a smoothsurface, which had a smooth, damped sound reminiscent of a doublebass. In the late 1960s and 1970s, roundwound bass strings similar toguitar strings became popular, though flatwounds also remain popular. Roundwounds have a brighter timbrewith longer sustain than flatwounds.

A variety of tuning options and number of string courses have been used to extend the range of theinstrument, or facilitate different modes of playing. The most common are four, five, or six strings:

Four strings with alternative tunings to obtain an extended lower range.[29]

Tuning in fifths e.g., C-G-D-A gives an extended upper and lower range.Five stringsusuallytuned B0-E1-A1-D2-G2, whichprovidesextendedlower range. Another common tuning used on early five-string basses is E-A-D-G-C, known as "tenor tuning". This is still a popular tuning for jazz and solo

bass. Other tunings such as C-E-A-D-G are used in rare cases. The fifth string provides a greaterlower range (if a low B or A is used) or a greater upper range (if a high C string is added) than thefour-string bass, and gives access to more notes for any given hand position. The earliest five stringwas created by Fender in 1965. The Fender Bass V used the E-A-D-G-C tuning, but was unpopularand discontinued in 1970. The common low B five string was created by Jimmy Johnson as a custominstrument in 1975. He bought an E-A-D-G-C 5-string Alembic bass, replaced the nut, and used anew, thick low B string from GHS to accommodate the instrument accordingly. Steinberger made a 5-string headless instrument called the L-2/5 in 1982, and later Yamaha offered the first productionmodel as the BB5000 in 1984.Six strings are usually tuned B0-E1-A1-D2-G2-C3like a four-string bass with an additional low"B" string and a high "C" string. Some players prefer B0-E1-A1-D2-F 2-B2, which preserves the

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A bass guitar headstock with detunerset to D position.

A seven-string fretlessbass

intervals of standard guitar tuning and makes the highest and lowest string the same note two octavesapart. While less common than four or five-string basses, they appear in Latin, jazz, and other genres,as well as in studio work where a single instrument must be highly versatile. Alternative tunings forsix-string bass include B-E-A-D-G-B, matching the first five strings of an acoustic or electric guitar,and E-A-D-G-B-E, completely matching the tuning of a six-string guitar but one octave lowerallowing the use of guitar chord fingerings. Rarer tunings such as E-A-D-G-C-F and F#-B-E-A-D-Gprovide a lower or higher range in a given position while maintaining consistent string intervals. Theoriginal six-string bass was the LongHorn6, created by Danelectro in 1958, as a guitar tuned down anoctave (EADGBE). In 1974, Anthony Jackson worked with Carl Thompson to create the Contrabassguitar (BEADGC). Later, Jackson brought his ideas to Fodera in cooperation with Ken Smith to createa wider-spaced Contrabass guitar, which evolved to the modern six-string bass.Eight and twelve-string models are both built on the same course string concept found on twelve-string guitars, where sets of strings are spaced together in groups of two or three that are primarilyplayed simultaneously. These instruments typically have one of the strings in each course tuned anoctave above the 'standard' string, although a fifth above is also used. Instruments with 10 and 15strings, grouped in 5 courses, also exist.Detuners, such as the Hipshot, are mechanical devices theplayer operates with the thumb on the fretting to quickly retuneone or more strings to a pre-set lower pitch. Hipshots typically

drop the "E"-string down to "D" on a four string bass.[30]

Alternative range approaches

Some bassists use other types of tuningto extended the range or get otherbenefits, such as providing multipleoctaves of notes at any given position, or a larger tonal range. Instrument typesor tunings used for this purpose include basses with fewer than four strings(one-string bass guitars,[31] two-string bass guitars, three-string bass guitars[tuned to E-A-D])[32] and alternative tunings e.g., tenor bass.[33]

Extended Range Basses (ERBs) are basses with six to twelve stringswith theadditional strings used for range rather than unison or octave pairs. A seven-

string bass (B0-E1-A1-D2-G2-C3-F3) was built by luthier Michael Tobias in 1987. This instrument,commissioned by bassist Garry Goodman, was an early example of a bass with more than six single coursestrings.

In 1999 South American ERB player Igor Saavedra designed one of the first 8 string ERBs known, andasked Luthier Alfonso Iturra to build it for him. [34] Conklin builds custom ERB basses.[35] The Guitarbassis a ten-string instrument with four bass strings (tuned E-A-D-G) and six guitar strings (tuned E-A-D-G-B-

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E).[36] Luthier Michael Adler built the first 11-string bass in 2004 and completed the first single-course 12-string bass in 2005. Adler's 11- and 12-string instruments have the same range as a grand piano.[37] Sub-contra basses, such as C#-F#-B-E ("C#" being at 17.32 Hz (C0))[38] have been created. Ibanez hadreleased SR7VIISC in 2009, featuring a 30-inch (762 mm) scale and narrower width, and tuned as B-E-A-D-G-C-E; the company dubbed it a cross between bass and guitar.[39]

In 2011 Warwick released a new Thumb NT 7 bass for Jeroen Paul Thesseling, featuring a 34-inch(864 mm) scale with sub-contra tuning F#-B-E-A-D-G-C. Yves Carbonne developed 10 and 12 stringfretless sub-bass guitars.[40][41][42]

Piccolo Basses are cosmetically similar to a four-stringed electric bass guitar, but usually tuned one wholeoctave higher than a normal bass. The first electric piccolo bass was constructed by luthier Carl Thompsonfor Stanley Clarke. To allow for the raised tuning, the strings will be thinner, and the length of the neck (thescale) may be shorter. Several companies manufacture piccolo sets that can be put on any regular bass,thereby converting any bass into a piccolo bass. Because of the thinner strings, a new nut may be required tohold the strings. Some people prefer a slightly shorter scale, such as 30 inches (762 mm) or 28 inches(711 mm).

The tuning varies with the personal tastes of the artist, as does the number of strings. Joey DeMaio from theheavy metal band Manowar plays with four strings on his piccolo bass. Jazz bassist John Patitucci used asix-string piccolo bass, unaccompanied, on his song "Sachi's Eyes" on his album One More Angel. MichaelManring has used a five-string piccolo bass in several altered tunings. Michael uses D'Addario EXL 280piccolo bass strings on his four-string hyperbass, made by Zon Guitars.

Pickups and amplification

For more information on pickups, see Pick up (music technology).

Magnetic pickups

Most electric bass guitars use magnetic pickups. The vibrations of the instrument's ferrous metal stringswithin the magnetic field of the permanent magnets in magnetic pickups produce small variations in themagnetic flux threading the coils of the pickups. This in turn produces small electrical voltages in the coils.These low-level signals are then amplified and played through a speaker. Since the 1980s, basses are oftenavailable with battery-powered "active" electronics that boost the signal, provide equalization controls toboost or cut bass and treble frequencies, or both.

"Precision" pickups (which refers to the Fender Precision Bass), also referred to as "P pickups", aretwo distinct single-coil pickups. Each is offset a small amount along the length of the body so thateach half is underneath two strings. The pickups are reverse-wound with reversed magnetic polarity toreduce hum. This makes the 'P' pickup a humbucking single coil pickup. Less common is the "single-

coil P" pickup, used on the original 1951 Fender Precision bass.[43] P-style pickups are generallyplaced in the "neck" or "middle" position, but some luthiers and performers have used P pickups in thebridge position, or in between two jazz pickups.

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Dual "J"-style pickups P-style, split-coil pickups

"Jazz" pickups (referring to the original Fender Jazz Bass), also referred to as "J pickups", are widereight-pole pickups that lie underneath all four strings. J pickups are typically single-coil designs,though there are a large number of humbucking designs. Traditionally, two of them are used, one ofthem near the bridge and another closer to the neck. As with the halves of P-pickups, the J-pickups arereverse-wound with reverse magnetic polarity. As a result they have hum canceling properties whenused at the same volume, with hum cancellation decreasing when the pickups are used at unequal

volume and altogether absentwhen each pickup is usedindividually. 'J' Style pickupstend to have a lower output anda thinner sound than 'P' Stylepickups making it perfect formost rock music. Many bassistscombine a 'J' pickup at thebridge and a 'P' pickup at theneck so they can blend the twosounds.

Dual coil "humbucker" pickups, sometimes abbreviated to DC pickups, have two signal producingcoils that are reverse wound around opposed polarity magnets (similar in principle to the twoindividual J-pickups). This significantly reduces noise from interference compared to single coilpickups. Humbuckers also often produce a higher output level than single coil pickups. Dual coilpickups come in two main varieties; ceramic or ceramic and steel. Ceramic only magnets have arelatively harsher sound than their ceramic and steel counterparts, and are thus used more commonlyin heavier rock styles.

A well-known bass humbucker is the pickup used on the Music Man series of basses; it has twocoils, each with four large polepieces. This style is known as the "MM" pickup for this reason,and many aftermarket pickup manufacturers and custom builders incorporate these pickups intheir designs. The most common configurations are a single pickup at the bridge, two pickupssimilar in placement to a Jazz Bass, or an MM pickup at the bridge with a single-coil pickup(often a "J") at the neck. These pickups can often be "tapped", meaning one of the two coils canbe essentially turned off, giving a sound similar to a single-coil pickup.

"Soapbar" Pickups are so-named due to their resemblance to a bar of soap and originally referred tothe Gibson P-90 guitar pickup. The term is also used to describe any pickup with a rectangular shapeand no visible pole pieces; most of the pickups falling into this category are humbucking. They arecommonly found in basses designed for the rock and metal genres, such as Gibson, ESP Guitars, andSchecter, however they are also found on 5- and 6-string basses made popular by jazz and fusion

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music, such as Yamaha's TRB and various Peavey model lines. 'Soapbar pickups' are also called'extended housing pickups'.

Many basses have just one pickup, typically a "P" or soapbar pickup. Multiple pickups are also quitecommon, two of the most common configurations being a "P" near the neck and a "J" near the bridge (e.g.,Fender Precision Bass Special, Fender Precision Bass Plus), or two "J" pickups (e.g., Fender Jazz). A two-"soapbar" configuration is also very common, especially on basses by makes such as Ibanez and Yamaha. Acombination of a J or other single-coil pickup at the neck and a Music Man-style humbucker in the bridgehas become popular among boutique builders, giving a very bright, focused tone that is good for jazz, funkand thumbstyle.

Some basses use more unusual pickup configurations, such as a soapbar and a "P" pickup (found on someFenders), Stu Hamm's "Urge" basses, which have a "P" pickup sandwiched between two "J" pickups, andsome of Bootsy Collins' custom basses, which had as many as 5 J pickups. Another unusual pickupconfiguration is found on some of the custom basses that Billy Sheehan uses, in which there is onehumbucker at the neck and a split-coil pickup at the middle position.

The placement of the pickup greatly affects the sound. A pickup near the neck joint emphasizes thefundamental and low-order harmonics and thus produces a deeper, bassier sound, while a pickup near thebridge emphasizes higher-order harmonics and makes a "tighter" or "sharper" sound. Usually basses withmultiple pickups allow blending of the output from the pickups, with electrical and acoustical interactionsbetween the two pickups (such as partial phase cancellations) allowing a range of tonal effects.

Non-magnetic pickups

The use of non-magnetic pickups allows bassists to use non-ferrous strings suchas nylon, brass or even silicone rubber, which create different tones.

Piezoelectric pickups (also called "piezo" pickups) are non-magneticpickups that use a transducer to convert vibrations in the instrument'sbody or bridge into an electrical signal. They are typically mounted underthe bridge saddle or near the bridge and produce a different tone frommagnetic pickups, often similar to that of an acoustic bass. Piezo pickupsare often used in acoustic bass guitars to allow for amplification without amicrophone.Optical pickups are another type of non-magnetic pickup. They use aninfrared LED to optically track the movement of the string, which allowsthem to reproduce low-frequency tones at high volumes without the"hum" or excessive resonance associated with conventional magneticpickups. Since optical pickups do not pick up high frequencies orpercussive sounds well, they are commonly paired with piezoelectricpickups to fill in the missing frequencies. LightWave Systems buildsbasses with optical pickups.

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A Yamaha BB404F,which has two passivesingle coil pickups.

This amplification setupis a "bass stack"approach, in which anamplifier (in this case aHartke 5000) is pluggedinto separate speakercabinets.

Amplification and effects

Like the electric guitar, the electric bass guitar is often connected to an amplifierand a speaker with a patch cord for live performances. Electric bassists useeither a "combo" amplifier, which combines an amplifier and a speaker in asingle cabinet, or an amplifier and a separate speaker cabinet (or cabinets). Insome cases, when the bass is used with large-scale PA amplification, it isplugged into a "DI" or direct box, which routes the signal directly into a mixingconsole, and thence to the main and monitor speakers. Recording may use amicrophone setup in front of the amplifier speaker for the amplified signal, adirect box that feeds the recording console, or a mix of both.

Various electronic bass effects such as preamplifiers, "stomp box"-style pedalsand signal processors and the configuration of the amplifier and speaker can beused to alter the basic sound of the instrument. In the 1990s and early 2000s(decade), signal processors such as equalizers, overdrive devices (sometimesreferred to as "fuzz bass"[44]), and compressors or limiters became increasinglypopular. Modulation effects like chorus, flanging, phase shifting, and timeeffects such as delay and looping are less commonly used with bass than withelectric guitar, but they are used in some styles of music.

Playing techniques

Sitting or standing

Most bass players stand while playing, although sitting is also accepted,particularly in large ensemble settings, such as jazz big bands or in acoustic genres such as folk music. Somebassists, such as Jah Wobble, alternate between standing or seated playing. It is a matter of the player'spreference as to which position gives the greatest ease of playing and what a bandleader expects. Whensitting, right-handed players can balance the instrument on the right thigh or like classical guitar players, theleft. Balancing the bass on the left thigh usually positions it in such a way that it mimics the standingposition, allowing for less difference between the standing and sitting positions. Balancing the bass on theright thigh provides better access to the neck and fretboard in its entirety, especially lower frets.

Performing techniques

In contrast to the upright bass (or double bass), the electric bass guitar is played horizontally across thebody, like an electric guitar. When the strings are plucked with the fingers (pizzicato), the index and middlefingers (and sometimes with the thumb, ring, and little fingers as well) are used. James Jamerson, aninfluential bassist from the Motown era, played intricate bass lines using only his index finger, which hecalled "The Hook." There are also variations in how a bassist chooses to rest the right-hand thumb (or leftthumb in the case of left-handed players). A player may rest his or her thumb on the top edge of one of thepickups or on the side of the fretboard, which is especially common among bassists who have an uprightbass influence. Some bassists anchor their thumbs on the lowest string and move it off to play on the lowstring. Alternatively, the thumb can be rested loosely on the strings to mute the unused strings.

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This picture shows the positionand form of the slapping hand, forthe slap bass style. The side of thethumb is used to "slap" one of thelower strings, while the fingers areused to "pop" notes from one ofthe two higher strings.

The string can be plucked at any point between the bridge and the point where the fretting hand is holdingdown the string; different timbres are produced depending on where along the string it is plucked. Whenplucked closer to the bridge, the string produces more pronounced harmonics, giving a brighter tone. Closerto the middle of the string that harmonics are less pronounced, giving a more mellow tone.

Bassists trying to emulate the sound of a double bass sometimes pluck the strings with their thumb and usepalm-muting to create a short, "thumpy" tone. The late Monk Montgomery (who played in LionelHampton's band) and Bruce Palmer (who performed with Buffalo Springfield) use thumb downstrokes. Theuse of the thumb was acknowledged by early Fender models, which came with a "thumbrest" or "Tug Bar"attached to the pickguard below the strings. Contrary to its name, this was not used to rest the thumb, but toprovide leverage while using the thumb to pluck the strings. The thumbrest was moved above the strings in1970s models (as a true thumbrest) and eliminated in the 1980s.

"Slap and pop"

The slap and pop method, or "thumbstyle", most associated with funk,uses tones and percussive sounds achieved by striking, thumping, or"slapping" a string with the thumb and snapping (or "popping") a stringor strings with the index or middle fingers. Bassists often interpolate lefthand-muted "dead notes" between the slaps and pops to achieve a rapidpercussive effect, and after a note is slapped or popped, the fretting handmay cause other notes to sound by using "hammer ons", "pull offs", or aleft-hand glissando (slide). Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stoneand Graham Central Station was an early innovator of the slap style, andLouis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson is also credited as an early slapbass player.

Slap and pop style is also used by many bassists in other genres, such asrock (e.g., J J Burnel and Les Claypool), metal (e.g., Eric Langlois,Martin Mendez, Fieldy and Ryan Martinie), and fusion (e.g., MarcusMiller, Victor Wooten and Alain Caron). Slap style playing waspopularized throughout the 1980s and early 1990s by pop bass playerssuch as Mark King (from Level 42) and rock bassists such as with PinoPalladino (currently a member of the John Mayer Trio and bassist forThe Who),[45] Flea (from the Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Alex Katunich(from Incubus). Spank bass developed from the slap and pop style andtreats the electric bass as a percussion instrument, striking the stringsabove the pickups with an open palmed hand. Wooten popularized the"double thump," in which the string is slapped twice, on the upstroke and a downstroke (for moreinformation, see Classical Thump). A rarely used playing technique related to slapping is the use of woodendowel "funk fingers", an approach popularized by Tony Levin.

Picking techniques

The pick (or plectrum) is used to obtain a more articulate attack, for speed, or just personal preference.Although the use of a pick is primarily associated with rock and punk rock, picks are also used in otherstyles. Jazz bassist Steve Swallow often plays with a pick, while Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters uses one

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This photo illustrates how PaulMcCartney mutes the strings withhis picking hand.

for a heavier tone. Mike Gordon of Phish uses a pick while also incorporating slapping techniques into hisplaying. Picks can be used with alternating downstrokes and upstrokes, or with all downstrokes for a moreconsistent attack. The pick is usually held with the index and thumb, with the up-and-down plucking motionsupplied by the wrist.

There are many varieties of picks available, but due to the thicker, heavier strings of the electric bass,bassists tend to use heavier picks than those used for electric guitar, typically ranging from 1.14 mm3.00 mm (3.00 is unusual). Different materials are used for picks, including plastic, nylon, and felt, all ofwhich produce different tones. Felt picks are used to emulate a fingerstyle tone.

Palm-muting techniques

Palm-muting is a widely used bass technique. The outer edge of the palm of the picking hand is rested on thebridge while picking, and "mutes" the strings, shortening the sustain time. The harder the palm presses, orthe more string area that is contacted by the palm, the shorter the strings sustain. The sustain of the pickednote can be varied for each note or phrase. The shorter sustain of a muted note on an electric bass can beused to imitate the shorter sustain and character of an upright bass. Palm-muting is commonly done whileusing a pick, but can also be done without a pick, as when doing down-strokes with the thumb.

One prominent example of the pick/palm-muting combination is Paul McCartney, who has consistently usedthis technique for decades. Sting also uses palm-muting; but often does so without a pick, using the thumband first finger to pluck.

Fretting techniques

The fretting hand, the left hand for right-handed bass players and theright hand for left-handed bass players, is used to press down the stringsto play different notes and shape the tone or timbre of a plucked orpicked note. The fundamental technique used in the fretting hand isknown as "a finger per fret", where each finger in the fretting hand playsone fret in a given position. Also, the double bass technique can be usedfor fretting. This technique involves the use of four fingers in the spaceof three frets, especially in the lower positions. When considering thespacing between notes, this is a comfortable distance for the averageperson's hand size. The main advantage of the "four fingers in threefrets" technique is less tendon strain, leading to a diminished likelihoodof Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).[46] The "four-in-three" technique isdemonstrated in the image below (A bassist performing tapping).

The fretting hand can be used to change a sounded note, either by fullymuting it after it is plucked or picked to shorten its duration or bypartially muting it near the bridge to reduce the volume of the note, ormake the note die away faster. The fretting hand is often used to mute strings that are not being played andstop the sympathetic vibrations, particularly when the player wants a "dry" or "focused" sound. On the otherhand, the sympathetic resonance of harmonically related strings may be desired for some songs, such asballads. In these cases, a bassist can fret harmonically related notes. For example, while fretting a sustained"F" (on the third fret of the "D" string), underneath an F major chord being played by a piano player, abassist might hold down the "C" and low "F" below this note so their harmonics sound sympathetically.

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A bassist performingtapping, in which notes aresounded by striking thestrings against the fretboard

The fretting hand can add vibrato to a plucked or picked note, either a gentle, narrow vibrato or a moreexaggerated, wide vibrato with bigger pitch variations. For fretted basses, vibrato is always an alternationbetween the pitch of the note and a slightly higher pitch. For fretless basses, the player can use this style ofvibrato, or they can alternate between the note and a slightly lower pitch. While vibrato is mostly done on"stopped" notesthat is, notes that are pressed down on the fingerboardopen strings can also be vibratoedby pressing down on the string behind the nut. As well, the fretting hand can be used to "bend" a plucked orpicked note up in pitch. To create the opposite effect, a "bend down", the string is pushed to a higher pitchbefore being plucked or picked and then allowed to fall to the lower, regular pitch after it is sounded.Though rare, some bassists may use a tremolo bar-equipped bass to produce the same effect.

In addition to pressing down one note at a time, bassists can also press down several notes at one time withtheir fretting hand to perform a chord. While chords are used less often by bassists than by electric guitarists,a variety of chords can be performed on the electric bass, especially with instruments with higher rangessuch as six-string basses. Another variation to fully pressing down a string is to gently graze the string withthe finger at the harmonic node points on the string, which creates chime-like upper partials. Glissando is aneffect in which the fretting hand slides up or down the neck. A subtle glissando can be performed by movingthe fretting hand without plucking or picking the string; for a more pronounced effect, the string is pluckedor picked first, or, in a metal or hardcore punk context, a pick may be scraped along the sides of the strings.

The fretting hand can also be used to sound notes, either by plucking an openstring with the fretting hand, or, in the case of a string that has already beenplucked or picked, by "hammering on" a higher pitch or "pulling off" afinger to pluck a lower fretted or open stringed note. Jazz bassists use asubtle form of fretting hand pizzicato by plucking a very brief open stringgrace note with the fretting hand right before playing the string with theplucking hand. When a string is rapidly hammered on, the note can beprolonged into a trill.

Two-handed tapping

In the two-handed tapping styles, bassists use both hands to play notes on thefretboard by rapidly pressing and holding the string to the fret. Instead ofplucking or picking the string to create a sound, in this technique, the action of striking the string against thefret or the fretboard creates the sound. Since two hands can be used to play on the fretboard, this makes itpossible to play interweaving contrapuntal lines, to simultaneously play a bass line and a simple chord, orplay chords and arpeggios. Bassist John Entwistle of The Who tapped percussively on the strings, causingthem to strike the fretboard with a twangy sound to create drum-style fills. Players noted for this techniqueinclude Cliff Burton, Billy Sheehan, Stuart Hamm, John Myung, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Mark King,and Michael Manring. The Chapman Stick and Warr Guitars are string instruments specifically designed tobe played using two-handed tapping.

Uses

Popular music

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This sample illustrates a simplepop bass line over a D majorprogression

A blues bass line played with apick.

Popular music bands and rock groups use the bass guitar as a member of the rhythm section, which providesthe chord sequence or "progression" and sets out the "beat" for the song. The rhythm section typicallyconsists of a rhythm guitarist or electric keyboard player, or both, a bass guitarist and a drummer; largergroups may add additional guitarists, keyboardists, or percussionists.

Bassists often play a bass line composed by an arranger or composer of a songor, in the case of a coversong, the bass line from the original. In other bandse.g., jazz-rock bands that play from lead sheets andcountry bands using the Nashville number systembassists are expected to improvise or prepare their ownpart to fit the song's chord progression and rhythmic style.

Types of bass lines vary widely, depending on musical style. However,the bass guitarist generally fulfills a similar role: anchoring theharmonic framework (often by emphasizing the roots of the chordprogression) and laying down the beat in collaboration with thedrummer. The importance of the bass guitarist and the bass line varies indifferent styles of music. In some pop styles, such as 1980s-era pop and musical theater, the bass sometimesplays a relatively simple part as the music emphasizes vocals and melody instruments. In contrast, in reggae,funk, or hip-hop, entire songs may center on the bass groove, and the bass line is usually prominent in themix.

In traditional country music, folk rock, and related styles, the bass often plays the roots and fifth of eachchord in alternation. In Chicago blues, the electric bass often performs a walking bassline made up of scalesand arpeggios. In blues rock bands, the bassist often plays blues scale-based riffs and chugging boogie-stylelines. In metal, the bass guitar may perform complex riffs along with the rhythm guitarist or play a low,rumbling pedal point to anchor the group's sound.

The bass guitarist sometimes breaks out of the strict rhythm section roleto perform bass breaks or bass solos. The types of bass lines used forbass breaks or bass solos vary by style. In a rock band, a bass break mayconsist of the bassist playing a riff or lick during a pause in the song. Insome styles of metal, a bass break may consist of "shred guitar"-style tapping on the bass. In a funk or funkrock band, a bass solo may showcase the bassist's percussive slap and pop playing. In genres such asprogressive rock, art rock, or progressive metal, the bass guitar player may play melody lines along with thelead guitar (or vocalist) and perform extended guitar solos.

Chords are not used that often by electric bass players. However, in some styles, bassists may sound "doublestops", such as octaves with open strings and powerchords. In Latin music, double stops with fifths areused.[47] Robert Trujillo of Metallica is known for playing "massive chords" [48] and "chord-basedharmonics" [49] on the bass. Lemmy of Motrhead often plays power chords in his bass lines. When askedabout whether he had begun as a rhythm guitarist, he stated:[50]

No, I play a lot of notes, but I also play a lot of chords. And I play a lot of open strings. I justdon't play like a bass player. There are complaints about me from time to time. It's not likehaving a bass player; it's like having a deep guitarist.

Jazz and jazz fusion

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A walking bass line, as referred to below. It's calleda "walking" bass line because of the way it rises andfalls using scale notes and passing notes.

The electric bass is a relative newcomer to the world of jazz. The big bands of the 1930s and 1940s Swingera and the small combos of the 1950s Bebop and Hard Bop movements all used the double bass. Theelectric bass was introduced in some bands in the 1950s and it became prominent during the late 1960s andearly 1970s, when rock influences were blended with jazz to create jazz-rock fusion.

The introduction of the electric bass in jazz fusion, as inthe rock world, helped bassists play in high-volumestadium concerts with powerful amplifiers, because it iseasier to amplify the electric bass than the double bass(the latter is prone to feedback in high-volume settings).The electric bass has both an accompaniment and asoloing role in jazz. In accompaniment, the bassist mayperform walking basslines for traditional tunes and jazzstandards, playing smooth quarter note lines that imitatethe double bass. For latin or salsa tunes and rock-infusedjazz fusion tunes, the electric bass may play rapid,syncopated rhythmic figures in coordination with the drummer, or lay down a low, heavy groove.

In a jazz setting, the electric bass tends to have a much more expansive solo role than in most popular styles.In most rock settings, the bass guitarist may only have a few short bass breaks or brief solos during aconcert. During a jazz concert, a jazz bassist may have a number of lengthy improvised solos, which arecalled "blowing" in jazz parlance. Whether a jazz bassist is comping (accompanying) or soloing, theyusually aim to create a rhythmic drive and "timefeel" that creates a sense of "swing" and "groove". Forinformation on notable jazz bassists, see the List of jazz bassists article.

Contemporary classical music

Contemporary classical music uses both the standard instruments of Western Art music (piano, violin,double bass, etc.) and newer instruments or sound producing devices, ranging from electrically amplifiedinstruments to tape players and radios. The electric bass guitar has occasionally been used in contemporaryclassical music (art music) since the late 1960s. Contemporary composers often obtained unusual sounds orinstrumental timbres through the use of non-traditional (or unconventional) instruments or playingtechniques. As such, bass guitarists playing contemporary classical music may be instructed to pluck orstrum the instrument in unusual ways.

American composers using electric bass in the 1960s included experimental classical music composerChristian Wolff (born 1934) (Electric Spring 1, 1966; Electric Spring 2, 1966/70; Electric Spring 3, 1967;and Untitled, 1996); Francis Thorne, a student of Paul Hindemith at Yale University (born 1922), who wrote(Liebesrock 196869); and Krzysztof Penderecki (Cello Concerto no. 1, 1966/67, rev. 1971/72), The Devilsof Loudun, 1969; Kosmogonia, 1970; and Partita, 1971), Louis Andriessen (Spektakel, 1970; De Staat,197276; Hoketus, 1976; De Tijd, 198081 and De Materie, 19841988). European composers who beganscoring for the bass guitar in the 1960s included Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen (born1932) (Symfoni p Rygmarven, 1966; Rerepriser, 1967; and Piece by Piece, 1968); Irwin Bazelon (ChurchillDowns, 1970).

In the 1970s, electric bass was used by the American conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein (19181990)for his MASS (1971). American jazz pianist Dave Brubeck used bass guitar for his 1971 piece Truth HasFallen. Russian and Soviet composer Alfred Schnittke used the instrument for his Symphony no. 1, 1972. In

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Russian and Sovietcomposer AlfredSchnittke, pictured herein 1989, used electricbass for his Symphonyno. 1 (1972).

1977, David Amram (born 1930) scored for electric bass in En memoria deChano Pozo. Amram is an American composer known for his eclectic use ofjazz, ethnic and folk music.

In the 1980s and 1990s, electric bass was used in works by Hans Werner Henze(El Rey de Harlem, 1980; and Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, 1981), HaroldShapero, On Green Mountain (Chaconne after Monteverdi), 1957, orchestrated1981; Steve Reich's Electric Counterpoint (1987), Wolfgang Rihm (DieEroberung von Mexico, 198791), Arvo Prt (Miserere, 1989/92), SteveMartland (Danceworks, 1993; and Horses of Instruction, 1994), SofiaGubaidulina (Aus dem Stundenbuch, 1991), Giya Kancheli (Wingless, 1993),John Adams (I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, 1995; andScratchband, 1996/97), and Michael Nyman (various works for the MichaelNyman Band).

Pedagogy and trainingThe pedagogy and training for the electric bass varies widely by genre andcountry. Rock and pop bass has a history of pedagogy dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, when methodbooks were developed to help students learn the instrument. One notable method book was Carol Kaye'sHow to Play the Electric Bass.

In the jazz scene, since the bass guitar takes on much of the same role as the double basslaying down therhythm, and outlining the harmonic foundationelectric bass players have long used both bass guitarmethods and jazz double bass method books. The use of jazz double bass method books by electric bassplayers in jazz is facilitated in that jazz methods tend to emphasize improvisation techniques (e.g., how toimprovise walking basslines) and rhythmic exercises rather than specific ways of holding or plucking theinstrument.

Formal training

Of all of the genres, jazz and the mainstream commercial genres (rock, R&B, etc.) have the most establishedand comprehensive systems of instruction and training for electric bass. In the jazz scene, teens can begintaking private lessons on the instrument and performing in amateur big bands at high schools or run by thecommunity. Young adults who aspire to becoming professional jazz bassists or studio rock bassists cancontinue their studies in a variety of formal training settings, including colleges and some universities.

Several colleges offer electric bass training in the US. The Bass Institute of Technology (BIT) in LosAngeles was founded in 1978, as part of the Musician's Institute. Chuck Rainey (electric bassist for ArethaFranklin and Marvin Gaye) was BIT's first director. BIT was one of the earliest professional trainingprogram for electric bassists. The program teaches a range of modern styles, including funk, rock, jazz,Latin, and R&B.

The Berklee College of Music in Boston offers training for electric bass players. Electric bass students getprivate lessons and there is a choice of over 270 ensembles to play in. Specific electric bass courses includefunk/fusion styles for bass; slap techniques for electric bass; fingerstyle R&B; five- and six-string electricbass playing (including performing chords); and how to read bass sheet music.[51] Berklee College alumni

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The Manhattan School of Music, at the intersection of West122nd Street (Seminary Row) and Broadway

include Jeff Andrews, Victor Bailey, Jeff Berlin, Michael Manring, and Neil Stubenhaus.[51] The BassDepartment has two rooms with bass amps for classes and ten private lesson studios equipped with audiorecording gear. Berklee offers instruction for the four-, five-, and six-string electric bass, the fretless bass,and double bass. "Students learn concepts in Latin, funk, Motown, and hip-hop,...jazz, rock, and fusion."[51]

In Canada, the Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning offers an Advanced Diploma(a three-year program) in jazz and commercial music. The program accepts performers who play bass,guitar, keyboard, drums, melody instruments (e.g., saxophone, flute, violin) and who sing. Students getprivate lessons and perform in 40 student ensembles.[52]

Although there are far fewer university programsthat offer electric bass instruction in jazz andpopular music, some universities offerBachelor's degrees (B.Mus.) and Master ofMusic (M.Mus.) degrees in jazz performance or"commercial music", where electric bass can bethe main instrument. In the US, the ManhattanSchool of Music has a jazz program leading toB.Mus. and M.Mus degrees that accepts studentswho play bass (double bass and electric bass),guitar, piano, drums, and melody instruments(e.g., saxophone, trumpet, etc.).[53]

In the Australian state of Victoria, the VictorianCurriculum and Assessment Authority has setout minimum standards for its electric bassstudents doing their end-of-year Soloperformance recital. To graduate, students mustperform pieces and songs from a set list that includes Baroque suite movements that were originally writtenfor cello, 1960s Motown tunes, 1970s fusion jazz solos, and 1980s slap bass tunes. A typical program mayinclude a Prelude by J.S. Bach; "Portrait of Tracy" by Jaco Pastorius; "Twisted" by Wardell Gray and AnnieRoss; "Whats Going On" by James Jamerson; and the funky Disco hit "Le Freak" by Chic.[54]

In addition to college and university diplomas and degrees, there are a variety of other training programssuch as jazz or funk summer camps and festivals, which give students the opportunity to play a wide rangeof contemporary music, from 1970s-style jazz-rock fusion to 2000s-style R&B.

Informal training

In other less mainstream genres, such as hardcore punk or metal, the pedagogical systems and trainingsequences are typically no

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