Arranging and Orchestration Concepts !! 103Electric Bass
Electric basses are used in almost all forms of contemporary music. Some
bassists specialize in rock and roll, while others only play jazz, rhythm and
blues, pop, and so on. (Not all jazz electric bassists play upright acoustic
bass.)
There are primarily two types of electric basses: one has four strings
(the standard), and the other has six strings (rare). Several custom-made
electric basses have five strings, the lowest note being a B (written below
the bass clef) rather than an E (written below the bass clef) found on four-
string basses.
In popular music, bass parts are usually written with chord symbols
above the notes so that the bassist can improvise using the written part as
a guide. Traditional orchestral contrabass parts are always notated.
Bassists (in popular music) are hired because of their individuality,
feel for the style of music, sense of time, technical ability, and musicality.
Most studio bass players can read music. Commercials are recorded dur-
ing one-hour recording sessions; therefore, the performers must work
quickly and accurately.
Range:Parts are written primarily in the bass clef and sound one
octave below where they are written. The lowest string is E, written on the
first leger line below the bass clef, followed by A, D, and G. The highest
written note is B-flat, above middle C. (The open strings and the bass
range are the same as the contrabass.)
Range:The six-string electric bass is rarely used. The notes are written
in the bass clef, tenor clef, and treble clef and sound an octave lower than
written. The lowest string is B, written directly below the bass clef, fol-
lowed by E, A, D, G, and C. The highest written note is C, two octaves
above middle C (see examples 6-4 and 6-5).
Example 6-4 Six-string electric bass open strings (lowest note is E and highest note is G).Example 6-5 Six-string electric bass range: staff indicates where the parts are written (four-
string range: lowest note is E and highest note is G).