Category: Strings
Ensemble/s: Rookie band, Concert Band or Symphonic Band, Guitar Ensembles, Contemporary Program
Sound Production: The strings are plucked, strummed or tapped
Interesting Facts:
- The modern bass guitar was invented by Leo Fender in 1951 as a cheaper, more portable, and louder alternative for double bassists playing in dance bands
- The bass guitar comes in two variants: the solid-body electric bass guitar and the hollow-body acoustic bass guitar. Both are traditionally tuned like a double bass, with the same four lowest strings (E’-A’-D-G) as a guitar, but an octave lower.
- The bass guitar can be played with or without a plectrum (pick)
- For much of its history, the bass guitar was considered a poor musician’s double bass.