Bassist

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A bass player (bassist) is a musician who plays a double bass or electric bass (also referred to as bass guitar). Certain musical genres tend to be associated with each of these instruments. Since the 1960s, the electric bass is the standard bass instrument for rock and roll, jazz fusion (and occasionally other forms of jazz), heavy metal, country, reggae and pop music. The double bass is the standard bass instrument for classical music, Bluegrass, and Swing-era and Bebop-era jazz music. However, there are exceptions in both cases. Some 1990s and 2000s rock, pop, and punk rock/psychobilly bands use a double bass, such as Barenaked Ladies, Two Tons of Steel, Tiger Army, The Living End, HorrorPops occasionally. Some composers of modern art music use the electric bass in a chamber music setting, and some jazz big bands use electric bass. In 2006, Bass Guitar Magazine voted Jaco Pastorius to be "The Greatest Bass Player Who Has Ever Lived."

Electric bass players

Electric bassists play the bass guitar. In most rap, country, and pop genres, the bass line outlines the harmony of the music being performed, while simultaneously indicating the rhythmic pulse. In addition, there are different standard bass line types for different genres and types of song (e.g. blues ballad, fast swing, etc.). Basslines often emphasize the root, third, and fifth of the chords of the music. In addition, pedal tones (a repeated or sustained single note), ostinatos, and bass riffs are also used as bass lines.

Though less common, some bass players employ a polyphonic style of playing instead of a single-note melody, using full chords and double-stops to accent their basslines.

Double bass players

Classical double bass players of historical importance

• Domenico Dragonetti (1763-1845) composer, conductor
• Giovanni Bottesini (1821-1889) composer, conductor
• Franz Simandl (1840-1912) composer
• Edouard Nanny (1872-1943) composer
• Serge Koussevitzky (1874–1951) Conductor, composer

Lists of double bass players

• See List of contemporary classical double bass players
• See List of jazz bassists, which includes both double bass and electric bass players.
• See List of double bass players in other popular genres

External links

• Bass Guitar Magazine - The UKs No.1 magazine for bass players
• Bass Player magazine - Bass Player magazine
• BassPlaza.com - Thousands of bassplayers listed.
• BassGirls web magazine - monthly web magazine
• JazzDoubleBass.com - Resource about Double Bass in jazz

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Last updated on Sunday March 09, 2008 at 17:53:44 PDT (GMT -0700)
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