Articulation and Feel
The terms articulation and feel both refer to the way notes are played and how long they are held for. Staccato and legato are examples of articulation. Feel can refer to a particular set of articulations which are repeated and form the basis of the rhythmic feeling of a song. It can also refer to fine gradations of articulation.
For example, the exact amount of time staccato notes are held for can affects the overall "feel" of the rhythm. Experiment with the feel of the following exercise by making the lengths of the staccato notes short and clipped, and then make them held for longer. You will notice the latter gives the rhythm a "lazy" feeling. Also try this with other bass lines you know.
To become a good bass player, it is essential to have control over the way you articulate notes and to be able to choose the right articulations for a particular song. The following examples will give you some ideas about how to use staccato and legato in your playing. In example 51, all the notes are played staccato.
This time the notes on the beat are played staccato and the notes off the beat are legato. Listen to the difference this makes to the feel of the line even though the notes are the same.
Now try reversing the articulations. Once again this changes the feel of the line.
In many bass lines the pattern of legato and staccato notes is not so regular, as in the following example. Experiment with these articulations in your own bass lines as they can make a big difference to the way your playing sounds.
Accents
Sometimes you may want to play certain notes louder than others for dramatic effect. This is when accents are used. An accent is indicated by a wedge mark placed above or below the note as shown.
A good way to become comfortable with accents (or any articulations) is to practice them with scales. In the first two bars of this example the notes on the beat are accented, while in the third and fourth bars the notes off the beat are accented.
Here is a bass line which makes use of accents. Notice how the drummer plays the accents as well. The bass and drums working together like this can make a band sound really dynamic.
Ghost Notes
Another important type of articulation is the ghost note (sometimes called a percussive or dampened note). This is a note that has no particular pitch and is a more rhythmic technique of playing. It has a percussive sound and is achieved by the left hand lightly touching the string while the right hand plays the string. No fingers are pressed down on the neck when playing ghost notes. A ghost note is indicated by an X instead of a note head.
In this example, the first finger of the left hand plays the G note and then relaxes up off the fret each time a ghost note is played. The second, third and fourth fingers come to rest on the string each time a ghost note is played and then moves off the string while the G note is being played. Practice the technique slowly at first until you are comfortable with it.
Here are a couple of bass lines demonstrating the use of ghost notes.
