Articulation
The term articulation refers to the way notes are played and how long they are held for.
Common examples of articulation are legato and staccato. Legato means that the notes are played smoothly. If there is no word or symbol telling you how to play a note, you can assume it is to be played legato. Staccato means that a note is to be played short and separate from other notes (the opposite of legato). Staccato is indicated by a dot placed above or below a note as shown here.
The notes in the first bar of this example are played legato, while the second bar is played staccato. To play a note staccato, lift the left hand finger off the fret (but not totally off the string) as soon as the note has been played.
Occasionally all the notes in a bass line are played staccato, but it is more common that some are played legato while others are staccato. In many bass lines, the use of staccato notes can add extra drive to the rhythm as demonstrated in the following example.
In the first two bars all the notes are played legato. The third and fourth contain exactly the same notes, but some of them are played staccato. Notice how this helps to drive the line forward and adds life to it.
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 38 all the notes on the beat (the slapped notes) are played legato, while the notes off the beat (the popped notes) are played staccato.
This time the notes on the beat (slapped) are played staccato and the notes off the beat (popped) are legato. Listen to the difference this makes to the feel of the line even though the notes are the same.
This time the notes on the beat (slapped) are played staccato and the notes off the beat (popped) are legato. Listen to the difference this makes to the feel of the line even though the notes are the same.
Ghost Notes
Ghost note indicated by X instead of notehead.
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 notehead.
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 move 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.
