Bass
Along with the drummer, the bass helps to keep solid time and provide the basic feel and drive. The bass and bass drum parts are often closely linked. The bass also spells out the chords and lays the foundation for the harmony of the song. Together, the bass and drums form the rhythm section.
While a singer or horn player has time to breathe between phrases and a guitarist or keyboard player leaves space between lines or chords, the drummer and bass player have to play consistently to keep the groove going and feeling good. It is the job of the rhythm guitarist to "lock in" with the rhythm section to keep the feel tight and drive the song forward.
Most electric basses have four strings which correspond to the bottom four strings of the guitar (E, A, D and G), but are tuned one octave lower. The strings are much thicker than guitar strings and the lower frets are wider apart. Like the electric guitar, the bass has pickups (usually two) and is played through an amplifier. The bass is usually played either with the index and middle fingers of the right hand, or "slap" style with the thumb and index finger, but it can also be played with a pick.
Bass Music Notation
Bass music is written on the bass staff and also uses Tablature – a notation system which uses lines to represent the strings of the bass and numbers to represent the frets.
Tablature
A number placed on a lines indicates the fret location of the note.
This indicates the 3rd fret of the second string (an F note).
This indicates the 7th fret of the 4th string (a B note).
This indicates the open third string (an A note)
