Different Styles And Genres of Bass Music

styles of music

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If you were to eat the same meal three times a day, every day for a year, chances are you would go mad. Why should music be any different? Believe it or not, it does in fact come in many flavors.

If you are looking to expand your playing style, the first step is to discover new forms of music. Luckily, we’re here for you; we can guide you towards some great music, full of great bass players.

First off, let’s get the prime styles out of the way; blue, rock, and jazz. While all three styles have a surplus of great bassists, the idea today is to expand your mind to different styles you may not have listened to before. With each style, we will list on or two artists or bands who we believe make a proper representation of the given genre.

Funk

Of course, funk has some of the most prominent bass lines in music. Not only is funk fun, but hardly anything can compare to a good slap and pop line, and in funk, those lines are in abundance. Two great funk artists are Herbie Hancock, and Donald Byrd. Hancock tends to veer more towards the experimental side of funk, while Byrd is just plain fun to listen to. When listening, keep an eye out for some of the great bass lines, as in both musicians work, they are in abundance.

Metal

Metal is an extreme genre. Not only does this apply to both vocals and guitar work, but in some cases, it also applies to the bass work as well. From slapping and popping to overall grooving, metal has a surplus of different styles involved when it comes to bass work. To bands with great bass work are Mudvayne and Atheist.

You may also notice the bands are fairly different; Mudvayne is Nu Metal, and the bass lines are mostly slapping and popping, done in pure tastefulness. Atheist is death metal fusion, and most of the involved bass lines are extremely jazz related, and brilliantly technical.

New Age

New age music is one of those timeless genres. New age varies from beautiful ambience to just plain weird, and everything in between. The best thing about new age music is that it is full of experimentation. One of the most exciting new age musicians is bassist Michael Manring. From tapping to slapping, arpeggios to simultaneous rhythm and lead playing, Manring does it all, and most of all, he does it all exceptionally.

Experimental

Experimental music ranges from extremely technical to tasteless. While this genre has its extremes on both ends, we like to focus on its better half. Two of the most talented experimental bands we have come across are Spiral Architect and Spastic Ink. Both are extremely technical, and have extremely talented bassists. Moreover, they both employ a variety of styles to convey a variety of techniques.

Jazz

Jazz is a great genre. It can go from easy to mind boggling in a matter of notes. This is why it is so loved; it is extremely versatile, and it employs hundreds of different techniques.

Jazz is also one of the few genres in which a bass player is a main voice, and all voices are created equal.

A majority of bass pieces are simply glorified improvisations. Each musician is allowed to take their turn soloing in the spotlight, and each musician is able to create a unique identity through their playing.

Understanding jazz bass playing is difficult at first, but once you get into it, you’ll be thankful. It can teach you everything that there is to know about phrasing and tasteful playing.

Metal

Heavy metal is an absurdly versatile genre. From thrash to fusion to death metal and everything in between, metal has explored the depths of every type of music. There are subgenres of metal that dip into country, jazz, blues, classical, funk, pop, and many other things; even reggae. Metal is known as an aggressive genre, but this isn’t always the case.

Metal can be as tasteful as the smoothest jazz, or as delicate as the most ornate classical piece. It’s all about context. There are bands who play Viking anthems, and bands who play so far out of the box that most listeners can hardly keep up with the level of technical skill being employed.

Getting into metal is a one way ticket; once you learn to love it, you’re hooked for life.

Blues

The blues are the epitome of emotion. Not only is the blues about wearing your heart on your sleeve for the world to see, but it is about translating your feelings into notes so that others can feel your pain. The blues are one of the oldest genres in modern music, and they have outlasted hundreds of fads.

This is for good reason; nothing can beat a good heart wrenching blues piece. The blues are the emotional rollercoaster of music; you’re strapped in at the start and no matter where it takes you, you’re stuck until the ride is over.

Pop

Pop is the upbeat, fun genre that allows even the simplest player to come forward and put out there ideas. Pop music focuses more on the overall song writing than anything else. If you like to play solos and impress people, pop won’t be for you.

If you like to craft catchy songs that almost anyone can relate to, pop is your cup of tea. Pop music can be happy, sad, or even dark, but the best thing about it is that it touches a broader audience due to its universal appeal. The fact is, people care more about singing along than hearing a shred fest.

Now that you know some new styles of music, and hopefully some great new bands and musicians, the next step is your; go on and give them all a listen. Do it with your musical ear wide open, and your judgmental ear closed.

Different Styles of Bass Music And Genres :

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#1 – Blues Instructions to Help You Achieve Your Goals in Style
If you want to learn bass playing, regardless of your goals, the best place to start is with the blues. The blues are the epitome of emotion in music; they are simplistic, deep, and full of both sorrow and solace.

#2 – Funk Lessons That Will Get You Grooving And Moving
Funk; the epitome of grooving and moving. Its broad appeal is due in part to the fact that it teaches so many of the foundational skills for different genres of music and that it can sound really cool even by itself alone.

#3 – Jazz Bass With Step by Step Instructions
Every style has its beginning –even a musical style as complex as jazz has a starting point. Very few musicians are simply born with the ability to play jazz. Those who do are lucky. For the rest of the world (about 99% of it) who wish to play jazz, they must start from the ground up.

#4 – Rock Masterclasses to For a Quick Start in this Fun And Exciting Genre
Rock and roll is one of the most popular modern music styles. Not only is it fun, exciting, loud, and proud, but it is a mixture of various genres all in one. In order to learn rock and roll, you need to learn a little bit of everything.

#5 – Samba Tutorials For a Deeper Understanding of Grooves
If we would like to gain a good understanding of how samba should played and what the basic groove of this kind of music is, we should probably take a look at an interesting samba drum beat and develop critical musical sense.

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JamPlay offers the best online bass instructions on the Internet. With hundreds of professionally recorded lessons, Jamplay is the ideal place to learn the basics and improve your bass playing skills. With great teachers and carefully planned lesson structures, I guarantee you will be able to take your bass playing to a higher level in no time.

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