Introduction
We all love guitars. We also have been enjoying all kind of music played by expert guitarists, and we always encourage the new artists. The guitar becomes iconic for the young generation. It is a ‘must-have’ thing for the teenagers for their high school. It is an instrument with strings that produces melodious music when it plucked by either fingers or a prick.
Apart from the guitar, there is another instrument called bass guitar or just ‘bass,’ that looks quite similar to a guitar and even gives soulful music with its marvelous lower notes. Why then it is called bass and what the difference is the between bass and guitar! Let’s try to find out in this article.
There are many differences between bass and the guitar from which I am mentioning the significant differences here. If you observe both the guitars, you may find out the primary difference, which is appearance. Bass guitars tend to be bigger than the regular guitars, with a thicker neck and larger body. Apart from that, we have brought out some elements that help you differentiate them better.
Pitch Range
The sound that these instrument make are completely different. The bass plays entirely 1 octave lower than guitar. So, we can’t forget this critical point when we talk about bass vs guitar.
Instrument roles
The roles go normally like this: bass is more of a supportive role and guitar is more of a lead role. But that doesn’t mean that the bassist is not essential. He/she can be considered as a ‘driving force’ according to the type of the concert. Also, if you want to play bass as a lead role, you can do it. Letting bass be in the lead role for some parts of the song livens up the entire song and sounds very nice.
Guitar and bass string difference
Guitar has 6 strings, but bass has 4 strings. The strings on bass are also thicker which means that they are little bit harder to pull than on a normal guitar. Some people say that Bass is harder to play because of that but that isn’t completely the case.
Tuning Keys
The tuning keys of bass are larger than the guitar. If you notice, you can realize that the guitar has tiny tuning keys, but bass has big and hefty tuning keys. The bass keys are easier to turn as they are large. You don’t have to twist the tiny things with thicker strings, which make them comfortable.
Instrument difficulty
The 4 strings of bass might seem like ease to play with compared to the guitars 6 strings but that isn’t the case at all. While having lesser strings might seem easier the reality is that they are at same difficulty level. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the song that you are playing and if it’s difficult or not.
Should I play guitar or bass?
This is another tricky question that only YOU can decide. Different people like different roles in a band. If you want to be a lead guitarist, go for the classic guitar. If you fancy being in a more supportive role then play bass. It is important to try different ideas so don’t be afraid to switch between the two instruments if you don’t feel like your first choice was the right one.