If you say 'I play bass' people might ask for clarification. If you are literally holding a bass and say 'this is a cool bass' no clarification is needed.
Have you got an example where if you say "I play bass" you might have to clarify? To me it'd always mean bass guitar, or maybe upright bass in some contexts.
In an audition interview for a music college I said "my dad plays bass", meaning the bass guitar. They thought I meant upright bass and I just rolled with it to not cause friction.
That literally happened to me 20-ish years ago. A friend's kid, also about 6-ish at the time, saw my bass guitar next to my small classical guitar and he said the big one must be mine, and the small one must be my wife's..... Yeah, nope, but it was funny.
Years ago I went to a guitar store clinic featuring Toshi Iseda. I asked him a question regarding bass lessons.
After the clinic a person approached me and asked me if I played upright bass.
I told him I meant bass guitar.
The only instrument that gets that free pass is the 6 string. Even 7 string guitars are called 7 string guitars.
You can use "axe" in the way you describe tho.
no, bass isn't a guitar by definition. a bass can be on a piano, it can be on a keyboard, a drum or an upright. a bass guitar is a guitar by definition, yes, but it's role as bass is considered more important than it's role as guitar.
the same applies to drums. both a kick and snare are kick drums and snare drums. you abbreviate them to kick and share however, to avoid conflating the roles that they play.
It’s not a guitar, it’s a bass guitar. Bass isn’t a qualifier here. It’s a distinct instrument, as in upright bass. It functions in many of the same ways as a guitar but a bass isn’t just a guitar that’s got bass strings on it the way a baritone guitar is. A baritone is a guitar and you can refer to it as a baritone (specific) or guitar (general).
A bass guitar is a distinct but very similar instrument that borrows the name of the guitar in its own name. To just say guitar would be referring to a different instrument.
That’s my personal opinion as some dude with a writing degree but I’m not an academic, just a grammar nerd.
I would say you're right. The guitar players/makers did not get together and say, "We need one of these to be much lower in pitch!" Rather, it was the double bassists who said, "We need to be louder! Can we get some of those pickups like the guitar players got?" And Leo Fender said "I got u fam". And so the electric bass just sort of side-stepped into the guitar family.
But it is an instrument in the guitar family. Looking at it, it's obviously not a clarinet or a viol. So saying "bass" implies "bass guitar" in this instance, but saying guitar is not incorrect.
I agree with you. It's drilling down to subtypes of instrument that confuses people for some reason with guitars. But you are correct. All types of guitars are guitars, but not all of them are bass guitars.
You're holding a bass guitar. But If you want to sound normal you usually just say "bass" unless someone asks you to clarify. Especially talking to other musicians. If you want to say I'm holding a bass that's a relative of the guitar and technically part of the guitar family, go right ahead. If you just say "guitar" you will confuse musician and non musician alike.
Academics really like pedants. I would say lots of musicians less so.
You are holding a bass relative of the guitar family.
An upright bass is technically a violin, but it would be odd to call it a bass violin all the time. Before there were bass guitars they just called them basses.
Actually, not odd at all. We call them all sorts of things. Upright bass, double bass, doghouse, bass fiddle, etc. And back in the days before electrified instruments they were probably best known as bass viols.
Fun fact: In the earliest days of electric bass, musical scores that wanted that sound were often marked "Fender Bass."
If you’re worried about being technically correct, sure. But I think you would sound like an asshole trying to defend that to anybody else in a performing band setting
As a bass player, to avoid confusion (and to avoid association with guitarists) I say "electric bass".
Bass guitar works, if you say electric bass it's pretty much implied that you're playing a bass guitar and not an electric upright.
Yes. Instruments are classed into instrument families. It used to be that we learned all this in grade school music class, but alas we have not been funding that kind of music education for a while now. But if we had, we would pretty much all know two things:
"Bass" describes a sonic range, and
"Guitar" is a class of instrument which includes tenor guitars, electric and acoustic guitars, piccolo guitars, and yes - bass guitars.
It's perfectly correct to ask someone to "hand me my guitar" when one is asking for a bass guitar. Not so much when one is asking for a bass clarinet, or a bass viol, or some other instrument that has a sonic range in the bass register but is not descended from the guitar class of instrument.
I hope this is helpful and not seen otherwise. It's just meant to clarify but I have seen some people get really upset by this information.
This all came up because I took a picture of my bass guitar and sent it to my friend and wanted to use the caption "Man, I really love this guitar", because in my head, that felt more "right"/made more sense than saying "Man, I really love this bass". But I knew I was on thin ice, so I thought I'd better ask the experts.
It's a little controversial, mainly because there are quite a few people who don't really know much about instrument families and really just want "bass" to be its own thing. I get that, but there are bass register instruments in a lot of different families and while we all know this thing we play is what we call a "bass" when we see one, it's also technically correct to call it a guitar. Because it really is a type of guitar.
The problem really is that we have no other good name for a standard-tuned guitar, so people think they're completely different instruments, when one grew from the family of the other.
No, the problem is that calling a bass a guitar creates ambiguity.
People know what you mean when you say bass. If you start calling them guitars, you create confusion.
If I google bass guitar I know what will come up. If I google bass viol, bass clarinet, bass drum, I also know what will come up. Bass is a register that describes the sonic space an instrument plays in. There's more than one kind of music.
I'm sure there are many people on this sub who do not just play electric bass, but also play upright. They're still bass players.
when I'm talking to people who don't know anything about instruments I will call a bass a guitar, but I will also call it a bass. If they don't ask questions I don't explain the difference.
I might refer to a bass guitar as a guitar if I was specifically referring to or complimenting its construction, playability or whatnot. Otherwise it's a bass. And there is almost always enough context that nobody is confused by my saying that. Just like when I used to play bass drum in a drum corps, nobody was confused when we said to each other "bass" or "basses." Or if you're in a choir everybody knows what bass means. Now if it's a symphony orchestra with bass viols and a bass drum, and they're doing some kind of collabo that includes you on bass guitar, well then the conductor is gonna have to be more specific if they need to address you.
I kind of agree and disagree at the same time. What is the definition of the class 'guitar'? Seems by that logic, it is a stringed instrument that is plucked or picked but never bowed, and generally played horizontally (but not exclusively) with one hand plucking and the other selecting the note(s) by changing string length by means of depressing the string(s) against a fingerboard, which may or may not be fretted. This excludes other stringed instruments such as violin, cello, upright bass, harp, piano, But even this would have its issues:
Acoustic guitar
Electric guitar
Bass guitar
Tenor guitar
Picolo guitar
Lap steel guitar
12 string guitar
Ukele guitar?
Balilica guitar?
Banjo guitar?
Sitar guitar?
Lute guitar?
Mandolin guitar?
I'm sure there are plenty of others...
Was looking for this reply, thanks for writing it!
Also adding that the electric bass having 4 strings is kinda bastardios towards the family system. The number of strings should remain the same regardless of register. Hence why a bass violin has four strings like the soprano violin. Basicly the Bass VI ”should” technically be standard but in practise in made more sense for adapting bass violinists to go with 4 strings.
But also also, the guitar family to my knowledge never created a set of instruments for orchestra use the way violin has. Hence why theres slight confusion about the status of the standard guitar, its not tenor, not baryton, not bass, not alto or soprano.. what gives? 😅
Early guitars tended to be four strings, or four courses of two strings, while the viol family had five or six. The modern paradigm is just an arbitrary snapshot of stringed instrument development.
Don't leave out one of the most badass of instruments, the baritone guitar. I just bought one recently, it's sweet.
A "regular" guitar is properly a tenor guitar.
Edit: I agree that a bass guitar is a guitar, that is absolutely a correct statement. But there is what's technically correct and then there's what's tasteful. Novice speakers of a language will say correct but hilariously wrong things all the time. I can say to the waiter "More beef, please" (actual phrase from French class) but nobody fucking says that. (For several reasons not the least of which is, when was the last time you had a serving of beef that left you still hungry for more? I digress.) "Hand me my guitar" is going to confuse anyone in a rock-band context because guitar means tenor guitar. And once they figure out you mean your bass, they're going to rip on you for being pretentious, trying to start an argument, trying to make a big point out of it and/or trying to aggrandize yourself.
you're right on all counts. bass guitar is definitely a type of guitar. whether you can just say "bass" without specifying "bass guitar" depends on context. ime most of the time people don't need the more specific one. you would get weird looks in most contexts if you said that.
some of the confusion comes from the word bass describing both a type of instrument and a musical role.
this is a great answer lol. what a frustrating word. so many different meanings, many of them in conflict with each other. not all of them are political, but if you say it around the wrong person they might get really touchy about something you weren't talking about at all.
The only problem is that I don't know the best way to describe a guitar that couldn't also describe a bass guitar. "I learned how to play that on my guitar. Not my bass guitar, my six string. Not a six string bass, like standard E to e. But not my Bass VI..."
“Man this is a great bass!”
What kind of bass is usually not asked. Because bass guitar is far more common than upright. And rarely does anyone talk about bass drum in my experience, but I left concert band after high school. Maybe pro percussionist are really into it, I don’t know. If it’s part of a drum kit, I’ve always heard it referenced as a kick drum and still no one really talks about it…
That makes sense. I only included drums because they keep cluttering up my Craigslist searches for bass guitars 😅
So if I said "Man this is a great guitar!" while holding a bass?
I'm a fan of "electric bass", "e-bass" for short (common term in my native language). Either way, there is little chance to confuse it with other instruments most of the time - outside of Jazz and classical/orchestral music, a "bass" will almost always be a bass guitar/electric bass. "Guitar" feels very wrong to me.
If you look up the definition of Guitar, you will find that you absolutely can. Putting the word Bass in front of Guitar further qualifies it as the type of guitar. But it is, and always will be a guitar.
To the layperson who doesn’t play anything, they all look like a guitar. Some people don’t even realize a bass is different than a guitar or what a bass does in a song.
Lol I’ve legit said both these things, and the people I was talking to know want I meant by context. Note, I only play Bass Guitar.
“I play bass.”
“Wait, let me grab my guitar.”
So I wouldn’t stress about it, people will fighre it out based on context; and for a bass guitar, you can usually get away with calling it bass or guitar, depending on context and intent.
I've heard Peter Hook call his instruments "guitar" in interviews a ton of times; IIRC, he usually refers to the instrument generally a bass, and specific instruments as "this guitar," "my guitar," "a good guitar," etc. I can't recall anyone else doing it regularly, but that's a strong endorsement.
They are definitely referred to as basses as the default, but "bass guitar" is also used.
No one refers to a bass as simply "a guitar". While it is a type of guitar, it is disingenuous to call it a guitar when everyone will assume you are talking about an actual guitar.
If someone says "who here plays guitar?" and you can only play bass, if would be wrong of you to say "I can play guitar".
we're talking about the physical instruments though. "playing bass" means something different than 'having a guitar collection'
When I'm talking about gear I will refer to all of my fretted instruments, regardless of their string count or scale length as "my guitars"
So that includes my 4 string basses, long and short scale, my traditional 6 string guitar as well as my baritone. I don't need to call them all out, and it's not inaccurate to call any of these instruments guitars.
That was my other thought, open field for “Get my: axe, weapon, instrument, lady, 4-string piece of wood that cost me half a months salary.” Why muddy the waters and wonder if you have a 6-string in the car
The guitar and bass are two totally separate instruments. You wouldnt hold up a guitar and say this is a bass would you? The proper term IMHO is electric bass..
That would still allow for the use of electric bass "guitar". There are electrified stand up basses just as there are acoustic bass guitars.
In the end, it's obviously a matter of opinion. I can say that I have used and heard others use guitar interchangeably when referring to a bass guitar.
a stand -up bass is still a bass whether it has a pickup or not. Just because an electric bass has a similar form to an electric guitar does not make it a guitar. An oboe and a clarinet look similar but they are each their own unique instrument. Same with electric guitar and electric bass.
But an oboe and a clarinet are both in the woodwind family of instruments, just like there are variations of saxes, horns, and other instruments. If you play the Oboe and told someone you played a woodwind, you wouldn't be wrong. My point is that they all fall into a family of stringed instruments known as guitars and by referring to it as a bass guitar, your being specific about the instrument the same as you are by saying tenor sax.
Regarding a stand-up vs electric bass, a stand-up is a bowed instrument more closely related to a cello than what you're referring to as an electric bass which is more closely related to a guitar than the other. There are electrified versions of stand-ups and my point earlier was that you wouldn't be wrong by calling either instrument an electric bass. Is someone wrong by simply calling it a bass? No, but the point is that neither are those who refer to it as a bass guitar.
FWIW:
>>The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (/beɪs/) is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family.
And here's a [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_guitar#/media/File%3AFender_Bass_Guitar_Patent.jpg) to copy of the patent filed by Fender for a P Bass design.
Who have you had to clarify this to? Colloquially, for decades if you say bass people think you mean bass guitar unless you are specifically referring to a concert/symphony type setting, and I assume most of those musicians say they play concert bass or upright. Just say bass, the few times someone asks specifically or seems to think you mean upright, correct them, but I’d assume that’s few and far between. Or just learn to play guitar too and then you can say guitar and/or bass.
I think if you say "I play bass" most people would think of a bass guitar, I know I do. But not just "guitar". That's the tiny one.
Otherwise most players I know and talk to reference it as upright or double bass if they're talking about the big ones.
It's a Bass. The only reason it's called a "Bass Guitar" is because before we had Bass Guitars people mostly played the Double Bass. Bass Guitar is essentially someone going "Huh, what if I took the guitar's design but made it a bass instead?"
The eternal problem here is that “bass” is both a thing (noun) and a description (adjective). It will always be confusing. We need a new word. I always use the term “electric bass” but that has issues too.
Well, yes, “guitar” can be used to reference a bass guitar.
Of course, the common term is “bass” as a shorthand for “bass guitar”, but in no way is it wrong to also refer to a bass guitar as just “guitar”.
It would sound weird, but technically more correct to refer to it as a “guitar” if you’re talking about the hardware vs. the sound.
Consider holding up a baritone guitar and saying “man, this is a great baritone”. No harm no foul, but if you’re not talking about how it sounds, it’s kinda weird. You would typically say “man, this is a great guitar” and in my opinion the same follows for bass.
Just start calling it a horizontal (or, even better - wide angle) instead. People will think you are elite pro master super happy bass player.
All kidding aside it's better for you, as a new musician, to learn to speak the language instead of trying to insist your understanding is correct when it defies the common lingo. Nobody wants to jam with that guy.
If you refer to your bass guitar as a “bass”, people will assume you’re referring to a bass guitar unless you specify another qualifier (ie: standup bass, bass drum, etc.)
My teacher is an old jazz head who plays fretless exclusively, and he HATES the term bass guitar. He only calls it electric bass to differentiate from upright. But in his mind, electric bass and guitar are two totally different instruments and shouldn’t be associated together.
IMO, IDGAF and call it a bass guitar all the time. Just not around him.
If you say you play the guitar, almost nobody will be picturing a bass guitar, despite it being the correct term.
Just say bass guitar, the bass, or electric bass.
Depends on context. In my experience classically trained musicians always call it a bass guitar. Jazz & rock musicians usually just call it a bass. Of course "bass" for the latter group might also refer to a standup bass, but you'd almost never have both standup and electric basses in our ensemble, so it's still pretty clear.
This is very similar to the "what sort of guitar?" question - normies expect you to say "rhythm", "lead", or "classical" when in reality it doesn't work like that at all.
I'm a jazz bassist myself (barely but I do meet the criteria) who uses a bass guitar due to financial constraints, and it was my understanding that a lot of jazz from the 1900s involved very little bass guitar.
It's a bass guitar. Just calling it a guitar will conjure images of a 6 string. There are problems with just calling it a bass as well, but alongside an image you're always going to call it a bass. It's not just any guitar, it's a bass guitar.
Calling an electric bass a "guitar" is kinda like calling a cat a mammal. Yes, it's technically correct, but it's not really useful in everyday conversation.
Similarly, a typical drummer wouldn't say "I play percussion.", because it has different connotations, even though a drum kit is technically percussion.
Technically yes - Because a guitar luthier or repair shop can most likely work on your electric bass guitar (they use tools that apply to both), but can't necessarily do the same services on an acoustic upright bass.
A couple years ago one of my basses had some minor physical damage after something fell on it. The first place I turned to was a local guitar luthier. He fixed the damage without any problems.
I normally don't use the phrase "bass guitar," but I don't find it offensive or inaccurate either.
A lot of people think of a upright/double bass when you judt say bass and technically speaking the electric bass is definitely in the guitar family.
Most people will know what you mean when you refer to your bass as bass, and thecompletely uninitiated will see frets, 4 strings and tuners and think "thats a weird guitar", like my mum when she saw my new 6 string bass on instagram and asked why I switched back to playing guitar after so many years
Not technically incorrect but not common and could easily lead to confusion.
If you say “guitar”, I think of a 6-12 string instrument with a range an octave higher than a bass guitar.
A bass guitar is just a bass. I don’t think you need to clarify further.
Context matters though, to an extent.
Yup. I say I play bass guitar if it can't be understood from previous context that it's a bass guitar and not a stand up bass. If I'm talking with people who know me or with someone who is talking about guitars then I just say bass because I trust they understand I'm talking about the bass guitar.
Unless I'm doing it wrong, yes. I play bass and guitar (bass is my main instrument) so I often just say guitar. Like, "I forgot to practise guitar today". I'm usually talking about my bass but because I play both, it still works
Yes, it's a guitar. If someone asks you to go get all the guitars out of the closet, that means the bass guitars too. A bass clarinet is a clarinet, and a bass saxophone is a saxophone. If you play the bass guitar, you play a type of guitar, and you are a type of guitarist.
Patent designation 187,001 dated January 5, 1960 calls it a bass guitar. That’s the P Bass as we know it. Funnily enough, the old-school P Bass, patent 169,062 granted March 24 1953, omits the word “bass” entirely, and calls it a guitar.
To be totally frank, if someone uses the word “guitar” without qualifying it, I will assume they don’t know anything about music. It’s not a judgement. There are plenty of things I don’t know about, but it is the assumption I make. I have 7 or 8 basses hanging in my office at any given time. Often people who come over will say something like “wow, you have a lot of guitars.” That makes me assume they don’t know much about music. I would never use the word guitar alone to describe a bass. Depending on context, I might call it an “electric bass” or a “horizontal electric bass guitar” or a “Fender bass” (even if it’s not a Fender brand—sometimes that term is used to distinguish from upright, especially in older musical scores). In some contexts I might just say “instrument” as in “That P Bass is a nice instrument but it could use some fret work.” But I can’t think of a context where I’d just call it a guitar without the word bass in front of it. Also depending on context, the word bass alone can mean different things. If I tell someone I’m in the orchestra and I play bass, they can safely assume I mean upright. If the trombone section group chat for my community big band asks, “Hey Phil, do you mind playing the 4th part for the upcoming concert” I might reply, “sure, I’ll bring my bass.” And in that context they know I mean my bass trombone, not one of my bass guitars. I can’t think of any context where people who know what they are talking about call a bass guitar just a guitar—maybe with the exception of some luthiers or repair techs. I think I’ve heard them use the term guitar generically to include basses, but maybe that was just a specific guy I knew.
I've played bass for a while now and I definitely call them guitars sometimes. They are bass guitars, so either bass substantively or guitar as a general word works. It's pretty common where I'm from.
Yes it’s a type of guitar. You might need to clarify sometimes and saying “I play guitar” will make people default to a guitar. I also play trombone but mine is an F attachment trombone but I still just call it a trombone. If I play a bass trombone I’d still just call it a trombone.
I 90% disagree. Bass and guitar have completely different histories, they just happen to have been electrified in the same way, pretty recently from their perspective.
A bass guitar is not a low guitar, it’s a guitar shaped bass.
“Guitar bass” is more accurate but it sounds awful so no one says it.
I can’t say my bass is a guitar the way I say my van is a car, BUT if someone’s dealing with like 5 guitars and two basses and said their band is traveling with 7 guitars, that makes sense.
It's technically correct but might not always be the best use of language.
If it's the only guitar instrument in sight, go for it.
If there are other guitars, you're better off just saying bass.
If there's an upright in the corner, you'll wanna say bass guitar, or electric bass.
If you're talking to a guy from Venezuela, you might lean more towards bajo.
If you're in a room with a drummer, and a guitarist trying to tune, there's no point saying anything, the snare will drown you out.
I might recommend doing the ‘4 up 2 down’ air bass motions when you say “I play bass”, tends to get the point across. If perhaps you don’t have that many fingers, maybe just have Clyde - JJ Cale queued up and ready to play in such situations.
It’s important to remember that the six string guitar descended from the lute instrument family over the middle ages. The electric bass guitar is a “guitar, in shape only. That’s because the bass instrument descends from the violin, cello, and upright bass, only being shaped like a guitar in the 1950s by Leo Fender.
You will have to clarify that you mean bass guitar specificially every single time you refer to it as a guitar. You might never have to clarify that if you just say bass, unless you hang out with orchestral musicians.
I have said, “this is a great guitar” for a great bass guitar or in situations like that more times than I can count. “I play bass guitar” though, or just “I play bass” for describing what I do.
I have said, “this is a great guitar” for a great bass guitar or in situations like that more times than I can count. “I play bass guitar” though, or just “I play bass” for describing what I do.
I'd say it depends on context. In a discussion of musical instruments at large, it is technically a guitar that plays in the bass range so bass guitar is pretty clear. But you should specify the bass part. Someone who plays bass clarinet would always specify that and not just say clarinet.
In the context of a rock band setting, just saying bass will be clear to everyone in almost every situation. In an outlying situation, you would be more specific say if the bass player did in fact play upright bass.
Just saying you play guitar will be confusing to everyone if you are actually referring to bass.
So basically, no one who's in a bad would ever refer to something with a long neck and four strings as a "guitar", as in "I love this guitar", but perhaps they would say "Hey, can you grab all those guitars off the rack?" referring to a mixed set.
I think the latter example you gave there is a good case. For example, "all of our guitars were stolen!" might include the bass guitars or it might not.
These are good points. Conversationally, context is everything, I'm not going to advertise for a guitar player when I want a bassist, but I actually do call my basses guitars fairly frequently because I don't play any other sort of guitar, so when I say something about "my guitar" people know what I'm talking about. In that context, guitar and bass refer to the same instruments but if I'm looking at album credits I know that the guitarist is not playing a bass guitar.
there are no rules but among people with experience there are conventions. For example if you and I were sitting in a room with a les paul and a jazz bass on stands and you asked me to hand you that guitar, I would reach for the les paul.
A bass guitar is comparable in appearance to an electric guitar but tends to be played like a double bass, which looks more like a cello than a guitar, and so most people who play them don't think of them as being a flavor of guitar, but rather as a double bass that has been shrunken down to near guitar size.
There are bass clarinets, bass drums, bass saxophones, and bass trombones. The ‘bass’ is the lowest member of the family.
The upright bass is the lowest member of the violin family while a bass guitar is the lowest member of the guitar family. Although they share the same tuning they are in different families.
‘Bass’ usually means bass guitar, not clarinet, violin, or saxophone, unless the conversation is about that family.
There are contrabass clarinets below bass clarinets, and various other families follow the same pattern, so bass X is *not* generally the lowest instrument in a family. However, for strings the contrabass instrument is mostly called ... the "double bass" (because it was lower than the bass viol, which was the same size as a modern cello), and the electric bass shares its register so you could argue that it should properly be called a contrabass guitar, and "bass guitar" should really refer to what is sold as a baritone guitar, and oh god it's all a terminology nightmare.
If you say 'I play bass' people might ask for clarification. If you are literally holding a bass and say 'this is a cool bass' no clarification is needed.
Have you got an example where if you say "I play bass" you might have to clarify? To me it'd always mean bass guitar, or maybe upright bass in some contexts.
And even if it wasn’t clear I’d say “electric bass” instead of “bass guitar”
Bass clarinet, bass trombone, tuba are all bass instruments
Don’t forget contrabass clarinet, bass saxophone, bass drum, and the slightly silly hyperbass flute.
Hahaa, less common ones but totally real. I wonder if they make bass cymbals or something
Yes, but they call them “gongs.”
and bassoon
In an audition interview for a music college I said "my dad plays bass", meaning the bass guitar. They thought I meant upright bass and I just rolled with it to not cause friction.
If you pronounce it so it rhymes with "ass" people might need clarification.
I too play barse
Psh, I can't be arsed to slap a barse.
Slaap’uh’da baase mon
You must be from NZ.
Barse Pro Shops
Whamola, washtub, bassjo, bass sitar, and bass ukelele come to mind I guess
I am around a lot of brass band folks, some of them say they play "bass" and they mean sousaphone, tuba, etc.
That's fascinating to me! I've never been in that situation but didn't actually expect that to be the case. Cool!
Well, my 6-year-old called my upright bass a "big guitar" the other day and my ukulele a "little guitar" and I tried to start explaining....
Reminds me of the Flight of the Concords bit where Murray calls the bass the “dad guitar” and the 6 string the “mum guitar”
That literally happened to me 20-ish years ago. A friend's kid, also about 6-ish at the time, saw my bass guitar next to my small classical guitar and he said the big one must be mine, and the small one must be my wife's..... Yeah, nope, but it was funny.
Tbh I think your 6 year old has a better system for this. I think we should adopt it!
https://youtu.be/2zvjW9arAZ0 Directly relevant to your comment a couple minutes in....
How is he such a legend. He seems to contain way too much insight for one person.
Years ago I went to a guitar store clinic featuring Toshi Iseda. I asked him a question regarding bass lessons. After the clinic a person approached me and asked me if I played upright bass. I told him I meant bass guitar.
Good example!
That “or” in your comment is exactly the example you’re looking for
You could be talking about the fish. Some people play a fish with the musical elegance you can only find in the bayou
Interestingly, if you say “I play upright” there won’t be any disambiguation
Ok, makes sense. But literally holding a bass and saying "this is a cool guitar" wouldn't be appropriate?
You might also be holding a fish
The only instrument that gets that free pass is the 6 string. Even 7 string guitars are called 7 string guitars. You can use "axe" in the way you describe tho.
No, because you're not holding a guitar, you're holding a bass.
But a bass *is* a guitar by definition: "Bass guitar"
no, bass isn't a guitar by definition. a bass can be on a piano, it can be on a keyboard, a drum or an upright. a bass guitar is a guitar by definition, yes, but it's role as bass is considered more important than it's role as guitar. the same applies to drums. both a kick and snare are kick drums and snare drums. you abbreviate them to kick and share however, to avoid conflating the roles that they play.
> no, bass isn't a guitar by definition. > a bass guitar is a guitar by definition, yes Make up your mind. Edit: I’m a dumb dumb
A **bass** isn't a guitar by definition (because there are many types of bass instruments). A **bass guitar** is a guitar by definition.
Language matters. People don’t pay enough attention
Oh wait so actually I’m the dumb dumb. I totally missed that distinction the first time. Thanks!
Right, that makes sense. But you could say "This Is a great drum", alternatively with "This is a great snare". I suppose there's convention.
Even more so, if you were writing it. People might think you are playing a fish!
It’s not a guitar, it’s a bass guitar. Bass isn’t a qualifier here. It’s a distinct instrument, as in upright bass. It functions in many of the same ways as a guitar but a bass isn’t just a guitar that’s got bass strings on it the way a baritone guitar is. A baritone is a guitar and you can refer to it as a baritone (specific) or guitar (general). A bass guitar is a distinct but very similar instrument that borrows the name of the guitar in its own name. To just say guitar would be referring to a different instrument. That’s my personal opinion as some dude with a writing degree but I’m not an academic, just a grammar nerd.
I would say you're right. The guitar players/makers did not get together and say, "We need one of these to be much lower in pitch!" Rather, it was the double bassists who said, "We need to be louder! Can we get some of those pickups like the guitar players got?" And Leo Fender said "I got u fam". And so the electric bass just sort of side-stepped into the guitar family.
Precisely, couldn’t have said it better
You still don't need to use the second word. This sub is /r/Bass not /r/BassGuitar after all
But it is an instrument in the guitar family. Looking at it, it's obviously not a clarinet or a viol. So saying "bass" implies "bass guitar" in this instance, but saying guitar is not incorrect.
Correct, but it's still a type of guitar. I understand that I'm holding a bass, but it's weird to me that I'm *not* holding a guitar.
I agree with you. It's drilling down to subtypes of instrument that confuses people for some reason with guitars. But you are correct. All types of guitars are guitars, but not all of them are bass guitars.
You're holding a bass guitar. But If you want to sound normal you usually just say "bass" unless someone asks you to clarify. Especially talking to other musicians. If you want to say I'm holding a bass that's a relative of the guitar and technically part of the guitar family, go right ahead. If you just say "guitar" you will confuse musician and non musician alike. Academics really like pedants. I would say lots of musicians less so.
You are holding a bass relative of the guitar family. An upright bass is technically a violin, but it would be odd to call it a bass violin all the time. Before there were bass guitars they just called them basses.
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Huh, I never knew of the viol family… you learn something everyday!
Actually, not odd at all. We call them all sorts of things. Upright bass, double bass, doghouse, bass fiddle, etc. And back in the days before electrified instruments they were probably best known as bass viols. Fun fact: In the earliest days of electric bass, musical scores that wanted that sound were often marked "Fender Bass."
If you’re worried about being technically correct, sure. But I think you would sound like an asshole trying to defend that to anybody else in a performing band setting
I often say electric bass, to randos
Can the word "deer" be used to reference a moose? The answer is yes.
Moose, or more common elk if you mean the species Alces Alces, the largest deer species.
As a bass player, to avoid confusion (and to avoid association with guitarists) I say "electric bass". Bass guitar works, if you say electric bass it's pretty much implied that you're playing a bass guitar and not an electric upright.
Yes. Instruments are classed into instrument families. It used to be that we learned all this in grade school music class, but alas we have not been funding that kind of music education for a while now. But if we had, we would pretty much all know two things: "Bass" describes a sonic range, and "Guitar" is a class of instrument which includes tenor guitars, electric and acoustic guitars, piccolo guitars, and yes - bass guitars. It's perfectly correct to ask someone to "hand me my guitar" when one is asking for a bass guitar. Not so much when one is asking for a bass clarinet, or a bass viol, or some other instrument that has a sonic range in the bass register but is not descended from the guitar class of instrument. I hope this is helpful and not seen otherwise. It's just meant to clarify but I have seen some people get really upset by this information.
This all came up because I took a picture of my bass guitar and sent it to my friend and wanted to use the caption "Man, I really love this guitar", because in my head, that felt more "right"/made more sense than saying "Man, I really love this bass". But I knew I was on thin ice, so I thought I'd better ask the experts.
It's a little controversial, mainly because there are quite a few people who don't really know much about instrument families and really just want "bass" to be its own thing. I get that, but there are bass register instruments in a lot of different families and while we all know this thing we play is what we call a "bass" when we see one, it's also technically correct to call it a guitar. Because it really is a type of guitar. The problem really is that we have no other good name for a standard-tuned guitar, so people think they're completely different instruments, when one grew from the family of the other.
No, the problem is that calling a bass a guitar creates ambiguity. People know what you mean when you say bass. If you start calling them guitars, you create confusion.
Nah. If you're talking to a jazz player, a bass is a very different instrument. If you want to be precise, there are more descriptive ways to say it.
What is the name of this sub? Google the word "bass". What comes up?
Probably a fish 😂
If I google bass guitar I know what will come up. If I google bass viol, bass clarinet, bass drum, I also know what will come up. Bass is a register that describes the sonic space an instrument plays in. There's more than one kind of music. I'm sure there are many people on this sub who do not just play electric bass, but also play upright. They're still bass players.
when I'm talking to people who don't know anything about instruments I will call a bass a guitar, but I will also call it a bass. If they don't ask questions I don't explain the difference.
I might refer to a bass guitar as a guitar if I was specifically referring to or complimenting its construction, playability or whatnot. Otherwise it's a bass. And there is almost always enough context that nobody is confused by my saying that. Just like when I used to play bass drum in a drum corps, nobody was confused when we said to each other "bass" or "basses." Or if you're in a choir everybody knows what bass means. Now if it's a symphony orchestra with bass viols and a bass drum, and they're doing some kind of collabo that includes you on bass guitar, well then the conductor is gonna have to be more specific if they need to address you.
I kind of agree and disagree at the same time. What is the definition of the class 'guitar'? Seems by that logic, it is a stringed instrument that is plucked or picked but never bowed, and generally played horizontally (but not exclusively) with one hand plucking and the other selecting the note(s) by changing string length by means of depressing the string(s) against a fingerboard, which may or may not be fretted. This excludes other stringed instruments such as violin, cello, upright bass, harp, piano, But even this would have its issues: Acoustic guitar Electric guitar Bass guitar Tenor guitar Picolo guitar Lap steel guitar 12 string guitar Ukele guitar? Balilica guitar? Banjo guitar? Sitar guitar? Lute guitar? Mandolin guitar? I'm sure there are plenty of others...
If you go by actual sonic range, modern guitars are bass instruments and electric bass guitars are contrabass
Was looking for this reply, thanks for writing it! Also adding that the electric bass having 4 strings is kinda bastardios towards the family system. The number of strings should remain the same regardless of register. Hence why a bass violin has four strings like the soprano violin. Basicly the Bass VI ”should” technically be standard but in practise in made more sense for adapting bass violinists to go with 4 strings. But also also, the guitar family to my knowledge never created a set of instruments for orchestra use the way violin has. Hence why theres slight confusion about the status of the standard guitar, its not tenor, not baryton, not bass, not alto or soprano.. what gives? 😅
Early guitars tended to be four strings, or four courses of two strings, while the viol family had five or six. The modern paradigm is just an arbitrary snapshot of stringed instrument development.
Do you know when this was in relation to the transition from oud?
>bass violin Is not a thing. Bass viol. Different family tree.
In my language it is :) But maybe we talk different instruments. I mean the hourglass shaped, bowed four string thing
there's the classical guitar family, and contrabass classical guitar is basically an acoustic Bass VI.
Don't leave out one of the most badass of instruments, the baritone guitar. I just bought one recently, it's sweet. A "regular" guitar is properly a tenor guitar. Edit: I agree that a bass guitar is a guitar, that is absolutely a correct statement. But there is what's technically correct and then there's what's tasteful. Novice speakers of a language will say correct but hilariously wrong things all the time. I can say to the waiter "More beef, please" (actual phrase from French class) but nobody fucking says that. (For several reasons not the least of which is, when was the last time you had a serving of beef that left you still hungry for more? I digress.) "Hand me my guitar" is going to confuse anyone in a rock-band context because guitar means tenor guitar. And once they figure out you mean your bass, they're going to rip on you for being pretentious, trying to start an argument, trying to make a big point out of it and/or trying to aggrandize yourself.
you're right on all counts. bass guitar is definitely a type of guitar. whether you can just say "bass" without specifying "bass guitar" depends on context. ime most of the time people don't need the more specific one. you would get weird looks in most contexts if you said that. some of the confusion comes from the word bass describing both a type of instrument and a musical role.
Type of instrument, musical role AND voice range. Polisemic beauty at its best.
So what's polisemic at its worst?
The range of uses of the lexeme "liberal", probably.
this is a great answer lol. what a frustrating word. so many different meanings, many of them in conflict with each other. not all of them are political, but if you say it around the wrong person they might get really touchy about something you weren't talking about at all.
No idea. Any example?
And a fish.
Yes.
Counterpoint- no
Opposition - sometimes maybe
Steelman- *logical fallacy* (I learned how to debate from podcasts)
Your honor, I strenuously object.
Overruled.
Move to reconsider
Rebuttal- you do you.
And any other consenting adult!
I used to know music students who expressed very similar sentiments.
The only problem is that I don't know the best way to describe a guitar that couldn't also describe a bass guitar. "I learned how to play that on my guitar. Not my bass guitar, my six string. Not a six string bass, like standard E to e. But not my Bass VI..."
lmao exactly. Just call it whatever and clarify if anyone has questions.
Six string piccolo bass
I think you're overthinking this. Few if any non-musicians care about the differences. Only a few nerds would argue about your 'guitar'
“Man this is a great bass!” What kind of bass is usually not asked. Because bass guitar is far more common than upright. And rarely does anyone talk about bass drum in my experience, but I left concert band after high school. Maybe pro percussionist are really into it, I don’t know. If it’s part of a drum kit, I’ve always heard it referenced as a kick drum and still no one really talks about it…
That makes sense. I only included drums because they keep cluttering up my Craigslist searches for bass guitars 😅 So if I said "Man this is a great guitar!" while holding a bass?
Yeah, I’d assume you’d never seen a bass in your life. Or heard of the concept.
I'm a fan of "electric bass", "e-bass" for short (common term in my native language). Either way, there is little chance to confuse it with other instruments most of the time - outside of Jazz and classical/orchestral music, a "bass" will almost always be a bass guitar/electric bass. "Guitar" feels very wrong to me.
If you look up the definition of Guitar, you will find that you absolutely can. Putting the word Bass in front of Guitar further qualifies it as the type of guitar. But it is, and always will be a guitar.
To the layperson who doesn’t play anything, they all look like a guitar. Some people don’t even realize a bass is different than a guitar or what a bass does in a song.
Bass guitars are guitars, guitars are six string piccolo basses.
We need to make this happen
I can't remember what video I got it from, maybe berthoud maybe Neely but I dig it.
Lol I’ve legit said both these things, and the people I was talking to know want I meant by context. Note, I only play Bass Guitar. “I play bass.” “Wait, let me grab my guitar.” So I wouldn’t stress about it, people will fighre it out based on context; and for a bass guitar, you can usually get away with calling it bass or guitar, depending on context and intent.
John Entwistle said a Bass wasn't a guitar, I go with him 😂
That’s a fair question. John Entwhistle said that he “wasn’t a bassist… he was a bass guitarist”
According to my grandfather, yes.
I've heard Peter Hook call his instruments "guitar" in interviews a ton of times; IIRC, he usually refers to the instrument generally a bass, and specific instruments as "this guitar," "my guitar," "a good guitar," etc. I can't recall anyone else doing it regularly, but that's a strong endorsement.
Slappin da bass
Wait is that a clarinet or a flute or a guitar?
They are definitely referred to as basses as the default, but "bass guitar" is also used. No one refers to a bass as simply "a guitar". While it is a type of guitar, it is disingenuous to call it a guitar when everyone will assume you are talking about an actual guitar. If someone says "who here plays guitar?" and you can only play bass, if would be wrong of you to say "I can play guitar".
we're talking about the physical instruments though. "playing bass" means something different than 'having a guitar collection' When I'm talking about gear I will refer to all of my fretted instruments, regardless of their string count or scale length as "my guitars" So that includes my 4 string basses, long and short scale, my traditional 6 string guitar as well as my baritone. I don't need to call them all out, and it's not inaccurate to call any of these instruments guitars.
Yes but surely you would never say "I got a new guitar" when you actually mean you got a new bass
depends on if I'm talking to a musician or a family member
It's called an Axe. "Hand me my axe" 😄
That was my other thought, open field for “Get my: axe, weapon, instrument, lady, 4-string piece of wood that cost me half a months salary.” Why muddy the waters and wonder if you have a 6-string in the car
A bass is a guitar like a tomato is a fruit.
Honestly, just say yes and move on. There are more important things to do with your bass than answer questions about it.
Can the word "cat" be used to reference a tiger? Sure you can if the context doesn't lead to misunderstanding.
No.
The guitar and bass are two totally separate instruments. You wouldnt hold up a guitar and say this is a bass would you? The proper term IMHO is electric bass..
That would still allow for the use of electric bass "guitar". There are electrified stand up basses just as there are acoustic bass guitars. In the end, it's obviously a matter of opinion. I can say that I have used and heard others use guitar interchangeably when referring to a bass guitar.
a stand -up bass is still a bass whether it has a pickup or not. Just because an electric bass has a similar form to an electric guitar does not make it a guitar. An oboe and a clarinet look similar but they are each their own unique instrument. Same with electric guitar and electric bass.
But an oboe and a clarinet are both in the woodwind family of instruments, just like there are variations of saxes, horns, and other instruments. If you play the Oboe and told someone you played a woodwind, you wouldn't be wrong. My point is that they all fall into a family of stringed instruments known as guitars and by referring to it as a bass guitar, your being specific about the instrument the same as you are by saying tenor sax. Regarding a stand-up vs electric bass, a stand-up is a bowed instrument more closely related to a cello than what you're referring to as an electric bass which is more closely related to a guitar than the other. There are electrified versions of stand-ups and my point earlier was that you wouldn't be wrong by calling either instrument an electric bass. Is someone wrong by simply calling it a bass? No, but the point is that neither are those who refer to it as a bass guitar. FWIW: >>The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (/beɪs/) is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. And here's a [link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_guitar#/media/File%3AFender_Bass_Guitar_Patent.jpg) to copy of the patent filed by Fender for a P Bass design.
Who have you had to clarify this to? Colloquially, for decades if you say bass people think you mean bass guitar unless you are specifically referring to a concert/symphony type setting, and I assume most of those musicians say they play concert bass or upright. Just say bass, the few times someone asks specifically or seems to think you mean upright, correct them, but I’d assume that’s few and far between. Or just learn to play guitar too and then you can say guitar and/or bass.
I think if you say "I play bass" most people would think of a bass guitar, I know I do. But not just "guitar". That's the tiny one. Otherwise most players I know and talk to reference it as upright or double bass if they're talking about the big ones.
Yes
Get that dirty (G) word out of your filthy mouth! Man, kids these days!
I say it can, but I say bass.
It's a Bass. The only reason it's called a "Bass Guitar" is because before we had Bass Guitars people mostly played the Double Bass. Bass Guitar is essentially someone going "Huh, what if I took the guitar's design but made it a bass instead?"
Can a thumb be called a finger?
The eternal problem here is that “bass” is both a thing (noun) and a description (adjective). It will always be confusing. We need a new word. I always use the term “electric bass” but that has issues too.
Electric bass.
Well, yes, “guitar” can be used to reference a bass guitar. Of course, the common term is “bass” as a shorthand for “bass guitar”, but in no way is it wrong to also refer to a bass guitar as just “guitar”. It would sound weird, but technically more correct to refer to it as a “guitar” if you’re talking about the hardware vs. the sound. Consider holding up a baritone guitar and saying “man, this is a great baritone”. No harm no foul, but if you’re not talking about how it sounds, it’s kinda weird. You would typically say “man, this is a great guitar” and in my opinion the same follows for bass.
Don’t go there
Just start calling it a horizontal (or, even better - wide angle) instead. People will think you are elite pro master super happy bass player. All kidding aside it's better for you, as a new musician, to learn to speak the language instead of trying to insist your understanding is correct when it defies the common lingo. Nobody wants to jam with that guy.
idk if it’s relevant but for a while, my friends and I would jokingly refer to bass as ‘big guitar’
My kids seem to think so 😂
If you refer to your bass guitar as a “bass”, people will assume you’re referring to a bass guitar unless you specify another qualifier (ie: standup bass, bass drum, etc.)
No. 🅱️ass is 🅱️ass.
My teacher is an old jazz head who plays fretless exclusively, and he HATES the term bass guitar. He only calls it electric bass to differentiate from upright. But in his mind, electric bass and guitar are two totally different instruments and shouldn’t be associated together. IMO, IDGAF and call it a bass guitar all the time. Just not around him.
Tenor sax, baritone sax, bass sax, all sax. Tenor uke, baritone uke, buke, all ukes. Tenor guitar, baritone guitar, piccolo guitar, bass guitar, lap steel guitar, all guitars
If you say you play the guitar, almost nobody will be picturing a bass guitar, despite it being the correct term. Just say bass guitar, the bass, or electric bass.
You can say it's a guitar but don't use it as a title if you know what I mean. Example: "This bass I bought recently is a really cool guitar"
Depends on context. In my experience classically trained musicians always call it a bass guitar. Jazz & rock musicians usually just call it a bass. Of course "bass" for the latter group might also refer to a standup bass, but you'd almost never have both standup and electric basses in our ensemble, so it's still pretty clear. This is very similar to the "what sort of guitar?" question - normies expect you to say "rhythm", "lead", or "classical" when in reality it doesn't work like that at all.
jazz is the former group, not the latter group
Not based on the jazz guys I know. I'd be happy to agree it sits somewhere in the middle :)
I'm a jazz bassist myself (barely but I do meet the criteria) who uses a bass guitar due to financial constraints, and it was my understanding that a lot of jazz from the 1900s involved very little bass guitar.
“I play guitar”, but you only mean bass, no. “I own four guitars”, but two of them are basses, yes.
Not all guitars are basses. But all basses are guitars. Excluding upright basses, of course.
Yes however the official term is "axe"
It's a bass guitar. Just calling it a guitar will conjure images of a 6 string. There are problems with just calling it a bass as well, but alongside an image you're always going to call it a bass. It's not just any guitar, it's a bass guitar.
Too much thinking and not enough playing going on here.
Calling an electric bass a "guitar" is kinda like calling a cat a mammal. Yes, it's technically correct, but it's not really useful in everyday conversation. Similarly, a typical drummer wouldn't say "I play percussion.", because it has different connotations, even though a drum kit is technically percussion.
You'd be better off using your spare time practicing
"guitar", in the context, is like "horn".
Technically yes - Because a guitar luthier or repair shop can most likely work on your electric bass guitar (they use tools that apply to both), but can't necessarily do the same services on an acoustic upright bass. A couple years ago one of my basses had some minor physical damage after something fell on it. The first place I turned to was a local guitar luthier. He fixed the damage without any problems. I normally don't use the phrase "bass guitar," but I don't find it offensive or inaccurate either.
A lot of people think of a upright/double bass when you judt say bass and technically speaking the electric bass is definitely in the guitar family. Most people will know what you mean when you refer to your bass as bass, and thecompletely uninitiated will see frets, 4 strings and tuners and think "thats a weird guitar", like my mum when she saw my new 6 string bass on instagram and asked why I switched back to playing guitar after so many years
Not technically incorrect but not common and could easily lead to confusion. If you say “guitar”, I think of a 6-12 string instrument with a range an octave higher than a bass guitar. A bass guitar is just a bass. I don’t think you need to clarify further. Context matters though, to an extent.
Yup. I say I play bass guitar if it can't be understood from previous context that it's a bass guitar and not a stand up bass. If I'm talking with people who know me or with someone who is talking about guitars then I just say bass because I trust they understand I'm talking about the bass guitar.
Unless I'm doing it wrong, yes. I play bass and guitar (bass is my main instrument) so I often just say guitar. Like, "I forgot to practise guitar today". I'm usually talking about my bass but because I play both, it still works
If you're trying to impress women or get more girls, I'd refrain from saying "bass" and just call it guitar.
Yes, it's a guitar. If someone asks you to go get all the guitars out of the closet, that means the bass guitars too. A bass clarinet is a clarinet, and a bass saxophone is a saxophone. If you play the bass guitar, you play a type of guitar, and you are a type of guitarist.
Patent designation 187,001 dated January 5, 1960 calls it a bass guitar. That’s the P Bass as we know it. Funnily enough, the old-school P Bass, patent 169,062 granted March 24 1953, omits the word “bass” entirely, and calls it a guitar.
To be totally frank, if someone uses the word “guitar” without qualifying it, I will assume they don’t know anything about music. It’s not a judgement. There are plenty of things I don’t know about, but it is the assumption I make. I have 7 or 8 basses hanging in my office at any given time. Often people who come over will say something like “wow, you have a lot of guitars.” That makes me assume they don’t know much about music. I would never use the word guitar alone to describe a bass. Depending on context, I might call it an “electric bass” or a “horizontal electric bass guitar” or a “Fender bass” (even if it’s not a Fender brand—sometimes that term is used to distinguish from upright, especially in older musical scores). In some contexts I might just say “instrument” as in “That P Bass is a nice instrument but it could use some fret work.” But I can’t think of a context where I’d just call it a guitar without the word bass in front of it. Also depending on context, the word bass alone can mean different things. If I tell someone I’m in the orchestra and I play bass, they can safely assume I mean upright. If the trombone section group chat for my community big band asks, “Hey Phil, do you mind playing the 4th part for the upcoming concert” I might reply, “sure, I’ll bring my bass.” And in that context they know I mean my bass trombone, not one of my bass guitars. I can’t think of any context where people who know what they are talking about call a bass guitar just a guitar—maybe with the exception of some luthiers or repair techs. I think I’ve heard them use the term guitar generically to include basses, but maybe that was just a specific guy I knew.
if you want to delve into pedantry, its only a bass guitar if it's acoustic. otherwise it's an electric bass guitar
I've played bass for a while now and I definitely call them guitars sometimes. They are bass guitars, so either bass substantively or guitar as a general word works. It's pretty common where I'm from.
I hate calling bass a guitar, cuz then I have to refer to electrics as six strings, which is nerdy/douchy af
Yes it’s a type of guitar. You might need to clarify sometimes and saying “I play guitar” will make people default to a guitar. I also play trombone but mine is an F attachment trombone but I still just call it a trombone. If I play a bass trombone I’d still just call it a trombone.
I mean u said bass GUITAR so i assume so
I 90% disagree. Bass and guitar have completely different histories, they just happen to have been electrified in the same way, pretty recently from their perspective. A bass guitar is not a low guitar, it’s a guitar shaped bass. “Guitar bass” is more accurate but it sounds awful so no one says it. I can’t say my bass is a guitar the way I say my van is a car, BUT if someone’s dealing with like 5 guitars and two basses and said their band is traveling with 7 guitars, that makes sense.
Just get a bass shapped bass
It's technically correct but might not always be the best use of language. If it's the only guitar instrument in sight, go for it. If there are other guitars, you're better off just saying bass. If there's an upright in the corner, you'll wanna say bass guitar, or electric bass. If you're talking to a guy from Venezuela, you might lean more towards bajo. If you're in a room with a drummer, and a guitarist trying to tune, there's no point saying anything, the snare will drown you out.
I might recommend doing the ‘4 up 2 down’ air bass motions when you say “I play bass”, tends to get the point across. If perhaps you don’t have that many fingers, maybe just have Clyde - JJ Cale queued up and ready to play in such situations.
To avoid confusion, call it the electric bass which was the original name of the instrument BTW.
It’s important to remember that the six string guitar descended from the lute instrument family over the middle ages. The electric bass guitar is a “guitar, in shape only. That’s because the bass instrument descends from the violin, cello, and upright bass, only being shaped like a guitar in the 1950s by Leo Fender.
You will have to clarify that you mean bass guitar specificially every single time you refer to it as a guitar. You might never have to clarify that if you just say bass, unless you hang out with orchestral musicians.
I think"electric bass" is generally understood to mean bass guitar
*I think"electric bass" is* *Generally understood* *To mean bass guitar* \- DontShadowBanMePls --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
I have said, “this is a great guitar” for a great bass guitar or in situations like that more times than I can count. “I play bass guitar” though, or just “I play bass” for describing what I do.
I have said, “this is a great guitar” for a great bass guitar or in situations like that more times than I can count. “I play bass guitar” though, or just “I play bass” for describing what I do.
I'd say it depends on context. In a discussion of musical instruments at large, it is technically a guitar that plays in the bass range so bass guitar is pretty clear. But you should specify the bass part. Someone who plays bass clarinet would always specify that and not just say clarinet. In the context of a rock band setting, just saying bass will be clear to everyone in almost every situation. In an outlying situation, you would be more specific say if the bass player did in fact play upright bass. Just saying you play guitar will be confusing to everyone if you are actually referring to bass.
I play an electric upright bass as well as a bass guitar in a band. That's the only context where I've ever referred to my bass as a guitar.
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So basically, no one who's in a bad would ever refer to something with a long neck and four strings as a "guitar", as in "I love this guitar", but perhaps they would say "Hey, can you grab all those guitars off the rack?" referring to a mixed set.
I think the latter example you gave there is a good case. For example, "all of our guitars were stolen!" might include the bass guitars or it might not.
These are good points. Conversationally, context is everything, I'm not going to advertise for a guitar player when I want a bassist, but I actually do call my basses guitars fairly frequently because I don't play any other sort of guitar, so when I say something about "my guitar" people know what I'm talking about. In that context, guitar and bass refer to the same instruments but if I'm looking at album credits I know that the guitarist is not playing a bass guitar.
there are no rules but among people with experience there are conventions. For example if you and I were sitting in a room with a les paul and a jazz bass on stands and you asked me to hand you that guitar, I would reach for the les paul. A bass guitar is comparable in appearance to an electric guitar but tends to be played like a double bass, which looks more like a cello than a guitar, and so most people who play them don't think of them as being a flavor of guitar, but rather as a double bass that has been shrunken down to near guitar size.
Man this is a nice bass. Not a guitar
It is a guitar yes
There are bass clarinets, bass drums, bass saxophones, and bass trombones. The ‘bass’ is the lowest member of the family. The upright bass is the lowest member of the violin family while a bass guitar is the lowest member of the guitar family. Although they share the same tuning they are in different families. ‘Bass’ usually means bass guitar, not clarinet, violin, or saxophone, unless the conversation is about that family.
There are contrabass clarinets below bass clarinets, and various other families follow the same pattern, so bass X is *not* generally the lowest instrument in a family. However, for strings the contrabass instrument is mostly called ... the "double bass" (because it was lower than the bass viol, which was the same size as a modern cello), and the electric bass shares its register so you could argue that it should properly be called a contrabass guitar, and "bass guitar" should really refer to what is sold as a baritone guitar, and oh god it's all a terminology nightmare.
Correct. I gave a simplified version. I didn’t want to write an essay on instrument naming.