"Excellent instruction and fun. Just a great environment to learn. Thanks to everyone at Paper Moon Music!" Stephan C.
The bass guitar is one of the most fundamental, important, and prevalent instruments in all of popular music. If you’re listening to music – regardless of the musical style – chances are there’s a bass being played on the recording!
For those who want to be gigging musicians and play in an active San Diego band, bass is a great choice because bands are always looking for a bassist and many bass players in San Diego are playing in multiple bands year round. From Paul McCartney to Sting, Geddy Lee and Esperanza Spalding, some of the most popular singers and composers have been bass players!
How is the bass different from a normal guitar?
The bass guitar is actually tuned like a guitar, but an octave lower and with only 4 strings rather than 6. It's as if you're playing a guitar with the first and second strings missing! This makes it easy for guitarists to switch over to studying bass and vice versa. Also, music for bass is notated on the bass clef, whereas the guitar is notated using the treble clef. If you've taken piano lessons, you'll be familiar with both the bass and treble clefs.
Do I need a bass amplifier to play bass?
There are many brands of bass amplifiers on the market, and in the long run you should purchase a bass amp. However, when you start your bass lessons a simple practice guitar amp will suffice, but it may sound a bit thin – that's why they make bass amplifiers equipped with speakers designed to focus on the low frequencies of the instrument.