Guitar:
Guitar tends to be the melody of the song and is usually the instrument that is clear in a song that has it.
“Guitar plays a much bigger role in a band,” Senior Alexander Diaz Garcia said.
It’s typically used in songs in the genres of folk and country music. The base of the guitar is a hollow wood body and the strings vary from nylon to steel strings.
Nylon strings are more commonly used in classical and flamenco music since they provide a warmer sound. Nylon guitars are also played with fingertips since they are much softer.
Steel stringed guitars are meant for rock, country, and pop music due to their louder, and brighter sound. They are played with picks due to the high string tension.
“I love the sound of an acoustic guitar over any other instrument just because of how accustomed I am to the sound,” Diaz Garcia said
Guitar is also mostly the lead in a band as they receive the melody and are more commonly heard.
“Guitar is really selfish in terms of music, it kind of takes everything for itself,” Metro-Creek co-enroll student Kaytum Lee said.
Bass:
Bass provides rhythm and harmony for the band and acts as the glue that holds all the instruments together, making the music sound more cohesive.
“When playing bass, your job isn’t so much as to play notes,” said Diaz Garcia. “But to keep the band together.”
The bass is tuned a whole octave lower than that of the acoustic and electric guitars. To support this, bass strings are much thicker than the strings found on an acoustic or electric guitar. The strings help provide a much deeper and mellow toned sound. The notes on a bass are played using frets which help the player articulate where the notes live.
“Bass is a lot harder to play in terms of the musicality behind it,” Diaz Garcia said.
Basses can differ from electric to acoustic. Electric bass is plugged into an amplifier and is used for rock, jazz and pop music. Acoustic bass is more likely to be used in a calm setting as it is unplugged and gives off more of an organic tone.
“It keeps the groove going in most music,” sophomore Peyton Creenan said.
Bass is more commonly played with your hand by plucking, or slapping. While a pick is sometimes used on a bass, it is used to provide a sharper sound when you need it.
Bass guitar is also more utilized in a group setting and builds up on the other instruments.
“It’s definitely more rhythm than the lead or the melody,” Kaytum Lee said.
