Glossary of Common Bass Terms

Bass Guitar - 4,5,6 (or more) low frequency electric or acoustic guitar

Chord tone/notes - Note within a chord (G major chord consist of G, B and D)

Crescendo - Gradually get louder in volume

Flat (b) - Lower the pitch of a note by half step

Genre - Type of style of music (Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal, Classical and etc)

Groove - Playing on time, creating a feel and rhythm to the music (Locked with drums)

Hammer on - Generate a sound of a note with the force of your fretting finger

Harmonics - Touch lightly on the strings or fret (Natural harmonic on 5th 7th 12th fret)

Interval - Distance between 2 pitches

Legato - Long note

Mute - To muffle or lightly touch the strings

Octave - Interval of 12 semitones

Open string - A string is played and not fretted

Pentatonic - scale made up of 5 notes

Pickup - Magnetic coil that transfer the signal to an amp

Pinced Harmonics - nice sharp harmonics (something like artificial harmonics)

Pluck - Use your fingers to play the strings (Pop is to pull the string)

Preamp - Increase the electric signal ( include bass, treble, mid, tone and etc)

Root - The first note of the chord (G is the root of a G chord) also know as the tonic

Scale - Notes that followed an interval formula

Sharp (#) - Raise the pitch of a note by half step

Slap - Using your thumb and strike at the fret to create a solid tone (or left hand strike the fretboard)

Staccato - Short note

Strum - Use your fingers and go through the strings (Just like guitar)

Tap - Hammer on the notes with your left hand and right hand (2 hand tap)

Thump - Use your palm or finger and strike accurately on the string

Vibrato - Waver the pitch of the note

Whole step - Distance of 2 half steps (2 frets)