Can I turn any synthesized instrument into a bass by lowering the frequency?












7














In terms of electronic music, when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument, including leads, and just set that instrument to be of lower frequency (lowering the octave) in order to create a bass. Does a bass just depend on frequency and not the type of instrument?










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    It’s important to clarify that “bass” is the lowest voice of any given texture. Even if all of the sounds are relatively high.
    – jjmusicnotes
    yesterday
















7














In terms of electronic music, when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument, including leads, and just set that instrument to be of lower frequency (lowering the octave) in order to create a bass. Does a bass just depend on frequency and not the type of instrument?










share|improve this question




















  • 2




    It’s important to clarify that “bass” is the lowest voice of any given texture. Even if all of the sounds are relatively high.
    – jjmusicnotes
    yesterday














7












7








7


1





In terms of electronic music, when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument, including leads, and just set that instrument to be of lower frequency (lowering the octave) in order to create a bass. Does a bass just depend on frequency and not the type of instrument?










share|improve this question















In terms of electronic music, when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument, including leads, and just set that instrument to be of lower frequency (lowering the octave) in order to create a bass. Does a bass just depend on frequency and not the type of instrument?







theory harmony production






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edited 8 mins ago









Ben Crowell

51229




51229










asked yesterday









foreyez

4,14522371




4,14522371








  • 2




    It’s important to clarify that “bass” is the lowest voice of any given texture. Even if all of the sounds are relatively high.
    – jjmusicnotes
    yesterday














  • 2




    It’s important to clarify that “bass” is the lowest voice of any given texture. Even if all of the sounds are relatively high.
    – jjmusicnotes
    yesterday








2




2




It’s important to clarify that “bass” is the lowest voice of any given texture. Even if all of the sounds are relatively high.
– jjmusicnotes
yesterday




It’s important to clarify that “bass” is the lowest voice of any given texture. Even if all of the sounds are relatively high.
– jjmusicnotes
yesterday










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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19















when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument..?




Yes, you can. However, you might find that not all instruments work well to your ears as 'bass' instruments.



When you see 'bass' in a synth patch name, it usually doesn't only refer to the instrument being low - because, as you say, you can usually play low notes with any sound in a synth. Instruments designated 'bass' often have certain characteristics that make them subjectively suitable for playing in a 'bass' role - such as:




  • a strong fundamental when playing low frequency notes, giving a 'solid', bassy sound (in contrast to, say, the piano - whose low notes have weak fundamentals)

  • a harmonic structure that makes the pitch of the notes easy to identify

  • a harmonic structure that doesn't fill up the whole frequency range and leave no 'space' for other instruments

  • a reasonably fast attack, suitable for the 'bass lines' found in many genres of music


Of course not all 'bass' instruments necessarily exhibit all these characteristics, but you would expect instruments labelled 'bass' to exhibit most of them. The labels we give to sounds aren't there to restrict you, but they can be useful!






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  • 1




    Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
    – Graham
    8 hours ago





















9














Simple as that. Bass refers to the range of the instrument, so electronically, turn a piccolo into a bass if you want. It's much harder with fish, though. Turning a salmon into a bass doesn't seem to work as well...






share|improve this answer





















  • but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
    – foreyez
    yesterday










  • It's all about the bass.
    – Robert Columbia
    23 hours ago










  • @RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
    – Graham
    14 hours ago











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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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active

oldest

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active

oldest

votes









19















when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument..?




Yes, you can. However, you might find that not all instruments work well to your ears as 'bass' instruments.



When you see 'bass' in a synth patch name, it usually doesn't only refer to the instrument being low - because, as you say, you can usually play low notes with any sound in a synth. Instruments designated 'bass' often have certain characteristics that make them subjectively suitable for playing in a 'bass' role - such as:




  • a strong fundamental when playing low frequency notes, giving a 'solid', bassy sound (in contrast to, say, the piano - whose low notes have weak fundamentals)

  • a harmonic structure that makes the pitch of the notes easy to identify

  • a harmonic structure that doesn't fill up the whole frequency range and leave no 'space' for other instruments

  • a reasonably fast attack, suitable for the 'bass lines' found in many genres of music


Of course not all 'bass' instruments necessarily exhibit all these characteristics, but you would expect instruments labelled 'bass' to exhibit most of them. The labels we give to sounds aren't there to restrict you, but they can be useful!






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
    – Graham
    8 hours ago


















19















when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument..?




Yes, you can. However, you might find that not all instruments work well to your ears as 'bass' instruments.



When you see 'bass' in a synth patch name, it usually doesn't only refer to the instrument being low - because, as you say, you can usually play low notes with any sound in a synth. Instruments designated 'bass' often have certain characteristics that make them subjectively suitable for playing in a 'bass' role - such as:




  • a strong fundamental when playing low frequency notes, giving a 'solid', bassy sound (in contrast to, say, the piano - whose low notes have weak fundamentals)

  • a harmonic structure that makes the pitch of the notes easy to identify

  • a harmonic structure that doesn't fill up the whole frequency range and leave no 'space' for other instruments

  • a reasonably fast attack, suitable for the 'bass lines' found in many genres of music


Of course not all 'bass' instruments necessarily exhibit all these characteristics, but you would expect instruments labelled 'bass' to exhibit most of them. The labels we give to sounds aren't there to restrict you, but they can be useful!






share|improve this answer



















  • 1




    Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
    – Graham
    8 hours ago
















19












19








19







when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument..?




Yes, you can. However, you might find that not all instruments work well to your ears as 'bass' instruments.



When you see 'bass' in a synth patch name, it usually doesn't only refer to the instrument being low - because, as you say, you can usually play low notes with any sound in a synth. Instruments designated 'bass' often have certain characteristics that make them subjectively suitable for playing in a 'bass' role - such as:




  • a strong fundamental when playing low frequency notes, giving a 'solid', bassy sound (in contrast to, say, the piano - whose low notes have weak fundamentals)

  • a harmonic structure that makes the pitch of the notes easy to identify

  • a harmonic structure that doesn't fill up the whole frequency range and leave no 'space' for other instruments

  • a reasonably fast attack, suitable for the 'bass lines' found in many genres of music


Of course not all 'bass' instruments necessarily exhibit all these characteristics, but you would expect instruments labelled 'bass' to exhibit most of them. The labels we give to sounds aren't there to restrict you, but they can be useful!






share|improve this answer















when I'm picking a "bass" can I choose any instrument..?




Yes, you can. However, you might find that not all instruments work well to your ears as 'bass' instruments.



When you see 'bass' in a synth patch name, it usually doesn't only refer to the instrument being low - because, as you say, you can usually play low notes with any sound in a synth. Instruments designated 'bass' often have certain characteristics that make them subjectively suitable for playing in a 'bass' role - such as:




  • a strong fundamental when playing low frequency notes, giving a 'solid', bassy sound (in contrast to, say, the piano - whose low notes have weak fundamentals)

  • a harmonic structure that makes the pitch of the notes easy to identify

  • a harmonic structure that doesn't fill up the whole frequency range and leave no 'space' for other instruments

  • a reasonably fast attack, suitable for the 'bass lines' found in many genres of music


Of course not all 'bass' instruments necessarily exhibit all these characteristics, but you would expect instruments labelled 'bass' to exhibit most of them. The labels we give to sounds aren't there to restrict you, but they can be useful!







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited yesterday

























answered yesterday









topo morto

22.5k23795




22.5k23795








  • 1




    Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
    – Graham
    8 hours ago
















  • 1




    Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
    – Graham
    8 hours ago










1




1




Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
– Graham
8 hours ago






Adding to the harmonic structure point, the instrument also needs to survive being played on some loudspeaker. This is a problem when loudspeakers can't reproduce those bass fundamentals. Higher harmonics let your brain reconstitute the fundamental, even if it isn't actually there.
– Graham
8 hours ago













9














Simple as that. Bass refers to the range of the instrument, so electronically, turn a piccolo into a bass if you want. It's much harder with fish, though. Turning a salmon into a bass doesn't seem to work as well...






share|improve this answer





















  • but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
    – foreyez
    yesterday










  • It's all about the bass.
    – Robert Columbia
    23 hours ago










  • @RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
    – Graham
    14 hours ago
















9














Simple as that. Bass refers to the range of the instrument, so electronically, turn a piccolo into a bass if you want. It's much harder with fish, though. Turning a salmon into a bass doesn't seem to work as well...






share|improve this answer





















  • but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
    – foreyez
    yesterday










  • It's all about the bass.
    – Robert Columbia
    23 hours ago










  • @RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
    – Graham
    14 hours ago














9












9








9






Simple as that. Bass refers to the range of the instrument, so electronically, turn a piccolo into a bass if you want. It's much harder with fish, though. Turning a salmon into a bass doesn't seem to work as well...






share|improve this answer












Simple as that. Bass refers to the range of the instrument, so electronically, turn a piccolo into a bass if you want. It's much harder with fish, though. Turning a salmon into a bass doesn't seem to work as well...







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered yesterday









Tim

95.7k1098241




95.7k1098241












  • but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
    – foreyez
    yesterday










  • It's all about the bass.
    – Robert Columbia
    23 hours ago










  • @RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
    – Graham
    14 hours ago


















  • but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
    – foreyez
    yesterday










  • It's all about the bass.
    – Robert Columbia
    23 hours ago










  • @RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
    – Graham
    14 hours ago
















but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
– foreyez
yesterday




but I saw the bass is used in the instrument word such as "Double bass". I guess the word 'bass' just refers to the instrument being low then. so I could make a 'piccolo bass' then by just lowering the frequency.
– foreyez
yesterday












It's all about the bass.
– Robert Columbia
23 hours ago




It's all about the bass.
– Robert Columbia
23 hours ago












@RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
– Graham
14 hours ago




@RobertColumbia ... no bubbles...
– Graham
14 hours ago


















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