The electric
bass guitar (also called
electric bass or simply
bass is a
stringed instrument played primarily with the finge
rs
or thumb (either by plucking, slapping, popping,
tapping, or thumping), or by using a plectrum.
The
bass guitar is similar in appearance and
construction to an electric guitar, but with a
larger body, a longer neck and scale length, and
usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as
those of the double bass, which correspond to
pitches one octave lower than those of the four
lower strings of a guitar (E, A, D, and G). The bass
guitar is a transposing instrument, as it is notated
in bass clef an octave higher than it sounds (as is
the double bass) in order to avoid the excessive use
of ledger lines. Like the electric guitar, the
electric bass guitar is plugged into an amplifier
and speaker for live performances.
