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"Why is music addicted to bass?"


josie
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Interesting programme on Radio 3 i-player and for download:

"Why is music addicted to bass?

Can you imagine a piece of music without its bass line? Or going out dancing with no bass to move to?
Whether it's an epic symphony or a club classic - we love listening to the bass.
But what actually is 'bass'? How is it that we can often feel it as much as hear it? And why is it that every genre of music seems to need it?"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07vwg5w

It's mostly about classical music, but there's some very interesting general stuff about the behaviour of low-frequency sound waves and what that means for their effect in music.

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I'll catch up with that later. I was having a discussion with a guitarist recently about a particular song key. He said it was in C but I was arguing it was A minor. Anyhow, after a good banter about it I told him to play whichever chord he wanted to, because when I played my note underneath, I'd be the one deciding which chord it would be. That's one of the reasons how important the bass is in music.

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1474824976' post='3140832']
Just found a new musical style tat I really like, but having looked it up I'm now confused! Improvised Continuo anyone? All I can find is stuff about Basso Continuo, and nothing that really relates to what they are talking about 13 minutes in.
[/quote]

I may be wrong but I believe they're pretty much the same thing.

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[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1474828746' post='3140880']
I may be wrong but I believe they're pretty much the same thing.
[/quote]

I may have just got a bit confused by the way the presenter presented it - to me he was implying there are ensembles known as Continuo, and they played music like what was playing at the time.

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1474829241' post='3140887']


I may have just got a bit confused by the way the presenter presented it - to me he was implying there are ensembles known as Continuo, and they played music like what was playing at the time.
[/quote]

Continuo or figured bass is a written bass line that had numbers written over some of the notes to suggest the correct chord (6 would be a first inversion for example) A keyboardist would improvise the accompaniment from those suggestions. Clever stuff.

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1474824976' post='3140832']
Just found a new musical style tat I really like, but having looked it up I'm now confused! Improvised Continuo anyone? All I can find is stuff about Basso Continuo, and nothing that really relates to what they are talking about 13 minutes in.
[/quote]

Assuming you mean the part where he says the improvising continuo groups of the baroque are the predecessors, etc. :
These are Basso Continuo groups who "improvised" their parts, as was the way it was done in those days, meaning these instruments (often a cello and a harpsichord only, but more or different instruments could be in the group) would typically get a sheet with the notation consisting of a bass note and some numbers, and they would then know what to do.
So it's not free form jazz exactly, but the group did only get the harmonic foundation, and would or could decide their exact parts on the spot - depending on allowed preparation time and other circumstances.
This would often be very easy (I've personally gone straight to recording without any preparation at all) or difficult enough that the BC group would need to have meetings to decide on how to divide the roles and fill in the details.

You may not understand this, but the very worst a cellist knows is when the harpsichordist's left hand is stirring in the cello frequency range! :D :P


The music you hear when he tells this is a song from "L'Ormindo", a relatively early baroque opera by Francesco Cavalli, probably as sung by Nuria Rial. This highlights how crazy this BC group (basso continuo group!) could go with improvisation.
Luvverly stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH8RLaWuLis

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[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1474874819' post='3141102']

The music you hear when he tells this is a song from "L'Ormindo", a relatively early baroque opera by Francesco Cavalli, probably as sung by Nuria Rial. This highlights how crazy this BC group (basso continuo group!) could go with improvisation.
Luvverly stuff!
[/quote]
Luvverly stuff indeed!! Funny, the soundclip they provided was a bit without the near Latin rhythm going on so I thought it was something else. Thanks for the Youtube link!

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[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1475097520' post='3143110']
Funny, the soundclip they provided was a bit without the near Latin rhythm going on so I thought it was something else.
[/quote]

Aye. The timing in this clip is quite something, and that's why I'm guessing it's probably the orchestra L'Arpeggiata that's playing it, though they're not unique in this approach. If the same piece was performed by some other orchestras, it would seem like your everyday early Baroque.
I'm saying this coz if you or anyone else by any chance want to order this music, then you can't just order any version. They're wildly different.

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I've often wondered if this might be the answer.
You know how Barry White gets the ladies going with his huge deep voice..well back in pre history I think the guy across the valley with the deepest voice which incidentally would have travelled the farthest, would get the girls cause a big deep voice could suggest vitality, virility etc etc....

Maybe bass in its simplest terms just says...sex.

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