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• 1 2021-04-14T02:45:40+00:00 Bass Guitar 4 Object 1 Submission plain 2021-05-12T23:27:53+00:00

  By Marley Orange

  My found object is my bass guitar. I feel as if this is an object that captures my own essence. It is a fundamental to my music, and therefore to my art. 
  
  The bass guitar has four strings and it is essentially used most of the time to play the lowest notes of the chords the other guitar plays. The bass is such a fascinating instrument because a listener will never realize how essential the bass is to the music until there is no bass, and all of the sudden the song is missing something, sounding almost empty. This also makes playing the bass for a band, which I have done on numerous occasions, relatively low pressure because for the most part my job is to support the rest of the musicians and make the guitar sound more full. This is not to say this is the only job of a bassist: many songs completely rely on their bass line. Take “come as you are” by Nirvana for example. The song has a completely unique bass line that is a fundamental element of the song (and is very fun to play). Another important job of a bassist is maintaining rhythm. The drummer and the bassist must work together to keep a rhythm for the rest of the musicians to play off of. When the drums are not prominent in a part of a song or there is no drummer, the job of keeping rhythm falls almost completely on the bassist.  
  
  I only began playing the bass two years ago. I have felt a strong connection to music my whole life, but I never really fell in love with an instrument until I played the bass. I was in a band, playing rhythmic guitar and singing mostly, when our bassist broke her arm and couldn’t play. Her bass line was pretty simple, so I offered to try learning it. Once I learned how the bass worked, I needed one of my own. My parents finally got me one for Christmas, and since then I have treasured my bass. The bass is the perfect instrument for me because one of my strengths is definitely keeping rhythm, but I also get to do fun scales and lines, and I have experience playing the acoustic and electric guitar.  
  
  When I play the bass I feel like I am unapologetically myself. I can’t stop my whole body from moving with the music when I play: I have had many people wave to me from my window while I am jamming on the guitar in my dorm room. I make crazy faces and bodily movements that probably look hilarious without the music (or even with it). But in the moment that I am creating music, I’m on cloud nine and I can’t help myself from looking like an idiot, and I don’t care. It feels like being on a rollercoaster. My bass is a constant reminder of how I love to live. My bass is a significant found object because it represents who I am: a musician and a free spirit.