Bass Guitar Playing Techniques at the Turn of the 1960s – 1970s

This article presents a comprehensive study of bass guitar performance techniques from the late 1960s and early 1970s. A particular focus is placed on the practical use of the electric bass guitar as an instrument with a more convenient construction compared to the double bass. This allowed musicians to perform bass parts at faster tempos, with minimal physical effort and fewer playing movements. An important aspect of bass guitar performance was the instrument's easier portability and its small size, which greatly facilitated its functional use. The author separately examines the characteristics of the division of bassists into accompanists, who mainly perform the function of rhythmic and harmonic accompaniment, and musicians who perform solo parts. The work of leading bassists - Larry Graham, Steve Swallow, and Chris Squire, who had the greatest influence on the improvement of bass guitar performance, is analyzed. Increased attention is paid to the formation of techniques such as slap, harmonics, pick technique, palm muting, and others, used both in jazz and rock music. It is worth mentioning the use by instrumentalists of sound production techniques characteristic of slap, such as hammer-on, pull-off, dead note technique, and others. In addition, the performance style of these musicians is studied, which is distinguished both by a bright palette of strokes and by the virtuoso quality of the performance of bass parts. At the same time, the features of electric amplification, as well as the use of various sound processing devices on the bass guitar, which allow experimenting with sound effects and timbre colors, are considered.