The Soul of Songs: The Electric Bass
Improving Electric Bass Information Through Design Thinking (1/2).
This article consists of two parts. Right now, you are reading the first part.
1️⃣ Research and Analysis Phase (Part One).
2️⃣ Idea Generation and Implementation Phase (Part Two).
Why do we prefer the electric or acoustic guitar over the electric bass or double bass? Why isn’t it valued in the same way as other instruments?
Music is a part of us, and in some cases, it’s essential. It conveys different moods, reminds us of moments in our lives, can improve or worsen our feelings depending on the situation, motivates us, and helps us relax, and concentrate — the list is endless when it comes to how we apply music in our lives.
So, why the electric bass? For most users, whether they listen to music or not, the bass often takes a back seat because it’s barely noticeable in a song. Its notes are much lower in pitch compared to other instruments, which means its sound doesn’t stand out as much. The primary goal of this personal project is to demonstrate the opposite — that even though the bass may not be heard prominently, it can be deeply felt.
With this project, I aim to bring the electric bass closer to a wider audience in Spain and highlight its importance in music.
🟩 Research and Analysis
Starting with a brief overview, I’ve identified the main project objectives:
- Emphasize the importance of the bass in music.
- Enhance information about the instrument, making it more appealing to those interested in learning.
- Change users’ perceptions when comparing the electric bass to other instruments, such as the electric guitar.
To achieve these objectives, the target audience must be as broad as possible. It includes music listeners, individuals interested in learning to play musical instruments, and even those who are already learning an instrument and are curious about the electric bass.
To delve further, we’ve created a quick outline of pain points and goal points related to the issue of the bass:
Desk research
To gather more information about electric basses in Spain, in addition to researching electric basses themselves, we also conducted desk research on the electric guitar and all the information surrounding it. This approach allowed us to understand how information is presented for a much more familiar instrument among users.
Key Findings from Desk Research
The most noteworthy findings from our research are as follows:
- Limited information about the electric bass in Spain.
- In countries like the United States, there is much more information available about the electric bass.
- When searching for information about bassists, you tend to find more resources from outside of Spain.
- The way information about the electric bass is presented in Spain is often unattractive and not conducive to learning. I found more information on music forums, although it tends to be more informal. Nonetheless, forums are not the best medium for learning an instrument or finding comprehensive information.
Another method we used to conduct research and add more value to the electric bass was to search for music videos with and without bass. For example, we experimented with the song “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley:
Benchmarking
Apart from searching for information about the electric guitar, we needed to conduct benchmarking on apps, websites, and even video games primarily related to the electric bass. However, we also looked at those related to other instruments that align with the objectives we want to achieve.
The apps we investigated include Bass Grooves, Realbass, Mybass, Musicians, and Tunebend. These are essentially bass or other instrument simulators with interactive learning features, as well as apps with music theory related to the bass.
The websites we explored are the Bassists’ School, Scottbasslessons, and Bass and Bassists Magazine. These websites offer online bass guitar lessons and magazines focused on bass.
Finally, the video games we researched are Guitar Hero and Rocksmith. Both of these video games are available on various platforms and function as instrument simulators where you become part of the music group. This type of video game has generated more interest in instruments like the electric guitar.
Benchmarking Conclusions
There are more apps and websites for simulating playing the bass than for providing general information. Regarding video games, other instruments are much more prominent.
The final idea should serve to provide more information about the electric bass, rather than just teaching how to play it. Additionally, this information needs to be interactive or audiovisual in nature.
To gain a broader context with the information we already have, we quickly conducted a DAFO (SWOT) analysis to better guide us toward the final idea and clarify where to begin ideation:
This is when we conclude the desk research and realize that what is needed is to provide more engaging, visual, and entertaining information about the bass rather than descriptive text. Why? Because in this digital age, we tend not to read as much as before. The clearer and more audiovisual the content is, the better. Which leads me to the next phase.
Research Questions
The desk research allowed us to generate a large number of research questions through brainstorming. We were able to answer these questions using desk research, surveys, and interviews:
Thanks to these research questions, I was able to gather more information and design the questionnaires and interviews.
Surveys
Surveys were conducted with 82 individuals, both musicians and non-musicians, although the majority of respondents were non-musicians. The most notable results we obtained were as follows:
- There is limited information about the bass guitar.
- Negative perception due to lack of knowledge about the instrument.
- Difficulty in identifying songs that feature a bass guitar.
- Difficulty in identifying Spanish or foreign bassists.
- The perception is that it is an expensive and difficult instrument to play.
Interviews
Taking into account that I needed to gather more information about the bass guitar, I interviewed two professional bassists, one from Spain and one from the United States, to also compare cultural perceptions. I also conducted interviews with two non-musician users who enjoy music.
Regarding the interviews, we conducted 3, two with professional electric bass musicians and one with a non-musician user.
The most noteworthy verbatims from the musicians were:
- The bass is the foundation of any song.
- It provides the rhythmic weight along with the drums.
- There’s no such thing as a difficult concept; we apply it ourselves.
- Depending on the country, there’s greater awareness of the electric bass, in this case, more so in the United States than in Spain.
Here are some verbatims from the musician users:
The most noteworthy verbatims from the non-musician user were:
- It’s an instrument that isn’t heard, hard to play, and expensive.
- There’s too much information that overshadows the electric bass. In other words, there’s limited information on bass guitars.
- The electric guitar stands out much more.
- I can achieve the same sound with a synthesizer, and I don’t have to learn to play the bass.
After these research techniques, I obtained very valuable information for my project.
The insights I highlight are as follows:
- Many factors influence playing the bass, including cultural, economic, environmental, and musical preferences, and even the preferences of family and friends. Additionally, the availability of information on social media, apps, websites, etc., plays a significant role.
- Overall, there is a negative perception regarding the accessibility of information about the bass compared to the guitar. Users often perceive the bass as more challenging to play, heavier, less audible, and with “harder” strings, among other things.
- Specialized music institutions, such as schools and stores, often lack adequate and appealing information about the electric bass as an instrument.
- Music companies in Spain tend to position bassists physically in less prominent roles compared to lead guitarists and vocalists, which can contribute to the bass being less recognized.
- There is an abundance of disorganized information. While social media provides a platform for sharing information and recognizing bassists, it can overwhelm non-musician users seeking basic information, learning resources, or specific songs.
In conclusion, there is a need to enhance the accessibility and attractiveness of information about the bass for a broader audience.
User persona, empathy maps, and user journey
After gathering all the information, we can create user personas and empathy maps for both Carlos and Lucía:
Carlos is a professional bassist who plays in various performances. He is used to his primary instrument, the bass, not being valued too much, and he even adapts by switching to other instruments like the guitar when he has to teach at music schools. He feels that the bass is much more appreciated in other countries and wants to continue his studies abroad as it would offer more professional opportunities.
Lucía is a pharmacist who is passionate about music. She would like to decide between playing bass or electric guitar on weekends as a hobby, and she’s not sure which one to choose. She feels that playing the electric guitar would be easier since her friends also recommend it, as she doesn’t know much about bass, and because it sounds much better. But she also fears making the wrong choice because she might like the bass much more.
And finally, the user journeys for each one to empathize much more with the user and better understand the issue.
All of this helped me empathize much more because both for the musician and non-musician user, improving general information about electric basses is very necessary. It’s important for Carlos to be more valued as a bassist than a guitarist, and for Lucía to make an easier decision by having the same amount of information about both instruments.
By improving that information, it could reach from the smallest audience to anyone simply interested in music or playing an instrument.
And this is when we reach the moment of the second phase of Idea Generation and Implementation (Second part).
If you want to read it, click here! Thank you very much, and see you in the next phase to see the final idea! 👋🏻
