Photo: Emma Viola Lilja
According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the bass is the most important part of a song.
The study found that your brain has an easier time finding the rhythm when sound is played in a lower tone, like that of a bass guitar. It also found that people were more likely to tap their feet to songs with more prominent bass in them than higher-pitched sounds of guitars and drums.
"Results from a biologically plausible model of the auditory periphery suggest that non-linear cochlear dynamics contribute to the observed effect,” reads the report. “The low-voice superiority effect for encoding timing explains the widespread musical practice of carrying rhythm in bass-ranged instruments and complements previously established high-voice superiority effects for pitch and melody.
Another study from Northwestern University discovered that songs with a lot of bass makes people feel more confident and powerful.
To all of the bassists out there, don't ever let anyone tell you the lead singer is the most important part of your band, according to science, it's you.
