You might think that telling bass from melody should be a…

https://www.musical-u.com/learn/bassline-melody-four-ways-hear-difference/
You might think that telling bass from melody should be an easy task.

But from the Baroque era to the music of today, the bass line has always been a powerful attractive force in music, pulling our attention away from the melody line and sometimes causing us to lose track of which is which.

It doesn’t help when composers purposefully blur the distinction, or the bass player steps up to take a solo!

So what can you listen for when you’re not sure what’s melody and what’s bass?

Here are four ways you can tell these two apart.