Hi, I'm a classical cellist who has always wanted to play bass and fretless by preference.
I've been browsing the advice on the forum and most of it understandably seems aimed at people who are moving from fretted to fretless. The idea of no frets is completely normal to me, so I was wondering what other technique advice you might give to someone who is beginning bass playing on a fretless.
Cheers
classical cellist ...
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FretLessSince68
- Posts:307
- Joined:Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 am
- Location:On an Island, WA, USA
Hi and welcome to Fretless Bass board!
For a cellist the first thing to do is talk to one of your classical buddies who plays upright bass and get some advice about the differences in left hand technique. Considering that the two instruments are tuned 4th vs. 5ths scales occupy completely different real-estate on the fingerboard. Don't adopt his/her left hand technique absolutely, use that which works for you. Also talk to an electric bassist (fretted or fretless) and see what they are doing, and see if some of their technique is useful. The fretless electric bass is a crossover hybrid instrument and a relatively new invention so established technique is also new or in flux. There is information about combining Simandle and guitar left hand technique on this board.
Right hand technique is shared equally with the fretted electric bass. I would get the two fingered pluck action going first, remember it is not exactly pizzicato. After striking a note, the plucking finger comes to rest on the adjacent lower (pitched) string. There are five right hand techniques that I teach but most bassist can get away with just using the most important two finger method.
The role of the electric bass in a combo situation is mostly as a member of the rhythm section, we have a responsibility to provide rhythmic strength to the other players. In classical music you usually have a conductor to perform that function and everybody is assumed to be equally able time wise. In popular music you can't assume that your associates all have good time. Thus the need to have a strong time sense but not be a tempo Nazi.
Our role is also to lead the other players into chord and segment changes so it's a good idea to use leading tones to provide cues to the other players that it's time for a change and this is where we are going.
I have a classically trained electric bass student who is bound up in his training and finding it very difficult to escape the intellectual approach and just groove. For you, I would advise concentrating on improvisation and "head" arrangements where one does not rely on written music. This might help to get you "flying by the seat of your pants" and grooving.
Most importantly, as soon as you feel that you have command of the fingerboard and can grab the note you hear in your head without thinking, get in a band.
I hope this helps, make beautiful music.
For a cellist the first thing to do is talk to one of your classical buddies who plays upright bass and get some advice about the differences in left hand technique. Considering that the two instruments are tuned 4th vs. 5ths scales occupy completely different real-estate on the fingerboard. Don't adopt his/her left hand technique absolutely, use that which works for you. Also talk to an electric bassist (fretted or fretless) and see what they are doing, and see if some of their technique is useful. The fretless electric bass is a crossover hybrid instrument and a relatively new invention so established technique is also new or in flux. There is information about combining Simandle and guitar left hand technique on this board.
Right hand technique is shared equally with the fretted electric bass. I would get the two fingered pluck action going first, remember it is not exactly pizzicato. After striking a note, the plucking finger comes to rest on the adjacent lower (pitched) string. There are five right hand techniques that I teach but most bassist can get away with just using the most important two finger method.
The role of the electric bass in a combo situation is mostly as a member of the rhythm section, we have a responsibility to provide rhythmic strength to the other players. In classical music you usually have a conductor to perform that function and everybody is assumed to be equally able time wise. In popular music you can't assume that your associates all have good time. Thus the need to have a strong time sense but not be a tempo Nazi.
Our role is also to lead the other players into chord and segment changes so it's a good idea to use leading tones to provide cues to the other players that it's time for a change and this is where we are going.
I have a classically trained electric bass student who is bound up in his training and finding it very difficult to escape the intellectual approach and just groove. For you, I would advise concentrating on improvisation and "head" arrangements where one does not rely on written music. This might help to get you "flying by the seat of your pants" and grooving.
Most importantly, as soon as you feel that you have command of the fingerboard and can grab the note you hear in your head without thinking, get in a band.
I hope this helps, make beautiful music.
Last edited by FretLessSince68 on Mon Aug 25, 2014 2:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.
One good note makes my day.
Thanks, that all sounds very sensible and useful.
I forgot to add that I also have spent plenty of time in non-classical musical pursuits (on 'cello, flute, alto sax), so am embracing the freedom from written dots! But also lots of experience in a classical string quartet, where the 'cello plays a similar-ish (albeit pre-written) function. It's my favourite kind of classical playing - intimate, responsive, communicative. My hope is that fretless bass will have a similar feel in an ensemble, but open up a whole new world of music that I love to listen to and have never had the opportunity to get my teeth into as a musician
I forgot to add that I also have spent plenty of time in non-classical musical pursuits (on 'cello, flute, alto sax), so am embracing the freedom from written dots! But also lots of experience in a classical string quartet, where the 'cello plays a similar-ish (albeit pre-written) function. It's my favourite kind of classical playing - intimate, responsive, communicative. My hope is that fretless bass will have a similar feel in an ensemble, but open up a whole new world of music that I love to listen to and have never had the opportunity to get my teeth into as a musician