Hi there!
Well guys I have a really big problem.
Its a chord that I cant play it contains the notes E,A,F and D.
I play on a 5 string but I just cant figure out a good fingering.
Sure I have made some but they are impossible to grip seriously.
If you want to know what I need that chord for then its because of a song. The song is in A minor.
Thanks in advance. :bassist:

Oh forgot to mention I need the chord in the second octave. I meen after the 12 fret. So I cant use any open strings.

its a iv chord with a major 9th? I guess. play the open E, then DFA on the A, D, and G strings.

its a iv chord with a major 9th? I guess. play the open E, then DFA on the A, D, and G strings.

Yes sorry I forgot to mention that I cant use any open strings. Is there still a way to play it?

How about:

--------------------------
----0----------------------
----8---------------------
----5---------------------
----5----------------------

Or

--------------------------
----3----------------------
----5--------------------
----5---------------------
----5---------------------

Or

--------------------------
----0----------------------
----0---------------------
----0---------------------
----6----------------------

Depends on the voicing you want and how you want to interpret this chord but I see it as a d-9. d barre the d on the 15th fret of b and the f on the d string. Play the a on the 17th fret of e, stretch with your pinky to the e on the g string. This seemed to be the best voicing and the most clearly playable.

Sorry man I can only use the frets from 12 to 24. Because the song is based around those notes and changing would sound bad.

Depends on the voicing you want and how you want to interpret this chord but I see it as a d-9. d barre the d on the 15th fret of b and the f on the d string. Play the a on the 17th fret of e, stretch with your pinky to the e on the g string. This seemed to be the best voicing and the most clearly playable.

Thanks man ill try it now.

Damn this is really hard.

Ah crap now I hurt my hand :crying:

Which is the root? Is it suppose to be some sus chord or minor add 9? Also you have E and F that is going to sound bad. You will probably have to drop a note an unimportant note like the 5th.

Which is the root? Is it suppose to be some sus chord or minor add 9? Also you have E and F that is going to sound bad. You will probably have to drop a note an unimportant note like the 5th.

Oh it's you the one that seems to know alot.
Yes bro it does sound really bad. Im very depressed now seems like I cant play chords on my new 5 string bass :( It sounds so muddy and uggly. Please explain more about unimportnat notes. What exacly do you meen? And what can I do about those chords sounding so muddy :crying: Man im so depressed here :rollno:

The root is D by the way.

Three questions, out of curiosity:

1- How many frets does your bass have?

2- What type of construction is it (bolt-on, neck-through...)?

3- Does the song arrangement give you time to play the chord? I mean, does it happen very fast or do you have time to play it in a relaxed way?

Three questions, out of curiosity:

1- How many frets does your bass have?

2- What type of construction is it (bolt-on, neck-through...)?

3- Does the song arrangement give you time to play the chord? I mean, does it happen very fast or do you have time to play it in a relaxed way?

1- It has 24 frets
2- I dont know its a Ibanez EDB405 Ergodyne, I dont understand the question sorry.
3- Yes its calm and I can play it in a quite relaxed way :hmm:

Well, if your bass has 24 frets, access to the highest register is comfortable (my second question pointed to that) and you have time to prepare your fingers, you can try this very awkward fingering. It will sound great if you can do it:

- E string, 22nd fret with your ring finger
- A string, 20th fret with your middle finger
- D string, 19th fret with your index
- G string, 21th fret with your pinky

Voilà! A full Dm (add9), which is how your chord is called.

Hope this helps.

If you wouldn't mind going playing a chord starting around the tenth fret, this is how I would voice a Dm add9 chord. It has a minor 2nd between the upper two voices, so it's kind of harsh, but some people (myself included) really dig that sound.

-10-
-14-
-12-
-10-

Barre the 10th fret and play the 12th fret with middle and 14th fret with pinky.

how are you playing this chord? strumming, plucking? i suggest a little help from your plucking hand. maybe hold the chord with one note being held by your plucking had strummed with your thumb. or tap the extra note. or tap all at rhythm needed. heres a few i tried out

g-14 (ring)/(middle)<---if you can stretch it try the second parenthises in this chord
d-15 (pinky)/((ring)
a-17 (index*right hand)/(pinky)
e-12 (index)/(index)

g-14 (middle, ring, or pinky)
d-14 (middle, or ring)
a-17 (index*right hand)
e-13 (index)

g-21 (index*right hand)
d-12 (index)
a-12 (index)
e-13 (middle) not sure how this sounds...only have 20 frets, sounds fine an octave down...

g-21 (index*right hand)
d-15 (index)
a-17 (middle)
e-17 (middle)...i played this an octave lower...i think it sounds cool. i think ill write a song with it tomorrow...

g-19 (index*right hand)
d-14 (ring)
a-12 (index)
e-13 (middle)

g-19 (index*right hand)
d-15 (ring or pinky)
a-12 (index)
e-12 (index)

Oh it's you the one that seems to know alot.
Yes bro it does sound really bad. Im very depressed now seems like I cant play chords on my new 5 string bass :( It sounds so muddy and uggly. Please explain more about unimportnat notes. What exacly do you meen? And what can I do about those chords sounding so muddy :crying: Man im so depressed here :rollno:

The root is D by the way.

It's only an illusion I know a lot.

Chords on bass are tough because of the range of the instrument. That is why you want to simplify them. What I have done on my 5 and 6 string bass is work out basic three note chords. That are root, 3rd, and 7th and i try to keep the voicing open so they sound good. You can work out the voicing good exercise. Put the 3rd or 7th your two high strings and root on B string, or on E string. I use root on A string too, but more as a left over from 4-string bass. With your roots down on the B or E string the chords won't be muddy especially up the neck. Also using voicings like this it is easy to move the root around for a bass line while holding the 3rd and 7th.

Now for playing chords on bass it all depends on if you are playing by yourself or with a band. With a band you can start some of the basic chord tones out and play the color tones, because some chordal instrument in the band is covering the basic chord for you. So you have to think like an arranger. This is where understanding Polychords come in handy. You can play the upper part of the polychord and let the band catch the lower part.

I said the other chord would sound bad because of the minor 2nd/minor 9th you had in the notes (E & F.) On bass you will have to play around with the voicing to get it to sound right.

If D is the root I look at the chord as a Dmi Add 9. I would leave the A out. That said I just tried it quickly on my bass and first voicing I tried seems okay. 12th fret E, A, D, then F on the G-string tenth fret. That works because it separates the E and F minor 9th as much as possible.

Chords are fine on a 5-string, you need a good B-string and strings a little to the bright side. Then some patience to work out the voicing.

Remember the most important notes in a chord are the 3rd and 7th. 5th is easy to toss out. If you have other chordal instruments then you can leave the root out and replace with a 9th or other color tone.

Don't get depressed with your 5-string you have to learn to play it the same way you learned to play a 4-string.

A 5 string with a high C will open up more chord sounds for you and sound less muddy. It's really useful for playing chords to tunes like "Round Midnight".

+1 on the last two posts, excellent advice (this from a E-C guy who plays a lot of r-3-7-extension chords)

Well thanks alot guys you have all really helped out. :)
Thanks for taking your time now I can finally continue my song :bassist:

Which is the root? Is it suppose to be some sus chord or minor add 9? Also you have E and F that is going to sound bad. You will probably have to drop a note an unimportant note like the 5th.
An e and f is going to sound bad? Very general to say this I think you might mean together. Voice them an octave apart. You should be able to get the voicing I posted with proper technique. Good luck with it all.

An e and f is going to sound bad? Very general to say this I think you might mean together. Voice them an octave apart. You should be able to get the voicing I posted with proper technique. Good luck with it all.

Thanks man.

An e and f is going to sound bad? Very general to say this I think you might mean together. Voice them an octave apart. You should be able to get the voicing I posted with proper technique. Good luck with it all.

We are talking about chords so the notes are being played together and playing half-steps together need carefull handling or sound bad on bass. I also gave a voicing that made it work, but putting them on the outside string. You may want to slow down a little when reading replies.

If D is the root I look at the chord as a Dmi Add 9. I would leave the A out. That said I just tried it quickly on my bass and first voicing I tried seems okay. 12th fret E, A, D, then F on the G-string tenth fret. That works because it separates the E and F minor 9th as much as possible.

Are you sure that sounds OK to you? Having the 9th in the bass voice is a definite no-no, especially when played on a bass guitar when all the voices are in lower octaves than they would normally be played. This completely obfuscates the real root of the chord which would be D, and makes the whole chord sound like a completely different chord than what you would want it to. What chord you've made there my ear would hear as a 7sus4(b9) because the ear would hear that low E as the root. If you play a simple Dm (add 9) block chord in root position on the piano, it will sound absolutely nothing like what the chord you spelled out sounds like because of how you voiced it.

Plus, the minor 9th interval, in my opinion anyway, becomes even more apparent and glaring when its an octave apart. Putting it in the top voices at least can be used for an effect, but when its not a minor 2nd away, it can be really, really grating to my ear.

We are talking about chords so the notes are being played together and playing half-steps together need carefull handling or sound bad on bass. I also gave a voicing that made it work, but putting them on the outside string. You may want to slow down a little when reading replies.

I was responding to the comment that I quoted from you. I read your other reply and it cleared this up. As far as saying we are talking about chords and the notes played together? A d minor chord doesn't mean play d then f then a then c, and he was asking for a voicing which means that it would be obvious to try to seperate the e and f. The whole concept of voicing is to arrange the notes in a manner that is applicable to what you are trying to achieve. Will slow down, I should of read your second comment that cleared this up, but based on what I've just said, you might want to do the same.

Realise that post sounds pretty grumpy. (Not the best mood today). Sorry no disrespect. Will slow down with my replies too.:)

Realise that post sounds pretty grumpy. (Not the best mood today). Sorry no disrespect. Will slow down with my replies too.:)

It's all good we're are just trying to share our viewpoints to the help others. We are all Sensei both teacher and student. :ninja:

Well, if your bass has 24 frets, access to the highest register is comfortable (my second question pointed to that) and you have time to prepare your fingers, you can try this very awkward fingering. It will sound great if you can do it:

- E string, 22nd fret with your ring finger
- A string, 20th fret with your middle finger
- D string, 19th fret with your index
- G string, 21th fret with your pinky

Voilà! A full Dm (add9), which is how your chord is called.

Hope this helps.


+1

...but you could make this less painful by fretting the top three notes with your left hand, and tapping the 22nd fret D with your right hand.

Well, if your bass has 24 frets, access to the highest register is comfortable (my second question pointed to that) and you have time to prepare your fingers, you can try this very awkward fingering. It will sound great if you can do it:

- E string, 22nd fret with your ring finger
- A string, 20th fret with your middle finger
- D string, 19th fret with your index
- G string, 21th fret with your pinky

Voilà! A full Dm (add9), which is how your chord is called.

Hope this helps.

OOF! Why wouldn't you just fret the D with your pinky and the E with your ring finger? It's more logical that way, and far, far easier.

OOF! Why wouldn't you just fret the D with your pinky and the E with your ring finger? It's more logical that way, and far, far easier.

Makes sense on paper, but I find that fingering very uncomfortable.:bawl:

Makes sense on paper, but I find that fingering very uncomfortable.:bawl:

Well, it definitely requires developed finger strength, but to me, it's pretty natural and logical rather than twisting your fingers in over each other.