Fretless Bass exercises please!

[Zulla]

Hello,
I've made a purchase of a new bass, and I'd like to really get into it.

I've been playing for around 4 years, but never really got into the fretless world, and now's my chance!

If possible, I'd like to ask you all fretless'ers if you can recomend me as many exercises as possible, even if they are as simple as starting from scratch (that's pretty much what I'm going to do here!).

Thanks!

Cheers!

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by Zulla

Hello,
I've made a purchase of a new bass, and I'd like to really get into it.

I've been playing for around 4 years, but never really got into the fretless world, and now's my chance!

If possible, I'd like to ask you all fretless'ers if you can recomend me as many exercises as possible, even if they are as simple as starting from scratch (that's pretty much what I'm going to do here!).

Thanks!

Cheers!

I'd start off simply playing the material you already know and have always played on the fretted on the fretless. You already know all the fingerings, so all that's left is just doing it without the frets .

That's literally about all I did for probably the first couple years after I switched to fretless. My tone was so much better I never got tired of keeping after it until I could play in tune, had adjusted for the differences and so on.

IMO, that's really the best place to start that isn't mind-numbingly boring. It'll be shocking because you'll feel like you're just learning how to play again, but you have the advantage of already knowing the tunes....

LS

[raymondl3]

Do you have a sequencer that will play chords you program?

[martyman5000]

Record yourself and hear if you're playing in tune.

[bass_lord_mutha]

Play with a tuner and start off slowly playing scales and arpeggios in major and minor scales in different keys, stopping each note long enough for the tuner to register if it's in tune or not. Make the necessary adjustments and keep playing, being mindful of your finger placement. After awhile you will start to develop a muscle memory for your finger placement. Pay special attenton to 1/2 position scales (F and Bb keys namely). At least for me, those are a bit trickier than first position and 2nd position scales.

Another thing you could do that I picked up from Dale Titus on the now defunct Bass Survival 101 page on Warwick's website is to record yourself playin scales on a fretted bass, then play the recordings back while playing along with the fretless bass. This will help train your ear to the intonation of each note while building your muscle memory.

[Ivan M]

Also go here there is a lot of info.

www.fretlessbass.com

[Mayers]

Originally Posted by unclejane

I'd start off simply playing the material you already know and have always played on the fretted on the fretless. You already know all the fingerings, so all that's left is just doing it without the frets .

That's literally about all I did for probably the first couple years after I switched to fretless. My tone was so much better I never got tired of keeping after it until I could play in tune, had adjusted for the differences and so on.

IMO, that's really the best place to start that isn't mind-numbingly boring. It'll be shocking because you'll feel like you're just learning how to play again, but you have the advantage of already knowing the tunes....

LS

huge +1. I think it is the best way to work your intonation and to see what work and what need more wood shed

[frisbieinstein]

Jaco said the best practice was playing a fretted with you fingers right on top of the frets. It works.

[BassChuck]

Steve Bailey's fretless book has alot of good exercises for intonation.

Anything you can do to keep octave and fifths in tune will be a help to your play.

[scott0606]

If its an unlined fretless, start off by playing tunes you know but also try and find the 'sweet spots' on the guitar. Like already mentioned, a fretless is much less forgiving and pressing in the middle of a fret may not necessarily be where the in-tune note is.

[Setebos]

I recently got my first Fretless.
I play a lot of the things I already play with my fretted bass. That helps cause you already have the sound in your head and will realize if your intonation is off.
However one thing I noticed when I play fretless is that I start playing in one position and sometimes my position moves little by little. With this small movement I dont hear problems with intonation as the whole thing is moving together. But when I check my left hand is may be 5 milimiters closer to the bridge.
One thing I use sometimes to check and guide my intonation when playing it to use open strings.
Hope this can help.

[cruzois]

put on a bunch of tunes you know and play with your eyes closed or in the dark. I've had my fretless P for 40 years(almost) and I bought a lined Rob Allen..I think it made my ears lazy