To stay on one string or to move down one?

[Neel]

Hey guys. I am new to bass, and I have noticed something in a lot of tabs that I have read. People seem to frequently tab out playing the 5th fret on a string as opposed to just playing the higher pitched string with no fret at all. I understand that this means you then have to silence it, but is that the only reason they do this?

An example (not the best) is http://www.bassmasta.net/l/led_zeppelin/107497.html . In fool in the rain, the tabber has the player go up to the 5th and 7th fret as opposed to moving to the higher pitched string and playing 0 and 2. I personally find going to the other string a whole lot easier, but I thought I would get your guys opinion on what the deal is.

Is it considered better sounding or something to stay on one string as much as possible?

[Alec W. Conway]

There's a difference in sound on many basses. I know on my 6'er, the 2 higher strings have a distinctive sound that might make me choose to jump on them instead of playing higher frets on the lower strings.

Also, open strings, most of the time, dont have the same sound as fretted notes at all.

And then, as you mentionned, there's the muting issue that can put some weight in favor for fretted lower string instead of higher open string.

[MichaelScott]

Normally the higher (lighter) gauge strings don't have the same gritty tone that the lower (thicker) gauge strings do- just try it for yourself and you will probably prefer the same note on a lower string.

There is still the issue of playability. It might be easier to play the song by shifting to the fifth-seventh frett for those passages.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by Neel

Hey guys. I am new to bass, and I have noticed something in a lot of tabs that I have read.

Ditch the tabs - they are almost always incorrect and a waste of time - put up by people who don't know what they're doing.

Best way is listen to artists you like - like Led Zep and try to play what you hear - or get approved books, where the artists themselves have provide guidance.

When I was starting out there were no Tabs - but "Led Zeppelin Complete" was a great help!

[KPJ]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Ditch the tabs - they are almost always incorrect and a waste of time - put up by people who don't know what they're doing.

Best way is listen to artists you like - like Led Zep and try to play what you hear - or get approved books, where the artists themselves have provide guidance.

When I was starting out there were no Tabs - but "Led Zeppelin Complete" was a great help!

When I first started on bass I had a friends copy of "Led Zeppelin Complete" and the two volume Mel Bay beginner bass books by Roger Filibretto. I learned how to read music from those two resources. I used to play the bass piano parts, not realizing they were for piano and not bass. It really helped me to learn notes and to hear the notes in the song, as in some cases the bass part on the score was not the bass part on the record.

Unfortunately, I had to give my friend his book back. Some ten years on, I bought myself a copy. The newer edition has some notes from Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones (especially on the first album) that includes some TAB! For "Dazed and Confused" there is an alleged note from Jimmy on how to play the intro bass figure on guitar with notation and TAB, and a corresponding one from John showing it on bass. The curious thing is, the bass part is shown starting on the fifth fret of the D string, while in the videos that I've seen, he starts it on the tenth fret of the A string. I admit when I learned the riff from the score originally I played it as the TAB showed, as there is no position shift, but I learned pretty quickly that I could get more of a "Doomier" sound by starting on the A string.

So, to answer the original question, where you play the note depends on a few factors, ease of fretting and the timbre of the note being two of them.

P. S. in the TAB, one of the low E's in the riff is TABbed as an open A string.

[BassChuck]

Good advice. Another reason to avoid open strings. If the song is simple a pattern, you can change keys easier if you don't have an open string in the pattern.

[ihateusernames]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Ditch the tabs - they are almost always incorrect and a waste of time - put up by people who don't know what they're doing.

Best way is listen to artists you like - like Led Zep and try to play what you hear - or get approved books, where the artists themselves have provide guidance.

When I was starting out there were no Tabs - but "Led Zeppelin Complete" was a great help!

i just relocated that book this summer. haven't used/seen it in ages hehe!

[dvh]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Ditch the tabs - they are almost always incorrect and a waste of time - put up by people who don't know what they're doing.

Best way is listen to artists you like - like Led Zep and try to play what you hear - or get approved books, where the artists themselves have provide guidance.

When I was starting out there were no Tabs - but "Led Zeppelin Complete" was a great help!

You're mostly right about the tabs but they are still useful as a starting point ot "guideline" I read the tab and then adjust by ear to the correct notes/timing, etc.

I think it's always preferable to NOT play open strings unless absolutely necessary. I prefer the sound of the fretted notes almost anywhere else on the board.