what to practice? 5er

[yeggi]

hi, so i own myself a 5 string bass and the genre i want to learn/be in a band and or my favorite is metal. all of the bassist i know use 4 string tuned to drop c, im a beginner and i was wondering what i should practice on my 5 string to get my chops up. i dont want to downtune my lower 4 string to drop c that seems a bit foolish and a waste of a nice 5th string. any help?? and also i plan to use standard tuning in a metal band once i feel confident enough, does that sound a bit foolish as well? thanks!

[waleross]

How about Bach or some other classical string bass music.

[yeggi]

ive actually learned bachs invention number 13, but this doesnt help with speed. i just pick up the bass and noodle around the frets until i can do it at insanley high speeds but i feel like theres something else out there to help

[cwb540]

Try steve bailey's hazard exercise. Should help become more aware and comfortable with the low b. Otherwise forget its there and play normal, only now you can go lower or tune up to go higher

Anyway its near perfect as a warm up. A must do before a gig

[dave956]

This works with anything:

1. Buy a metronome.
2. Keep it in front of you when you practice. and turn it on.
3. Start out at a tempo you can play your selected piece without errors. When you can play it through three times cleanly, ratchet the metronome up a bpm or two or whatever works for you.
4. Repeat until you're worn out.

Seriously, use a metronome for practice, always. Helps with your meter, too.

Dave

[Skygoneblue]

As far as tuning, I remember reading something that Sam Rivers from Limp Bizkit used to do. Their guitarist was tuned to C#, and Sam played a 5, so it was pointless for him to have a 5 string in most cases. However, he said he just downtuned the low B a single half step (to A#) because he liked the way the low B note sounded when it was fretted (1) instead of just played open.

So, the low string isn't without its uses, even in a droptuned metal band.