Fretless Help.

[Banana Bread]

Hey there, I have been playing fretless for about a month and a half and I love the sound of a fretless bass and the way they play a lot. But I have a problem. When I play bass, I do a lot of improvising. But when I play on my fretless, It seems as though I can't get creative enough when I improvise, i can't come up with a nice groove as easy as I can with a fretted, Is there anything I can do, to help adjust to a fretless, or does it just come with time and practice?

[coolrunner989]

I was the opposite way - picked up a fretless and it was so easy to move around on that I could make up new lines so much quicker than on my fretted.

I think its just a personal adjustment thing.

[DocBop]

Sounds like you use your frets and markers on your fretting bass to "see" the notes and patterns on your neck. Fretless you have work more like DB and learn things relative to where you are on the neck. In other word if you know your little finger is on D on G-string you shift your index finger to the same G and know the notes around there. Watch a DB player and you see these types of shifts going on all the time. They take where they know they are at and move relative to it.

Also learn to look at neck and know where notes are based on referece points on the bass. Like how far G on E-string is from nut. Where is 12th fret in relation to body. No frets you have to approach the bass different.

[Banana Bread]

Originally Posted by DocBop

Sounds like you use your frets and markers on your fretting bass to "see" the notes and patterns on your neck. Fretless you have work more like DB and learn things relative to where you are on the neck. In other word if you know your little finger is on D on G-string you shift your index finger to the same G and know the notes around there. Watch a DB player and you see these types of shifts going on all the time. They take where they know they are at and move relative to it.

Also learn to look at neck and know where notes are based on referece points on the bass. Like how far G on E-string is from nut. Where is 12th fret in relation to body. No frets you have to approach the bass different.

Wow, that is very very helpful, thanks so much for the ideas, and your correct when you say that i "see" the notes and patterns on a fretted.

[louieeadg]

Oh, and are you intonating properly? I'm not trying to be an @$$ but just wondering. When I first started playing fretless I wasn't aware of the adjustment and it helped a lot when I found that out.

[chicagodoubler]

fretless pointers-

TRANSCRIBE JACO!!!!!!!

other than that,

play with a sequencer for intonation help

and

try holding the sustain pedal on a keyboard and holding a chord. Improvise over it. Improves creativity and intonation.

[sjb64]

You haven't been playing fretless very long; give it some time. Things like proper technique and practicing are a given.

[j.a.e.r.i.p]

i would practice your left hand technique using just hand and fingerboard excercises. when your hand is in the right spots already and automatically then that allows to concentrate more on what you're playing not how you are playing it