A really stupid question, in my eyes...

[Shade13]

Do most bassists play in position? Like position 1, 2, 3 etc.? I asked a couple and they said no, but I wanted to know if it is right or wrong

[Bruce Lindfield]

Well I don't think you should be dogmatic about it - but it can help your technique.

So - if you stay in one position, you avoid string noise when sliding up and down the neck, you are being more economical with effort and so are likely to have better stamina - you are likely to be more accurate with your left hand and therefore produce a better, cleaner sound, etc. etc.

There are many advantages - but if you are playing lines that aren't that technically demanding, then most players won't necessarily see any of these advantages. But they can be significant when you play difficult written lines...?

[JimK]

I agree, Bruce.

Back in the day, I was totally anal about being "in position".
When I first learned "Badge"...I played the opening figure "in position" over the E-A-D strings.
Maybe 10 years ago, someone at this site mentioned having the TAB & wondered why the opening figure was shown using only the E & A strings. I listened to the recording & damn...Bruce was playing the intro as TAB'd. He used a position shift.

The lesson: Be open & not dogmatic.

[Bassorama57]

Originally Posted by JimK

I agree, Bruce.
I listened to the recording & damn...Bruce was playing the intro as TAB'd. He used a position shift.

The lesson: Be open & not dogmatic.

Used to try to keep in "the box" when I played upright as a kid, but on electric - the difference in sounds as compared to the effort to make a position shift changes the equation.

[jpark369]

Originally Posted by JimK

I agree, Bruce.

Back in the day, I was totally anal about being "in position".
When I first learned "Badge"...I played the opening figure "in position" over the E-A-D strings.
Maybe 10 years ago, someone at this site mentioned having the TAB & wondered why the opening figure was shown using only the E & A strings. I listened to the recording & damn...Bruce was playing the intro as TAB'd. He used a position shift.

The lesson: Be open & not dogmatic.

great post. and thats the thread.

[ryco]

Position shifts are also determined by where you're heading on the fret board.

For instance if you're in A you can plonk around on the first five frets and use open strings. Or use the fifth fret with your little finger for A, D, G &C* (*standard four banger tuning = E A D G)
But if you need to hit the high F or G on the G string you may want to shift up to the 5th fret on E, or 7th fret on D, or the 12th fret A so your hand is already in a higher position making those notes easier to grab.
You may want to think ahead about where you're gonna need to be and how to comfortably hit the notes.

Shifting also allows you to slide into notes if you so desire. Just depends on the sound and style you want.

I agree with Bruce about staying in one position for runs of many fast notes in a tight position. Also may want to consider not using open strings for these kind of runs to keep the tone between the notes consistent, but you don't have to.

[DudeistMonk]

Shifting for me opens up new possibilities (well makes them more obvious) when improvising or writing... I start to see more of the fret board as viable when I start shifting around.

[Alex E]

Interesting question. I'm more of a diagonal player than a horizontal one. Hadn't thought about it much before, but I think this is for two reasons.

1. I like the octave "e" to "g#" tone better on starting on the 7th fret of the A string. Same with notes above the octave "a" starting on the 7th fret of the D string.

2. When I was a little squirt, my violin teacher drilled it into us to not play open strings. I do like the tone a little better on a fretted "D" instead of an open string. I guess that has influenced climbing the fretboard on many songs.

I would say smoothness and accuracy are king. If you play with some position shifts, just make sure you do it smoothly. I also find position shifts help me retain a good memory of the higher-up fretboard.

[DocBop]

You select a position for a reason not just to be doing it unless its practice thing. Sometime you select a position because sightreading or playing the tune lays well in that position. The bulk of your notes are in that position or just a shift up or down. Another reason to pick a position is tone. Many consider the first five frets as the sweet spot of the bass for nice fat tone that supports the bottom of a group. Some may go up the next a bit for more note definition. Once you really get your fingerboard technique down then you find yourself subconsciously moving to what works for a song or just a section of a song or solo.

So if new learn the low end of the neck till you can play it blind folded, then start moving up the neck. Like DB players you learn to move around position to position relative to the position you were last in. You don't want to be looking at your neck all the time to know where you are.

[E2daGGurl]

I agree you choose a position for a reason, although very little about why got through into my head for about the first year of playing.

Coming here to talkbass has actually helped a lot. We play quite a bit of bluegrass/Creedence covers and there, I like the sound of the open strings. But everything else, I've learned, sounds way better with no open strings. So that's the first part of position, for me.

If I want to slide down the fretboard and play chromatic notes rapidly, I use different positions than if I want to avoid string noise (still working on avoiding it).

I am also trying to learn some jazz bass solos that are way up the fret board - but I find that I need to stick to one or two positions per song or my brain freezes (beginner here).