classical guitar pieces on 6 string bass?

[quadrogong]

ever hear of having a classical guitar teacher show you peices on a 6 string bass tuned like a guitar?
i thought about picking up some tab and trying

[gkbass13]

im thinking of working out some ben harper acoustic stuff. throwing a capo at the 5th fret works too.

[Jeff Martinez]

Sounds like fun.

On the song "Sunrize", Ted Nugent plays a 6-string bass that (I think) is tuned EADGBE.

(Yeah, I know it's not classical, but it has something to do with this topic)

[gkbass13]

yeah, my post in retrospect really had nothing to do with the thread topic either, my b. id love to learn classical pieces on bass as well...maybe a fun woodshed session to be ahd with my 6 string in the near future...we shall see.

[quadrogong]

yeah, I saw a guy in the subway playing some beautiful stuff,
I thought it would be like a cool way to fake some cool Victor Wooten sounding stuff to toss in during a solo or something..
i'll get a cheap 6'er and a 7 string set..

[Angus]

I primarily play classical and flamenco pieces on bass, with both a bass tuned to EADGCF/EADGBE and a piccolo bass tuned EADGBE an octave higher (on a full-scale bass). Both tunings change based on the piece (the piccolo is currently CGCFBbD), but you get the idea. Both instruments work very well, but obviously the piccolo is much better because of the added clarity the higher tuning gives.

Some pieces require you to be creative, because it's much more difficult to play pieces with large stretches in them on a 35" scale bass with 16mm spacing versus a 26" scale classical, but thats part of the fun.

Because I play so much of it, I tend to prefer very small spacing - 15mm to 16.5mm at the max. It helps. I've never been a wide-spacing fan, ever, but I've found I prefer it as small as possible as it does ease the transition because guitar and bass, and makes it easier for both right and left hand. All the instruments I'm having made currently are with 15mm spacing- it's the best imo, even with plain fingerstyle!

If is definitely something worth practicing, but I wouldn't get tabs for it- that will not teach you anything. Get the sheet music, woodshed, learn how to read, and you'll be able to play the notes and learn the rhythm (which is by far the most important part of classical, let alone ALL music). It won't take you very long and you'll be a much better player for it.

You'll have a lot of fun learning to play with thumb and 3/4 fingers, too.

No tab though!!!

[Angus]

Victor Wooten style? He doesn't play similiar to that at all!

[quadrogong]

thanx, i was actually thinking of recruiting a good teacher, i studied classic guitar at a young age,as well as piano. I can read, but terribly,terribly slowly.
I found the discepline too overwhelming, the first 3 lessons on how to hold the guitar..hand position..
the
the next 4 on the different types of strokes,how to pluck it..
It wasn't for me,felt very un-natural,although I've always been in love with that sound..
I'm sure your playing is beautiful,
a wonderful way to feature
an electric bass with great tone..
any links to your music online?..

[Angus]

A good teacher would definitely help- it's a very economical way to play guitar/bass from a motion standpoint, but does require a lot of practice- evening out string volume and attack is sometimes the hardest thing. I'm still nowhere near to where I want to be!!!

It's the sort of thing, though, that if you have a proper classical teacher sort you out, you'll be much better off and will grow much quicker without all the bad habits. Go for it!

Reading is difficult- definitely for me too, as it's not my strength- but worth the struggle, as you'll be able to play music from any instrument, not just from guitar/bass.

I have a lot of music on my other computer. I've been trying to find a good place to put it up, if nothing else for the backup storage idea. I think I probably have 30-40 songs recorded, but nothing within the last two/three years.

[Sneckumhaw]

Originally Posted by Angus

I primarily play classical and flamenco pieces on bass, with both a bass tuned to EADGCF/EADGBE and a piccolo bass tuned EADGBE an octave higher (on a full-scale bass). Both tunings change based on the piece (the piccolo is currently CGCFBbD), but you get the idea. Both instruments work very well, but obviously the piccolo is much better because of the added clarity the higher tuning gives.

You sound like a great guitarist!

(just kidding, I'm sure you're a fine BASSIST)

[9Etherian]

Originally Posted by Angus

I primarily play classical and flamenco pieces on bass, with both a bass tuned to EADGCF/EADGBE and a piccolo bass tuned EADGBE an octave higher (on a full-scale bass). Both tunings change based on the piece (the piccolo is currently CGCFBbD), but you get the idea. Both instruments work very well, but obviously the piccolo is much better because of the added clarity the higher tuning gives.

Some pieces require you to be creative, because it's much more difficult to play pieces with large stretches in them on a 35" scale bass with 16mm spacing versus a 26" scale classical, but thats part of the fun.

Because I play so much of it, I tend to prefer very small spacing - 15mm to 16.5mm at the max. It helps. I've never been a wide-spacing fan, ever, but I've found I prefer it as small as possible as it does ease the transition because guitar and bass, and makes it easier for both right and left hand. All the instruments I'm having made currently are with 15mm spacing- it's the best imo, even with plain fingerstyle!

If is definitely something worth practicing, but I wouldn't get tabs for it- that will not teach you anything. Get the sheet music, woodshed, learn how to read, and you'll be able to play the notes and learn the rhythm (which is by far the most important part of classical, let alone ALL music). It won't take you very long and you'll be a much better player for it.

You'll have a lot of fun learning to play with thumb and 3/4 fingers, too.

No tab though!!!

Your post is right up my alley. I'm interested in owning a Bass and Piccolo Bass with the EADGBE tunings. What type of bass and piccolo bass do you use? Is the spacing between strings the same for each instrument? It seems similar spacing would offer some advantages when switching between instruments. If you have any of your recordings posted on the internet, I'd like to hear them.

[Grueber]

Originally Posted by Angus

I primarily play classical and flamenco pieces on bass, with both a bass tuned to EADGCF/EADGBE and a piccolo bass tuned EADGBE an octave higher (on a full-scale bass). Both tunings change based on the piece (the piccolo is currently CGCFBbD), but you get the idea. Both instruments work very well, but obviously the piccolo is much better because of the added clarity the higher tuning gives.

Some pieces require you to be creative, because it's much more difficult to play pieces with large stretches in them on a 35" scale bass with 16mm spacing versus a 26" scale classical, but thats part of the fun.

Because I play so much of it, I tend to prefer very small spacing - 15mm to 16.5mm at the max. It helps. I've never been a wide-spacing fan, ever, but I've found I prefer it as small as possible as it does ease the transition because guitar and bass, and makes it easier for both right and left hand. All the instruments I'm having made currently are with 15mm spacing- it's the best imo, even with plain fingerstyle!

If is definitely something worth practicing, but I wouldn't get tabs for it- that will not teach you anything. Get the sheet music, woodshed, learn how to read, and you'll be able to play the notes and learn the rhythm (which is by far the most important part of classical, let alone ALL music). It won't take you very long and you'll be a much better player for it.

You'll have a lot of fun learning to play with thumb and 3/4 fingers, too.

No tab though!!!

It's funny that you emphasize not using tab, when most music composed for the guitar and lute was in fact originally written in tablature(at least up until the Baroque era). There was some differences between tab then and now. Probably the main one being that they used letters instead of numbers.
open - a
fret 1 - b
fret 2 - c
fret 3 - d
etc...
(however "j" was not used)

[Angus]

Sure it was, but sorry, I don't buy that excuse. That's not in any way a good argument for it's use these days. We have a standardized form for displaying music that is readable by any music instrument, and it is far more complete than tablature. The only reason tablature exists still is because players are either too lazy to learn to read music or to learn whatever it is by ear. How are you going to learn a song you've never heard before? Besides, people used to ride horses for transportation, but that doesn't mean its a good substitute for cars today. (Try taking Mr. Ed on the freeway!)

9Etherian, I do not have any recordings on the internet, but I do have a bunch. Unfortunately, they are sitting on a computer right now that does not have access to the internet, but I haven't had a reason to move them over to this terminal.

My instruments do not all have the same string spacing, but most are 16.5mm to 15mm. My EADGBE piccolo is 15mm, but all others are 16 or 16.5mm. My new instruments coming are all 15mm. It doesn't really affect me, but it does feel weird to switch back to a 19mm/.750" 4 string or 5 string.

My piccolo is a John Myung 6 string, and it's actually for sale in the marketplace here. I'm going to have a bass made later in the year to replace it, but mostly I just need the money right now.

[Grueber]

Originally Posted by Angus

Sure it was, but sorry, I don't buy that excuse. That's not in any way a good argument for it's use these days. We have a standardized form for displaying music that is readable by any music instrument, and it is far more complete than tablature. The only reason tablature exists still is because players are either too lazy to learn to read music or to learn whatever it is by ear. How are you going to learn a song you've never heard before? Besides, people used to ride horses for transportation, but that doesn't mean its a good substitute for cars today. (Try taking Mr. Ed on the freeway!)

I think composers such as Bach just understood that with an instrument like classical guitar and the polyphonic music that was written for it, finger placement was, and still is, a very important part of performing the music well. Try not to get caught up in the taboo of tablature and maybe you will discover its practicality.



quadrogong,

http://www.classtab.org/
If you are tuned EADGBe, then these should work for you
Happy Fingerpicking!

[Angus]

Anyone who can read music on guitar can figure out fingerings, usually much, much much faster than can those who otherwise use tablature. Sure, there are a few ways to play things, but it should be up to the player to decide what is comfortable and what sounds best, not the composer.

I don't buy that answer, either. Still a cop-out.

[Grueber]

Originally Posted by quadrogong

ever hear of having a classical guitar teacher show you peices on a 6 string bass tuned like a guitar?
i thought about picking up some tab and trying

here are some more
click on the pdf files to the far right
http://dirk.meineke.free.fr/classical.html
http://dirk.meineke.free.fr/classical2.html

[MAJOR METAL]

Jesu The joy of Man's desire.