My brilliant idea that somebody smart should steal from me.

Benjamin Strange · #1 01-16-2005, 09:07 PM

I've been practicing my sightreading on my fretless bass, and I've come to the conclusion that my intonation sucks. I find myself wishing that I had a recording of this music, so that I can check my intonation against that. But there's so much music out there that this is an unpossibilty. What if I'm playing by myself? How do I test my intonation?

And then it hits me: tuners detect what notes I am playing. They also will put out tones of various pitches. Why can't somebody make a tuner that will detect what note I am playing (or close to it), while simultaneously putting a note out that I should be playing? Eureka! An idea! Learning intonation should be a hearing discipline, not a visual one - relying on fretlines or watching the tuner is self defeating. An invention such as the one I've described would be a great help in developing a good sense of pitch.

I don't think it would be a terribly difficult thing to make; perhaps it would be nothing more than a mod on an existing tuner. I'm not an engineer, and no whiz when it comes to electronics, but it strikes me that it's not an unpossibilty. Some tuners are really fast detecting pitch, so it might be useable for fast runs even. Who knows? Could something like this be done? Anybody care to steal this idea from me and make it a reality?

JPJ · #2 01-16-2005, 09:30 PM

Consider it done!

Now......I'm off to count my millions.

Floating teetH · #3 01-16-2005, 09:34 PM

Those perfect pitch folks are going to be sending their leg-breakers after you.

Matt Till · #4 01-16-2005, 10:09 PM

I've always heard it's a good idea to practice fretless with a delay pedal. It makes sense for practicing arpeggios/chords. If you hit a wrong note, you have to listen to this awful chord for 5 seconds.

DaftCat · #5 01-16-2005, 11:33 PM

Hey,

I have the BOSS Gt-6B and it can sorta do that as it is in tuner mode. Never really paid attention as to how responsive it is timewise, but I'll test around and letcha know.

There is a software app I believe called Guitar Pro and I recall the tuner was quick. You plug the instrument into the PC > Line-in.

Hope this helps,

**Josh Ryan** · #6 01-16-2005, 11:45 PM

I've been playing something with a fretted, then playing fretless along too it. I think it's helping.

bassist4ever · #7 01-17-2005, 12:01 AM

would have to have a mildly fast processor to do that. and it wouldnt be accurate. because what if your precisely halfway inbetween G and G#, which note is it going to play? it would be accurate some what, just not all the time...

christoph h. · #8 01-17-2005, 05:14 AM

what about using a MIDI pickup?

or a setup with autotune on one channel?

KuMBye YamALaWd · #9 01-17-2005, 06:09 AM

For practising URB, I often

1) Select a (trancription of a) piece
2) Play & Record the part on Fretted bass onto my olde Tascam 4-track, along with Drum Machine or Click
3) PLAY (Recording is useful for listening to later for evaluation) along with that recording, on the (fretless) URB

Playing along to myself with the headphones on really works my intonation....mis-pitchings that I would otherwise allow myself to get away with STAND OUT A MILE thru the headphones, because I'm going for unison with a note that's already in my ears....

Hope I'm not too off-topic with this, just find that this method helps me work on intonation in a way that I think would be just as beneficial as the OP's idea of a Tuner which sends out the correct pitch...- the pitch is already there!

Otherwise, that MIDI-bass idea mentioned above, the sound-module generated note (as detected on the fretless via MIDI converter) against the true bass note <--- that sounds like a good idea!

Anyway you cut it, this particular goal is matching muscle-memory with what you're hearing....(& avoiding visual aids, in order to develop ONLY those 2 things in combination, ie. muscle-memory + ears)

Wrong Robot · #10 01-17-2005, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassist4ever

would have to have a mildly fast processor to do that. and it wouldnt be accurate. because what if your precisely halfway inbetween G and G#, which note is it going to play? it would be accurate some what, just not all the time...

That's when a hand comes out of your computer and slaps you.