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5 string theory and practice
- Thread starter drewphishesp
- Start date
No difference theory-wise. Just incorporate the B string into your practice with scales and arpeggios. You will now be able to play your B, C, C#, D and D# scales/arpeggios across three octaves. Practice beginning an ascending scale on your E or A string and end by descending to the B string. For example, start your G major scale on the E string in third position, go up to the G in twelfth position and end on your B string in eighth position. Mix it up. Don't just stick to "boxes". Make sure you can play your scales starting from any finger/position and practice using a variety of "patterns".
Not really cycle specific but it's a great lesson on memorizing notes on the fretboard. When I started learning notes the first thing I did was write them all down on a blank fretboard diagram my instructor gave me. I had another diagram that was already filled in so basically I was just copying from the filled in to the blank. Then I would use the diagram( and the flash card method) to just go up and down one string at a time singing and saying or just saying the notes. Then I learned about scales and all that and started putting it all together like Scott is doing in the above video. From there I started learning the cycle/circle, triads, arpeggios, two octave scales, modes, and so on.
Don't do this so much that you don't like practicing!!! Seriously man. Maybe 15-20 minutes a day and then just have fun!
The notes are separated by fourths if you go clockwise around the wheel and fifths if you go counterclockwise.
DiabolusInMusic
Functionless Art is Merely Tolerated Vandalism
Take a look at the circle of fifths/fourths. Note how it starts on C at noon. If you move clockwise, you are moving to the fifth, G. If you move counter-clockwise, you are moving to a 4th. This comes back to intervals.
I kinda went totally opposite of these guys. I've been playing a 5 or 6 for roughly 30 years. I had to have the low B because I fell in love with Dream Theater's music, and had to have the B. I started searching for other players in recordings and started learning tunes written for a B, on a B. Got me familiar very quickly, most of that learning when to use the Low B as a thumbrest to keep it from ringing, modifying my left hand technique of using the tips of my fingers to mute strings, reaching the B feels different. And just getting my mind around the fact tho notes have moved, down, the notes are still notes. I then went to learning down tuned songs without downtuning, forcing myself to see new patterns and applying this knowledge at gigs. We're playin an SRV set tonight? I play in E flat positionally, I don't tune down. Drop D, Drop C, I don't tune down. I went from takin 4 or 5 basses to gigs to keep up wit our guitarist's arsenal of tunings, to takin one bass that had all the keys, like a piano, and it's saved me a ton of work at shows. Knowing hindsight is always 20/20, I learn by ear, then apply my technical knowledge to categorize the tune. In the same way, I just played tunes in B and then applied that knowledge to moving other songs, making them easier. I use the B to avoid position shifts, sure, but what that really means in practical knowledge is that I don't have to stare at my neck to play difficult passages. Music is music before it's a technical exercise. Play the bass, listen for your weaknesses, and find ways to eliminate them.
I took my BEAD strung four string to rehearsal last week for my first real play with it. The main benefit I found was to use 5th fret of B as my low E, which meant my hand position could be more comfortable in some instances, and in others it enabled me to swing a low D when I felt like it instead of going up the A string. It was a lot of fun, though I didn't find anything below that low D to be useful to me without it sinking behind the rest of the band.
that low B makes a great thumb rest ..!! you'll just start seeing where it fits ... you know those shapes ... octaves , 4th, 5ths ... then starting extending your scales down a few more notes ... or modes ...
for me , ... how the note sounds in which position or on which string , was the deciding factor ...
for me , ... how the note sounds in which position or on which string , was the deciding factor ...
Happens in some bands, esp without good PA support. In my current and past few bands I needed to stay completely out of the way of the guitars because they made all kinds of mess and having the B string option was key.
drewphishes , have you considered taking a few lessons to get your 'conceptualizations' going? lessons are a great way to get over hurdles and get 'fuel' for the next part of the journey. i already new music when i started bass, but i've taken lessons to get on with better playing: sometimes a few in a row, sometimes just one. you don't have to do that every week for a lifetime. i think a lot of competent instructors who could help you are probably asking a student to commit a month at a time: go for four lessons, and then take a break on purpose, to let it sink in. go with same teacher or find a new one if you want to continue lessons: for reasons that you cook up! it can be fun!
in any case: good luck on your quest!
in any case: good luck on your quest!
^^^^^is why my ear is the weakest link. I got excessively hung up on reading and now my ear suffers to this day. Not as bad as it used to but I can't sit down and transcribe a line without my bass in hand.
yep i took a few lessons and then took a break bc time gothectic. that was on a 4 string tho. but i recently decided my favorite players are mike gordon, phil lesh, oteil, and most of them play a 5 string or above and I want to learn the 5er. So I found myself a poor mans modulus ( a peavey gv) and am getting prepared so when it gets here I can get going right away.
When I transitioned from the 4 to the 5 string, I practiced about 2 hrs, sometimes longer, each day & I felt totally at home in one week. I started out using the low g (3rd fret)on the E string as my " home base" & the transition seemed easy.
My "eureka moment" on 5 string bass was this: I put a capo at the 5th fret (making the strings EADGC). Then I spent a week practicing all my favorite songs and exercises that I already knew. At the end of the week, I took off the capo. It was like a light bulb went on in my head!
Good luck and happy 5-stringing.
Good luck and happy 5-stringing.
I think it takes time to incorporate any new strings. It is like adding words to your vocabulary. At first you'll probably try to use the new word at every opportunity but then you'll discover when it speaks to you.
There is no theory or whatever. It is the same thing, just extended.
There is no theory or whatever. It is the same thing, just extended.
Just jam along to your favorite songs a lot and try not to think technically about what you are doing. Think more about the sounds produced rather than what notes they are. That's what really got me going quickly on a 5er. Also try practicing it with the lights out so that you don't get a bad habit of looking at the neck all the time. Or imagine that you went blind but still wish to play bass. 
One other thing I'd point out about the low B string is that the tonal quality of a note at or above the fifth fret may be different or not as "clean" or "pure" as the same exact pitch played on a higher string and lower fret. There is no hard and fast rule for all basses, though. So by all means use the scale exercises and learn the notes as people have suggested, but also discover through experimentation when the sound of the note on the B string is sonically acceptable in the context of what you are playing, and when you are better off playing that note on the E or A string.
