Admittedly Because I am relatively new

[bholder]

This. We’ve all done it early on in our learning. Standing/sitting makes no difference. (Well, there are differences, but not really relevant to this issue.). Keep working on using the side markers only and eventually you’ll realize that the fretboard markers are for decoration only (or as a reference point for another player to see what you’re doing). I sometimes encounter other players who are somewhat lost trying to figure out what I’m playing, until I point out that it’s because I have no fretboard markers. From my point of view, it’s not a problem.

Hehe - I remember trying to teach my poor old lead guitarist a riff by just showing him and saying "just follow me" - forgetting I was playing an all black unlined unmarked fretless! hehe hehe hehe good times hehe

 

[Fender_Bender]

Play standing up and put a few blobs of painters tape over the side dots so you’ll know where you are until muscle memory kicks in. I’m sure you’re not making yourself cross eyed looking at your fingers on the trumpet.

 

[Jazzdogg]

I never said that one should never look at the fretboard. The goal is to be able to navigate without having your eyes glued to it. And in the end it all depends on what you are playing. I've played thousands of hours of walking blues bass lines, I don't need to look at my left hand to walk a I-vi-ii-V. But if I'm transcribing a Victor Wooten solo I'm probably looking at my fretboard at some point, and so is Vic!

The difference is that beginners often have no ability to play without staring at their hand, and that's the step the OP needs to put work in to overcome.

I don't disagree with you, nor do I believe you said anything wrong.

Back in the day, I spent many an hour with my eyes on Simandl, my hands in prescribed positions, and my ears straining to hear whether my intonation is "good enough." Time well spent, especially in hindsight.

 

[bigdaddybass12]

1st. It’s ok to look at the neck/frets/fingers. Try to just look at the top of the frets for reference. I have played for 30 years I still look at the neck & fingers.

 

[basslayer]

You can raise your bass higher by adjusting the strap, or you can practice standing. Personally, I practice standing when I'm in a band.

 

[Lobster11]

I usually play standing, with the neck angled upwards around 30-45 degrees. With the right strap length, that puts the bass body low enough to be comfortable for my right hand and wrist, and the neck high enough to be comfortable for my left hand and wrist. Unfortunately, it's hard to replicate this position when sitting.

 

[FullumMusic]

The bad news is, it sounds like you're playing in a very un-ergonomic way when you're sitting that's really bad for your wrists, fingers, neck, and back.

Sitting slumped forward and twisting your head around to see the front of your fretboard and fingers is terrible posture, and your back and wrists will thank you the sooner you stop doing that. And tilting the face of the bass up towards your face is just as bad, especially for your left wrist than now has to twist all the way around the neck while you play.

The good news is, the position of the bass when you stand is in a much better spot ergonomically than how it sounds like you're holding the bass while sitting. And the other good news is, you don't need to see your fingers on the face of the fretboard. You can keep an eye on the side-dots and edges of the frets and you'll be able to tell where you are. That paired with your ears telling you if the note is right or wrong...

All it takes is a little consistent practice and you'll be able to play without having to stare at the front of the fretboard while you play.

---

Here's a POV of how i hold my bass sitting. (The angle is a little exaggerated and my playing hand is a bit twisted because it's tricky to hold the bass and take the pic with my phone right up in my face.)

Having the bass about 30 to 45 degrees out from straight-across is much better for your left wrist, your right hand & shoulder, and your back. Notice you can't see the face of the fretboard. But you don't need to. Just practice without looking at it and you'll have it down in no time.

You can still look at your hand with respect to the side dots and fret-ends. And eve that is better because now the neck is further out into your field of vision than it is with it straight across your body, so you have to look down less and crank your neck less. Your hand and bass neck are always in your peripheral field.

Also, check these videos of how to properly and comfortably hold your bass.

 

[Pirate Captain]

just woodshed...before you know it, you won't worry about seeing the frets any more than you used to worry about seeing your trumpet valves

 

[Kokoskaka]

I always practice with a strap when sitting down, arranged so that the bass stays in almost the same place as when i stand up. This makes it pretty easy to go between sitting and standing. Otherwise it messes with my muscle memory.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

"I don't know who came up with the nonsensical idea that real musicians always play without looking at their instruments, but I don't believe it's a legitimate argument."

Thanks @Jazzdogg, all beginning players need to hear this.

 

[Cleezmo]

Most everything has been covered. First, I almost never practice sitting down anymore, because I have no sit-down gigs, so I always practice standing up. In addition to muscle memory, I think it helps with posture, as it's easy for me to find myself slumped over a bit when practicing sitting down. Second, almost EVERYONE peeks at the fretboard/markers occasionally, so don't stress too much about it, but if you're staring at the neck 90% of the time, obviously that's too much. Third, experimenting with strap height/bass position is critical to find the optimal positioning for you.

 

[3bc]

As others said, just practice. Try practicing standing up. I’m not the world’s best player but pretty good, and I have been at a point for many years where I could play a 75 minute set of pretty widely varied music without looking at my fretboard once. Over time your hands learn what first position feels like without looking, and from there what it feels like to go from the 3rd to the 8th fret or 13th fret, etc.

Learn a few pieces of music backwards and forwards, and instead of focusing on the fretboard focus on what it feels like to play it. Your ears will tell you if you over or undershoot a note, and then you back up and do it again. Might help you gain confidence and muscle memory.

Bass is also somewhat simple in this regard because of its fretboard shapes. A 5th or a major or minor third are always in the same relative place no matter where you are. Once your hands get the shapes committed to memory the world is your oyster.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Setting the stage here I'm a 25 year jazz trumpet player that turned to EB 2 years ago. I practice effectively a lot. I know theory, reading, gigging and building.
Started a new group playing the good R&B from 60's/70's.
Beyond the obvious answers (e.g practice more), I play sitting down. When I stand and with a good strap, of course the fret board is pointing 90 degrees from my line of sight. You know where I am going with this. I cannot see it at all. While I have learned pretty well when I sit how to "read the board" without looking a lot, this what I am describing is tough. I had this stupid thought of attaching a thick foam pad to the backside of the body so it tilts the bass in about 20 degrees and then I can see it and as importantly my fingers feel much more flexible. Yup, yup that is a band-aid (pun intended)
Thanks in advance on helpful comments.

Welcome to the music down under and this board. It’s a great place to be.

As for your issue, would side dots on the finger board help?

 

[brianrost]

I’ve always kept the bass tilted a little all the time to see the fretboard, whether sitting or standing. My back doesn’t seem to mind.

While I don’t need to look at the board every second, when shifting positions I want to check not only the fret location (which side dots allow) but also where each string is when I’m crossing strings…like a shift of more than 2 or 3 frets and crossing more than one string, like playing on the B string moving a different position on the G string.

 

[badgrandad]

Put small dots on the side of the fretboard with a marker so you can see them from the top.

I did this on my lined fretless because I couldn’t see the lines

 

[TheArchitect]

Setting the stage here I'm a 25 year jazz trumpet player that turned to EB 2 years ago. I practice effectively a lot. I know theory, reading, gigging and building.
Started a new group playing the good R&B from 60's/70's.
Beyond the obvious answers (e.g practice more), I play sitting down. When I stand and with a good strap, of course the fret board is pointing 90 degrees from my line of sight. You know where I am going with this. I cannot see it at all. While I have learned pretty well when I sit how to "read the board" without looking a lot, this what I am describing is tough. I had this stupid thought of attaching a thick foam pad to the backside of the body so it tilts the bass in about 20 degrees and then I can see it and as importantly my fingers feel much more flexible. Yup, yup that is a band-aid (pun intended)
Thanks in advance on helpful comments.

Stand while you practice

 

[klyph]

Are you self-taught on trumpet? Have you taken any foundational lessons on the electric bass? It's telling that some here are mentioning Simandl or asking about physicality or technique. Playing up the neck is a physical sensation that is managed by dividing up the fretboard into positions. As you move up the fretboard, the notes available "within the hand" increase, but the hand motions to cover them change. The same development is necessary for the double bass, which is why Simandl is still a useful text after over 100 years. Of course, nobody would tell you to learn DB without a teacher, so you may want to solicit some instruction from an experienced player to help navigate successful shifting over 2 octave scales on the EB *without looking*.
If you don't want to bother with Simandl or instruction, at least transcribe your existing lines into different keys that take them "up the neck". Try playing them across two strings, instead of three, putting the shifts in different places, and "leading" with different left hand fingers. Do all of this standing and not looking at the neck except for significant shifts. You have a significant advantage in having material in your ears and under your fingers, although in a limited way. Start thinking of the shifts the same as you would breath marks on a brass instrument- a regimen to make the performance easier, formulated in the practice room. You won't see improvement overnight, but you will eventually "put it together".
Good luck!