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Am I simply not a 5/6 string player?
- Thread starter Honcho85
- Start date
5 or 6 stringer you can play most songs in one position and that is BIG.Start by playing ascending and descending scales.THE LIGHTS WILL COME ON.I do like to run the neck on a 4 stringer.
Ain't it impressive when we run that neck like a lead guitar player!!! But, I'm old now and my fingers just ain't what they used to be when I was playing lead guitar. Besides, 4 years ago I shortened the middle finger of my left hand (yes, I'm right handed) and that ended my lead guitar gig after 50 years. It was easier to go back to the bass. And I'm having more fun now playing music, at 66, than I ever did before. So, I DO appreciate that 5th string every now & then so I can just jump up a string. Especially when I'm above the 5th fret. But, that low D in the 3rd fret really resonates, don't it?
Cheers
The more I play a 5, the less I use the low B string for notes below E. The lower notes seem just too big, too much, kind of goofy for the kind of sound I like now.
But I play a 5, and that's it even though I rarely, if ever go below E during a gig. Sometimes I use it to avoid jumping around in the upper register.
Won't go back to a 4 though. It is what it is, I play a 5 string. The lowest notes on my piano I've probably never played but I want them there for some strange reason. Same with my bass now.
But I play a 5, and that's it even though I rarely, if ever go below E during a gig. Sometimes I use it to avoid jumping around in the upper register.
Won't go back to a 4 though. It is what it is, I play a 5 string. The lowest notes on my piano I've probably never played but I want them there for some strange reason. Same with my bass now.
it takes time to adjust. 2 months is not enough. Let me recommend that’s you work on songs that require a 5 string, and or songs you don’t play on your 4 string. If you play the same songs on both, you will do what you are currently doing, revert to the 4 banger because it’s more comfortable.
Better to have it and not need it; than to need it and not have it.
Cheers
Cheers
One thing that I have learned over the last couple decades of playing is that every time I make a grand declaration about something (mostly relating to what I don't like), it always comes back around for me to reassess as my tastes morph and develop. This has definitely been the case for me with extended range basses. Although my very modest collection is limited to four strings at the moment, the enchantment of that low B and high C will most definitely fuel some GAS in the future...unless I stop looking at the NAMM posts and watching youtube...
I don't enjoy playing 5's very often, although I've been playing mine at home for a couple days now. You can get used to anything you want to get used to, but if you don't enjoy playing a 5, no law says you have to do it.
A 5-string is not a 4-string with an extra string.
I came to love the 5-string bass when I realized you're not supposed to play it like a 4-string. It's its own thing. The value of a 5-string is not having 5 extra low notes. The biggest value is access to the same notes with more economy of movement. The shapes/patterns are similar, but expanded. The notes are the same, but in a few new, more convenient places. And yes, you can rumble a sub with your low B.
Approach a 5-string as its own instrument and you might be surprised at just how fun it can be.
I came to love the 5-string bass when I realized you're not supposed to play it like a 4-string. It's its own thing. The value of a 5-string is not having 5 extra low notes. The biggest value is access to the same notes with more economy of movement. The shapes/patterns are similar, but expanded. The notes are the same, but in a few new, more convenient places. And yes, you can rumble a sub with your low B.
Approach a 5-string as its own instrument and you might be surprised at just how fun it can be.
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I'm in the same boat as you. I just bought a 5 string about 2 months ago. I naively thought I'd master it in a month or so but it's taking longer than I thought. My main problem with the five is that my right hand still thinks in 4 string terms and anytime I mess up it's because my right hand is plucking or picking the wrong string. My fretting hand is usually in the correct position. However, I'm slowly adapting and making gradual baby steps but like anything else I know I have to do the time and stick with my commitment to learn.
I rarely play my four stringers because I know it's not going to help me get better with the 5 string. I'm not concerned with losing any 4 string skills. I just have to stay focused and exercise patience which might be the hardest part about learning to play a 5.
One thing to keep in mind is that the 5 string is more about expanding your options on the fretboard than it is about having 5 lower notes. It's also nice to know I don't have to retune/detune for a song. The lower notes are already there on the fretboard just waiting to be used whenever needed.
I'm going to give the 5 stringer much more time before I decide if I'm a 5'r or a 4'r. For me to give up after just two months is way too soon in my opinion.
I rarely play my four stringers because I know it's not going to help me get better with the 5 string. I'm not concerned with losing any 4 string skills. I just have to stay focused and exercise patience which might be the hardest part about learning to play a 5.
One thing to keep in mind is that the 5 string is more about expanding your options on the fretboard than it is about having 5 lower notes. It's also nice to know I don't have to retune/detune for a song. The lower notes are already there on the fretboard just waiting to be used whenever needed.
I'm going to give the 5 stringer much more time before I decide if I'm a 5'r or a 4'r. For me to give up after just two months is way too soon in my opinion.
Most five or six string players have a reason for buying a five or six before they buy it.
Either the music they listen to or the music that they have in their heads pulls them to it.
Most don't buy it and then ask why they bought it.
Either the music they listen to or the music that they have in their heads pulls them to it.
Most don't buy it and then ask why they bought it.
There's nothing saying you have to use a 5er. I converted very early in my bass career, so it was not a challenge for me at all. (But I'm njow pretty lost on a 4 string as odd as that sounds.)
I tried the 6 last year and it's not working for me, so I get your struggle.
If feel you need to step up to the 5, put your other basses away for a while. Start by just using the B string as thumb rest to get yourself acclimated to THIS bass. Slowly start incorporating the B string. A low D here, a first string groove in E moved from Position 1 to Position 2 (B string 5th fret - I use the B string a lot for options way more than the 4 lower notes). You're learning a new instrument, so need to take it slow.
If you're not feeling it, don't sweat it - many don't bother with them and they are plenty happy.
I tried the 6 last year and it's not working for me, so I get your struggle.
If feel you need to step up to the 5, put your other basses away for a while. Start by just using the B string as thumb rest to get yourself acclimated to THIS bass. Slowly start incorporating the B string. A low D here, a first string groove in E moved from Position 1 to Position 2 (B string 5th fret - I use the B string a lot for options way more than the 4 lower notes). You're learning a new instrument, so need to take it slow.
If you're not feeling it, don't sweat it - many don't bother with them and they are plenty happy.
IMHO it takes serious effort to transition to an extended range instrument. So if you don't have some sort of driving desire to play a 5-string, it's never going to happen.
I went through the transition twice and both times it initially degraded my ability to play. The problem is a lot of the mental responses you use to play an instrument must be learned slowly until they become automatic. When you throw an extra string on an instrument you need to unlearn these automatic responses, and relearn new ones.
It took a couple of months for me to get even basic comfort on a 5-string. At first I had to approach it with the logic that is was a 4 string with an extra string tacked on. Eventually you want to take it further so you feel at home on the 5-string without having to go through the extra mental steps that are required when you think of it as an add on. I played 5-string for about two years and was starting to feel fairly at home on it when the opportunity to play a 6-string came along, so I had to endure the transition all over again.
My #1 since 1995 has been a 6-string. I would say after about 10 years I felt more at home on the 6-string than a 4-string. Now when I play technical music on a 4-string or 5-string, I have to put extra effort into thinking how to get around the bass with the missing strings. I don't have any problem shifting, but I rely on fingering and shift patterns that can only be used on the 6-string.
IMHO 5-strings and 6-strings have advantages and also disadvantages over 4-strings. As a pro who played a wide variety of styles, I feel the advantages of the 6-string far outweighed the disadvantages, but I freely admit there are a few obscure things that I would choose a 4-string for. For example I can slap pretty well on my 6-string, but I can definitely do advanced slap a bit more cleanly on a 4-string. Course Bill Buddha Dickens can slap a 6-string better than I can slap any instrument, so the instrument is not necessarily the limiting factor. Also if I was playing in a riff based band that uses drop tuning, I think there can be certain advantages and benefits to using a down tuned 4-string rather than a 5- or 6-string.
I would do whatever you feel comfortable with. If you are fine with 4, stay there, but keep options on the table if at some point you decide to move to something else. The only person you have to please is yourself.
The first time I had a 5-string, I had to leave the 4-strings in the case and play the 5 exclusively for a while. I was busy with gigs at that point, so it helped a lot to force to jump in the pool and get used to the water, so to speak.
After a couple months I had made the transition.
But, don't feel like you need to play a 5-string. Do it only if you want to.
After a couple months I had made the transition.
But, don't feel like you need to play a 5-string. Do it only if you want to.
