Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Eb tuning songs
- Thread starter ics1974
- Start date
This is good until you need an open E flat like the bassline on Scuttle buttin Stevie R Vaughn..
After I got handy on the 5-string, I sailed thru TEXAS FLOOD, APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION, and a stack of Van Halen . . . . in E-flat without doing anything. No tuning down. No D-Tuner. No pedal. And it killed two birds with one stone: First I could play them right off the instrument as-is, and none of it lined up on open strings, I had to work up some wrist-busting fingering in a few spots, and I learned fingerboard much better than I had on a four.
It was perfect (for me) for that sort of thing. Then I dove in my Stevie and Chaka Khan CD's, BOOM !
It was perfect (for me) for that sort of thing. Then I dove in my Stevie and Chaka Khan CD's, BOOM !
I forgot to mention that, as long as you have an android tablet, you could get an app called Mobile Sheets. It's a great app for saving song sheets and you can attach an mp3 to each sheet. Simply connect your tablet to your stereo, bring up the sheet and play the mp3 to jam along with. The biggest bonus is that the app has the ability to change the key plus you can slow down or speed up the song without changing key. It may take some time to get all your sheets set up at first but once you have adding a sheet and a song only takes a minute or so and you'll have everything at your fingertips for playing along with. Currently I have around 550 songs in mine.
In which case, maybe a tuning pedal if you cannot hear anything. I've not played any songs I needed to detune in the middle of.
Dont forget about the High Pass filter to clean everything up..This is TB, so you need a 5er, stat, plus a new rig to handle the lower frequencies.
For home practise I use an app to transpose on the fly and use a standard-tuned guitar. Live playing falls into three categories for me:
1. Entire band/gig is downtuned - I bring a bass that I keep downtuned
2. A handful of songs is downtuned - I use a Digitech Drop
3. Two bands on the gig, one is downtuned one is not - I bring two basses
1. Entire band/gig is downtuned - I bring a bass that I keep downtuned
2. A handful of songs is downtuned - I use a Digitech Drop
3. Two bands on the gig, one is downtuned one is not - I bring two basses
If you want to play along to songs regularly, I’d suggest getting a second bass, and keep it tuned to Eb.
While it is certainly a worthwhile exercise to learn how to play it elsewhere on the fretboard, for practicality’s sake I can’t imagine doing anything other than switching my tuner on and turning my tuning pegs a half turn or so until I’m in the right tuning. It’d not like you’re dropping down to drop Ab.
I was bringing two basses or down tuning then tuning back up. Recently I just started leaving the tuning in E, then play the song as is. It's really not that big of a deal once you do it a few times.
We do tons of material in Eb. I always play a 4 string. When an Eb is needed, I'll play the 11th fret on the E string or the 6th on the A string - depending on the timbre that is needed. Unless we need one on the D string up above the 12th. Oh, and one more thing, when I say "fret" I mean "stop" because the basses I've been playing the last couple of years don't have frets on them.
carrots
YMMV
carrots
YMMV
If you want to learn to play the song in the same in the same position on the neck as those who are 1/2 step de-tuned, you need to also de-tune or use a digital drop tuning device. If you don’t care whether you play the song in the same position on the neck, just play in a location on the neck that is in tune with the song.
If a low Eb was important to executing the tune I just quickly tuned the E string down a half step and adjusted my fingering. Over the years I did the same down to C#/Db with no issues using standard gauge strings. This was on 4-string electric basses and double bass w/o a C extension. It wasn’t hard to do and an elegant solution.
If it's only a couple of songs, I usually use software to get them to E regular. Drop D I'm fine with, but for some reason dropping the whole bass half a step is too much.
When I was playing those onstage, I had a second bass tuned Eb for faster changes.
There is no Eb2...unless you have a fiver or tune down. An Eb3 does not suffice in many tunes where a low Eb repetition is called for.
For some songs the octave up is fine and playing in Eb, standard tuning is great.
At home:
I have two 4 stringers. one of them is typically in standard and the other is in Eb. The one in standard has a hipshot xtender so i can easily switch to drop D.
At gigs:
Tune to standard and use The Drop by Digitech to go a half step down if needed.
Yeah, no. I hear a C my fingers go to the C on my instrument. Most people play long enough that happens. You want to use alternate tunings? Cool. For me, if I was to do so and then adjust my muscle memory/ear interaction to compensate, then I will have ehf'd up the reactions I get on regular tunings. Not worth it for me. Once again, you want to tune differently, go for it. Me? Nope, no gig or song is worth that.
