Apologies if this is an obvious/irrelevant question, but I couldn't find an answer despite quite some searching. I'm trying to find the best/most efficient way of playing 2-octave arpeggios for various chords, on a 5-string bass, and I'm not having much luck. I've looked at various online resources, as well as Mombelli's "Intergalactic Bass", which was helpful for the scales - but there isn't anything there on arpeggios for 5-strings. Am I missing something glaringly obvious? Either way, any recommendations, or pointers to resources, would be highly appreciated
The most efficient way is for you to figure out what works best for what you are trying to accomplish. To put it another way, you can spend 10 minutes searching Google, without the guarantee that you find the answer, to do 1 thing or spend that same 10 minutes trying different things on the instrument and walking away with an actual learning experience.
This is for 6 string but it will give you everything you are looking for I think. Dave's Six-String Bass Resource Page
Thanks for the advice - really helpful I have (some) understanding on which notes I should be playing in a given chord, but much less of an idea which finger to play/hold them with, in a way that makes movement between consecutive notes efficient. Single octaves are usually ok, and most 4-string books cover what I'd need - but for 5-strings, I was struggling. In particular, at which point to "shift" positions, so I can finish up the 2nd octave. So thanks for sending the recommendations I agree that, in the end, "what works best" for me is what I should do - but I worry that as a beginner, trying to figure this out on my own may lead to picking up bad habits, which may then take a lot of time to un-do.
Who is to say what works for you to make the instrument sound good is considered a bad habit? For example, a classical guitarist will consider it a bad habit if the guitar is not played in a sitting position at a specific angle. A guitarist who shreds will consider it a bad habit when a blues player hangs their thumb over the low E string. Most people would consider playing the instrument backwards, behind their head is considered a bad habit but would be quick to say "Well that's different" when it is pointed out that Jimi Hendrix did it.
If you are going to use the map, I would start with my first finger and play all the notes in that hand position, then second finger and all the notes in that position, and last fourth finger and all it's notes.
Thanks for the encouragement Perhaps I'm being paranoid - by bad habits, I was thinking of things that screw up my technique in ways that lead to longer term problems/pain/RSI and so forth. But perhaps I'm over-thinking this - so thanks for the push
Just remember you can play scales a lot of different ways. There are three main ways that people use - pinky on root, middle on root, and index on root. If you start with pinky on root (ie E on 5th fret of B string) you can easily get up to the 5th past the octave. If you start middle on root you can get up to 5th past octave easier than pinky but need to shift if you want the 2nd octave. If you start index on root you can get two octaves but a bit of a stretch. Aside from these three I remember Jaco showing 2 octave arpeggio patterns where you switch after the first middle on root to 5th pattern up the same string. It's a good way to cover the fretboard quickly and learn where your notes are. You can also play scales on individual strings as well. In other words, this is a good time to learn the fretboard and figure out what works for you.
Dave's 5 Bass Resource Page Dave's Five-String Bass Resource Page - Arpeggios - The Major Scale - Single Position Patterns
Try the following-One of the ways I like to do arpeggios comes from the Jaco video. Basically, its a way to smoothly move up the neck while playing the arpeggio, done in all keys, the Major 7 arpeggio goes like this, on 5 string. D major 7 as example- 1st finger on D (3rd fret B string) shift up to the F# with 4th finger on B string (7th fret) then across to A with the 2nd finger (5th fret E string) across to C# with the 1st finger (4th fret A string) the D with 2nd finger (5th fret A String). Up to the F# with the 4th finger (9th fret A string), across to the A with 2nd finger(7th fret D string), across to C# with the 1st finger (6th fret G string) and finally 2nd finger finishes with D 7th fret G string. You'll notice that there is a repeating pattern there, and can easily be applied all up and down the neck. I call it the 'shift 3rd pattern', because the shift up the neck occurs on the 3rd of the chord.
Here is the part Jaco does it, but he is not playing the 7th, just R 3 5. The movement up the neck is the same, but the pattern breaks up quicker beacause only 4 strings. He goes into why he takes that approach.
You may find this file helpful. I wrote it for myself and my bass is strung from E to C, but it still addresses 5 string arpeggio positions. It's a trivial matter to transpose it to the key related to conventional 5 strings.
If you always start your arpeggios on the lowest string (usually B), then there is no need for shifting as such, as staying in a single 5-fret position will yield a full 2-octave shape. I like the resource from Dave Grossman, linked above. Essentially, those shapes stem from the scales/modes positions when player with a three-note-per-string approach.