Four to Five, how long to adapt?

Personally it didn’t take me long. I just played them exclusively for a while and did my first gig with them a month later.

 

It took a few days for me, but don’t set up time frames on your progress. And don’t worry if it seems to be taking a little longer than some may say.

Keep working on getting used to the 5-string and suddenly you’ll look up and say, “Hey, I’m playing a 5-string!”.

 

Bearing in mind I'd take any and all of your four string axes and KEEP them put away, it's like anything else: The more you do it, the better and quicker you'll be at home on it.

When I got my first one, I was gigging virtually every night. I'd start out on it, made more than a few wrong notes, then I'd toss it and go back to the four.

After a week of this, I could see I was getting nowhere fast, so I'd leave the four at home, and dove into the deep end;. luckily my guys were supportive, I began to get my legs under me and never looked back.

That was back in the late 80's, and until a few years ago, I never owned another four-string.

Having to get fluent on a different instrument onstage and in public is a tremendous incentive, and maybe not for everybody.

I also always advise to approach it as a different instrument. 'It's just a four with an extra string' to me is BS. They mute differently, the neck and fingerboard is bigger though familiar, and you can play across the fingerboard a lot more easily. Transposing is far more simple.
And yes, the handful of extra low notes is fun where appropriate.

Best of Luck,

JW
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I’ve had my five since 2000. I’m still adapting. Perhaps I don’t like it as much as a four in general. I only use the five for very special purposes.

 

What you are doing is the way to go about it. It will make the transition easier for you.

 

Forever

 

That would be impressive.

 

You'll be fine. Initially maybe you'll think the A isn't where you left it. You mentioned the G being further away than you thought. What is the string spacing like?

Your right hand is the important one here, if you are used to just anchoring your thumb and not moving it will be a challenge. But if you move your right hand as you go up or down (or across the strings I guess I should say) I think that will make it easier.

 

Maybe a month or two. I put a trigger in my brain that helped: “Just like a four-string, but with an extra fat string up top”.

Sorry if that sounds obvious….

 

Just practice a lot. That’s really the main delimiter. Less you practice, longer it takes.

 

Not long at all for the fretting hand. I had begun to feel that I was "missing" and looking for those lower notes so when they showed up on the 5th string (say, below the 7th fret) I welcomed them into my playing hardly missing a beat.

Technique with the plucking hand took a couple of weeks to smooth out because of the wider distance between the 1st and 5th strings. I use a floating thumb for muting and that meant more horizontal hand movement and coordinating that with the forearm.

 

Took me a month but I did have some bad habits to correct as I wasn't doing the floating thumb technique correctly. I only played my 5 during that time, relearning all the songs I play to find more efficient ways to play them on the 5.

This video help me the most with floating thumb if you were curious.



At the time, I had five 4's and one 5. now, I have four 5's and zero 4's.

Good Luck!

 

I am not trying to dissuade you. Stick with it and at some point it will start to feel natural.