Fretboard Making Much More Sense on a 5 String

[Lionel Albert]

No because I came to bass after playing piano, then drums, then guitar. Bass was a subset of guitar in a way for me for a while. Across the board is what I learned first...

Piano: each note in an octave only lives in one place.
Guitar: could be in 2 or 3 places at least, because of multiple strings.

I wish I'd had Mick Goodrick's advice when I started on bass or guitar:

"The simplest way to see notes is in a straight line.
A single string is a straight line.
On a single string there is a direct relationship between interval distance and space."

and then basically learn to play on a single string. Treat that thing like a unitar. One string at a time until you have some mastery. Move on to the next string.

Mick goes on to say:

"If all you know is position playing, you can't even begin to see the whole fingerboard"

And this is true for me. I learned positional playing first and am basically relearning the individual strings on guitar/bass. Bass even more so- because it is often single notes.

Yes indeed !

 

[MotorCityMinion]

"If you play a 5 for awhile, you will eventually understand what the OP is getting at."

Fair enough. I understand less shifting, even inviting new pivot points for transitions in ascending or descending scales and runs. Somewhere else to go in general. Perhaps it's more of a personal bias as I've never been a fan of the B string or the added girth of the neck.

 

[Klangfarbe]

Another vote for NO.

(I play 5 string basses for over 20 years almost exclusively.)

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Is it just me or does the fretboard make much more sense on a 5 string bass?

Like easier to get an overview over in terms of chords, scales and intervals across the board.

Not really. I use it when I have to. Of course, my '82 Jazz sounds better than my 5-string so I play my '82 Jazz on everything that doesn't need to use that low B-string.

 

[ajkula66]

Is it just me or does the fretboard make much more sense on a 5 string bass?

Like easier to get an overview over in terms of chords, scales and intervals across the board.

I don't think that it's just you, but I'm definitely not in that club.

In all honesty, I don't think I've ever thought in terms of "fretboard making sense" on a stringed instrument over the past 45+ years.

BTW, I started experimenting with fivers in the mid '80s with a 1st generation Yamaha BB5000 I bought brand new.

In my mind, a 5-string bass is a completely different instrument from a 4-string one. Just like acoustic and electric guitar. I approach all of them differently.

My $0.02 only...

 

[Salem6127]

Also gonna add a no here. We can lay out all the scientific schematics of scales and symmetry, but the ol "different strokes" moto remains ever true.

 

[Bassdirty]

....... the ol "different strokes" moto remains ever true.

Ya mean: "WhachuTalkin Bout?"




T$

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I’m equally comfortable on a five as I am on a four. Both make perfect sense