Fretless better for ear training?

[LakeEffect]

I appreciate the perspective, Anonymatt, I've never heard that take. I know it was a little harder to play, but I wasn't really sure how that would translate. Sounds like you've had a great experience with them! I've only been playing for about 8 months, but I love it and i'm trying to learn as much as I can, thanks for the help!

 

[BassHouston]

Fretless will keep you on your toes since playing on tune is no longer obvious.

 

[Nephilymbass]

I love fretless but don't think it's should be used for ear training. If you play fretted for years when you switch to fretless its a fairly easy switch. But if you start on fretless there's a chance that you could get used to hearing notes played out if tune and not adjust.

 

[Melamel]

I have a fretted for many years and lined fretless base for a few years and I still have major problems with intonation on FL. I try to play without looking at the fret lines when practicing, but always slowly move away from the true pitches, usually getting sharp. I find it does help to play open strings occasionally to bring me back to correct pitch, but this frustrates me.

I can't play the FL in a performance setting or when site- reading chord changes yet because I don't want to have to look at my hands the whole time.

I have worked on hearing intervals but probably have to spend more time with that.

 

[Mushroo]

^ I recommend that you look at the lines. That's what they're there for. Here is a video of the greatest fretless player ever looking at the lines:

 

[Anonymatt]

Lines are like subtitles, you'll read them if they're there.

I have the standard config of dots on the side of my fretless neck. I don't look at the bass until I change positions, then I "spot my landing" you know, like a gymnast.

Of course, when I'm improvising, sometimes I stare at the bass, but it's not for intonation, it's for conceptualizing.

 

[phillybass101]

This may sound stupid at first but try practicing paying more attention to things. Things you read, conversations you have, what's going on around you. practice paying more attention the first time you encounter something. You don't have to be obsessed with it. Just do it from time to time. Your concentration will improve and so will your ear, timing and bass playing. Interval training, playing with a metronome etc are all examples of how your are really practicing to pay attention. Your awareness will increase.

 

[Oleg BassPlayer]

From my experience, the usefulness of the fretless for ear training is that it makes you play the tune in your head trying to imagine it as precise as possible. When playing a fretted instrument, I often reduce to thinking in terms of fingerings. Playing the fretless bass is more involving. I'd put it somewhere between playing an instrument and singing. When you learn a song by ear on a fretted neck, you only nail down the correct notes and here you go, the rest of the work is purely mechanical. On fretless, you're always nailing down the correct note. There is a lot of room for error; the slightest change of angle in your finger position can ruin your intonation. To prevent this, you have to always be there.

However, I think playing fretless bass alone is not enough for successful ear training. You should know your intervals etc. This is better done on an ordinary neck or keyboard.
After all, there is a lot of applications that will help you with it. It's quite possible that identifying intervals while commuting to work on a bus an half an hour daily will help you more with ear training than playing a fretless. Who knows.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I think you have it backwards. Having a good ear will help you on fretless. But ear training for, say, a violinist will not proceed fater than for a sax player.