Getting my first 5 string, give me your advice!

[BassCliff]

Hi,

I am sure it would be better for me to know more about reading music, note positions on the fretboard and things like that but I am 44 years old and it took me 3 years to just get ok playing tab along with rocksmith so I do not have high hopes for picking any of that up at this point.

Just go down to your local music store and get a Mel Bay book for beginner bass. You'll be amazed how easy it is to get started on reading real music. Something like this: Student Bass Method Book - Mel Bay Publications, Inc. : Mel Bay

The whole Mel Bay bass instructional catalog is here: Electric Bass : Mel Bay

I'm not saying it's the best, but it's a start. I got my start on bass with a Mel Bay book. The $10 investment is totally worth it.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

[ghostinthemach]

Assuming technique is not a major obstacle for you in the move to 5 string, i’ll offer my experience.

I learned to (really) play bass over several months after I played my first gig as a bassist. (Wha?) Yep.

I dropped into my neighbor’s band by sitting in on a rehearsal. Noticing an extra guitar, I asked if I could try it and found that I could find the root and then began to play just the simplest pleasant sounding riffs I could find that fit. They hired me on the spot.

I bought a (pro quality) bass and amp within two weeks. Rehearsed a few times and ‘found’ bass lines that were probably close, but not completely accurate to the recorded parts. Played my 1st gig 2 months later using my ‘ear’ and partly making up lines that everyone seemed happy with.

Over the next few months I sat down and by ear learned every bass note on Led Zeppelin’s debut album. To this day I tell people that John Paul Jones ‘taught’ me to play bass.
Point is I developed an ‘ear’ before I even tried to learn bass lines, or at least did both simultaneously.

A good ear will:

• tell you when you (or anyone else) is out of tune or playing the wrong parts
• keep you in check when using tab (or even notation)
• allow you to analyze and play songs ‘on the fly’ (jam sessions)
• allow you to learn songs w/o an instrument in your hands
• translate to other instruments and vocals
• put you in demand as a player and/or sub for hire
• MAKE LEARNING 5 STRING NO CHALLENGE BECAUSE NOTES IS NOTES.

5 or 4 or 7 doesn’t matter if your ears lead you well. My .02
Play well. Have fun.

BTW, I’ve been playing 45+ years now and have no idea how to use tab. Never needed it. My ears listening to the song has been more reliable from what I’ve experienced.

 

[abarson]

I've never seen RockSmith, so I'll not comment on that. But I will say that learning from only one source is very limiting. Tab is okay if you are trying to cop how the original was performed, but won't help you at all if you are playing originals or in a jam situation covering unfamiliar material. In such cases you need to know your fretboard and have some rudimentary understanding of music theory. There are tons of great resources for free on the Internet, among my favorites is www.scottsbasslessons.com.
I as well am evaluating 5 string vs Hipshot D-Tuner, and my reasons are that a) we need to drop the tuning on some songs for the vocalist and b) some songs don't sound right played on a 4 string. Example: "Down With Disease" by Phish. But I'm at a point in my playing that I feel confident I can take on either approach. So my point is evaluate what your motive for doing all this really is.

 

[Passive Jay]

I've never seen RockSmith, so I'll not comment on that. But I will say that learning from only one source is very limiting. Tab is okay if you are trying to cop how the original was performed, but won't help you at all if you are playing originals or in a jam situation covering unfamiliar material. In such cases you need to know your fretboard and have some rudimentary understanding of music theory. There are tons of great resources for free on the Internet, among my favorites is www.scottsbasslessons.com.
I as well am evaluating 5 string vs Hipshot D-Tuner, and my reasons are that a) we need to drop the tuning on some songs for the vocalist and b) some songs don't sound right played on a 4 string. Example: "Down With Disease" by Phish. But I'm at a point in my playing that I feel confident I can take on either approach. So my point is evaluate what your motive for doing all this really is.

maybe I should post the video I made showing some of the things rocksmith does?

 

[Passive Jay]

to give you guys an idea of my skill level (or more accurately lack of) here I am playing a song along with rocksmith on my old bass

 

[baltodoc]

Just be patient with it. It's like learning to ride a bike. You'll struggle on the wrong string for what will seem like forever and then one day you'll just "get it".

 

[rockinbilly]

Why would you tune it like that? Just keep the 5th string tuned to B and play the 3rd fret for D.

Ya, what MoeTown said, I play totally by ear and switched to 5 string about 8 yrs ago, took to it immediately.
If you already learned songs with a detuned E string on your 4, I suggest you re learn them with standard BEADG on your new 5er, you'll see it will be easy, and make more sense to you for fingering !!!!!
You're gonna appreciate the low B string, at least I really did, and even more so when I got my Dingwall NG2 5er

 

[abarson]

to give you guys an idea of my skill level (or more accurately lack of) here I am playing a song along with rocksmith on my old bass

Great! It looks to me like you've been very diligent in using this tool to learn. Nothing wrong with that.
I would say the next step is to play that same song with the screen blank. This is because you need to start feeling how to play the song and not concentrate so hard on following the bouncing ball (or whatever RS does to show the progression). Theory will also inform you as to why the chords change the way they do, and will also give you confidence to add your own interpretation.

 

[Passive Jay]

Great! It looks to me like you've been very diligent in using this tool to learn. Nothing wrong with that.
I would say the next step is to play that same song with the screen blank. This is because you need to start feeling how to play the song and not concentrate so hard on following the bouncing ball (or whatever RS does to show the progression). Theory will also inform you as to why the chords change the way they do, and will also give you confidence to add your own interpretation.

there is an option on rocksmith to fade out the notes once you get the song down, it will even fade them back in if you start missing too many notes.

 

[DrayMiles]

The 5th string is a spice, don't overuse it... It's common for less experienced players with the extended range to spend too much time down there.

 

[flojob]

clearance showroom model for 139 bucks!

View attachment 2802211

Man you're not half bad! You could totally play with folks...your song selection may be limited for now, but you have the skills to play lots of songs if you want.
Also that green bass you ordered is sick!! Hope it plays well for you. Sure looks great.
Also good on you for being motivated to keep playing, even if you feel like you don't play so hot right now. I think tab can be just as valuable as reading traditional sheet music, just depends on what environment your in. Versatile is good, and if tab is where you start, then tab is where you start. Nothing will inspire you to learn the other things about playing and reading than the enjoyment you get out of it. So don't lose that part. The rest of that stuff will come if you want it to.

 

[lfmn16]

i agree i need lessons, just do not have the money for them really. So i am trying to figure out what I can with the help of you fine fellows

Get a part time job if you want lessons. We find a way to get the things we want.

Not to be harsh, but if you have been playing for a few years there is no excuse for not knowing the names of the notes you are playing. You don’t need to be able to read music or know any theory in order to know the names of the notes.

 

[Bthebassplayer]

i agree i need lessons, just do not have the money for them really. So i am trying to figure out what I can with the help of you fine fellows

Look up scottsbasslessons on YouTube! You will learn a lot from him and it doesn’t cost you any money!!

 

[bassbenj]

as I mentioned I only play tab and have no experience with any of this. So the third fret on the B would be the same as an open drop D? but what about if it is not an open note? I am guessing I am going to have to learn the different notes on the fretboard to get any use out of the 5th string

Learn to use the B string for more than just those 5 notes lower than E. Learn the notes up the fretbaord and arpeggios and scales across the board - this will open up a world of playing opportunities.

Plus, if you ever play jazz, having an entire Eb scale right at your fingertips an octave lower than a standard tuned 4 string is, IMO, invaluable

Yes, exactly. Learning to to play a 5 string just like a 4 string with a couple lower notes is a sure path to giving up on it and "coming home" to 4 strings. As they all mention there is much more to it than that. Yes, it's great to learn all the notes and eventually you will, but even more important is to learn patterns and realize with a 5 string you have enough real estate to move them up and down the neck and even sideways string to string. Just read this for how it works.

http://www.mrk-inc.com/Docs/fjacoby/NString.pdf

 

[Dragonback13]

So... you’re cool with playing along with music, that’s played by musicians, but don’t want to play with living breathing people?

In all fairness to the OP. Your judgment of his desire to play along with music is like saying that anyone who enjoys video games should go out and play football, basketball, go to war, etc.....
Not everyone has the desire to play for people, to people or with people. Some of us just enjoy the bass.

 

[morgansterne]

Sooner or later someone will find out you play bass and ask you to jam! When that happens, knowing the names of all the notes on the fretboard will be essential. Learning to read music really isn't. Most of the bandmates I've played with in the past twenty years could not read sheet music.

 

[keith1r]

Get a hip shot

 

[Wandering Bass]

5 vs 4 isn’t really a big deal, you haven’t learned any notes or anything so it’s all new.

What’s the difference between learning to play bass and using the bass as a video game controller?

Using it as a video game controller is fine if that’s what you enjoy. You’ll get good at mechanically repeating lines you have learned through repetition. You’ll learn almost nothing that is applicable to actually playing music. Kind of how mastering Call of Duty doesn’t qualify you for field work.

If you want to learn to actually play bass it’s never been so easy to get into it. An instructor is ideal, but if you can’t manage that, then YouTube tutorials, Scott’s Bass Lessons, Studybass, etc. Start at the beginning, don’t skip the wordy bits about theory and technique. Do the excercises. Put in the work to learn music, the possibilities are limitless.

 

[Grumpynuts]

All good advice, although it is a bit overwhelming in context to what the OP was looking at. When I first started messing around with 5 stringers, I had a very similar outlook that the OP has. Taught me a lot about the fret-board and patterns and relationships between the notes.

I personally still prefer 4 over 5 because I would rather just have a second BEAD if I needed it, or a DGCF, or so forth. Enjoy the new bass. If you are really committed to going to the 5's, give it a good shot. If RS keeps you playing, rock on. If you just enjoy playing that and don't have a desire to join a band/jam session so be it.

What I would say, keep it tuned to the standard BEADG, and try to transpose on the fly songs in C or C#, ie, playing higher up on the neck with the B string vs down-tuning the E to D. Just learning how to do that will teach you quite a bit about notes if you are interested in learning it.

Get a camouflage strap for it, it would really go well with it

 

[GTx2]

5th string/3rd fret, yes... that is a D... a nice, big, fat D.

No need to make the thread sexual Spidey....