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How are your strings numbered?

#21
Funkee1 said:
This is a strange question, but the reason I am asking is I am getting a pretty severe kicking around on another bass forum that shall remain nameless.

I number strings from the highest- 1 to the lowest-5. I've always done it this way. It's in every method book I have ever seen, for bass or guitar, or even violin or viola.

It's also on every package of strings I have ever purchased.

However, I mentioned this on the non- mentioned forum, and got told by several members they do not know anyone or have ever played with anyone who referred to the strings this way. They say everyone they know calls the lowest string 1!

When I suggested this was akin to not knowing what traffic lights mean, they jumped all over me.

Am I the only one who knows this, and thinks it's kinda silly NOT to know it?
Click to expand...

I think ignoring those guys will do you good.
You are right, of course, you start counting from the highest. There are too many references to illustrate the fact to get into arguments. If someone does not want to accept it, let them be, it's their problem. :p
 
#23
I have a bass for dummies book or something like that...


The book specificly says the numbering system is differnt because it is a bass. On a regular 6 string your highest pitch is the 1 string. With Bass your lowest pitch is the 1 string.
 
#25
WashburnAB95 said:
I have a bass for dummies book or something like that...


The book specificly says the numbering system is differnt because it is a bass. On a regular 6 string your highest pitch is the 1 string. With Bass your lowest pitch is the 1 string.
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Sounds illogical that you would use different systems depending on instrument type.

EDIT: Anyway, call them E, A etc, and if you have to use numbers, thinnest string is 1.
.
 
#26
This whole discussion sounds like it is based on not reading music.

I've been working since the very early 80's and string numbers has NEVER come up, then again I've been reading since the 70's.

I have a set of Fender 90505M strings NIB in front of me. Color of ball and string gauge are used to indicate which hunk of wound up metal is which string. There is no "number 1" string indicated anywhere.
 
#27
carl h. said:
This whole discussion sounds like it is based on not reading music.

I've been working since the very early 80's and string numbers has NEVER come up, then again I've been reading since the 70's.

I have a set of Fender 90505M strings NIB in front of me. Color of ball and string gauge are used to indicate which hunk of wound up metal is which string. There is no "number 1" string indicated anywhere.
Click to expand...

I am scratching my head over here. I have never relied on numbered instructions to get the fattest string where it goes and the rest in order after that. This must be a tab thing.
 
#28
i will echo what a few people here have said. call them by note, that way there is no confusion. I think for the sake of being a musician and communicating with other musicians who do not play your instrument particularly it is a good practice to get into. i see no benefit in using numbers, first string third fret means nothing, saying G (or a low g) makes sense, in every circumstance i can think of.

you could always call them by their respective fundamental frequency in Hz if you want to be a really cool guy. E string becomes 40Hz string etc. that way you are conveying actual musical information and you still get to use numbers! :hiding:
 
#29
ngh said:
i will echo what a few people here have said. call them by note, that way there is no confusion. I think for the sake of being a musician and communicating with other musicians who do not play your instrument particularly it is a good practice to get into. i see no benefit in using numbers, first string third fret means nothing, saying G (or a low g) makes sense, in every circumstance i can think of.
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Considering you can play the very same note on different strings and that they sound different, numbering strings does have a place, if you want to talk about specific fingerings.
 
#31
mcnach said:
Considering you can play the very same note on different strings and that they sound different, numbering strings does have a place, if you want to talk about specific fingerings.
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fair enough but on any given fret on the board you only have one instance of any given note so why not say play a g on the 3rd fret (E string is your only option), or g on the 5th fret (D string is your only option) etc. that being said this argument seems to really only be relevant when talking shop with other bass players, unless you play in a band with 2 bass players. but hey, whatever works for you. as long as the music sounds good and you have fun with it. it does not matter what you call the strings.
 
#32
I don't know if there is a right and wrong to it, but as the written note begins with low E, I've always thought of my E string as being my "first" string. Once you've mastered the fretboard, you normally just use note names, though. Kind of moot.

Whichever way is correct, I wouldn't criticize someone for using one over the other.

Here in the States, we drive on the right side of the road. In the UK, they drive on the left. Which is correct?
 
#34
I knew that the "correct" way according to guitar books is to number from the highest string to the lowest string, but I've never seen string numbering used outside of first learning the basics of a fretboard. It always seemed to be backwards to me, so I avoid using string numbers when referring to finger placement.
 
#35
The highest note, thinnest string, whatever you want to call it, is the 1st string.

I began reading music at age five, so don't try to pretend that it's some "lower form of knowledge."

On guitars, bass guitars, banjos, mandolins, cellos, etc, the thinnest string is the first string, and then your numbers go up by one, until you run out of strings, so on a six string guitar, your low E is the sixth string, and on a four string bass, your low E is a the fourth string.

This is Universal.

This cannot be disputed. Anyone who dares to dispute this will be cast into permanent ill repute for the rest of time.

Bwahahahahahahahaa...
 
#36
ngh said:
fair enough but on any given fret on the board you only have one instance of any given note so why not say play a g on the 3rd fret (E string is your only option), or g on the 5th fret (D string is your only option) etc. that being said this argument seems to really only be relevant when talking shop with other bass players, unless you play in a band with 2 bass players. but hey, whatever works for you. as long as the music sounds good and you have fun with it. it does not matter what you call the strings.
Click to expand...

Sure, you can specify fingering that way.
I was also taught what string 1, 2, etc were, so it feels natural to me, and I see many others too.
Is having a number necessary? Clearly not.
But it should not be a surprise many players use them. :)
 
#37
WashburnAB95 said:
I have a bass for dummies book or something like that...


The book specificly says the numbering system is differnt because it is a bass. On a regular 6 string your highest pitch is the 1 string. With Bass your lowest pitch is the 1 string.
Click to expand...

... even the ol' reliable 'Bass Guitar for Dummies' can even lead to a 'discussion' ... p. 236 ...

"New strings are usually coiled in envelopes. The envelopes are numbered according to string size (the thickest string has the highest number).

.. so I guess as we count up, 4 is 'higher' than 1, so that solves that ... unless we are talking about the rankings in college football, and 1 is a 'higher' ranking than 4 ... sorry, couldn't help myself ...

With all that said, somewhere in my life I learned that the highest PITCH string is always #1, etc, etc ... and that just got filed away, never to be used again ..

In conversation, teaching, etc., I don't think I have ever referred to a string by number ... it is always the open note name ...it removes all potential for misunderstanding

.. this thread reminds me of the story of three blind men trying to describe an elephant
 

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