Is it harder to play a fretless?

[OldDirtyBassist]

When you are new fretless player, you can use your eyes for reference to train your ears. I use the strobe tuner app called InsTuner (no affiliation) seen below and just rest the iPhone or iPad up against the speaker. I use the lite free version but I think there is another paid version for a buck or two. The strobe is very responsive and accurate but most importantly to fretless players, it provides objective feedback as to whether or not you are perfectly in tune on a given note. This will get you accustomed to placing your fingers precisely in relation to the side dots and other visual cues like wood grain, scratches in the neck if any, etc.

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When you look down at the side of your fingerboard, you see just dots and your fingers in relation to those dots but not really the face of the fingerboard unless you are leaning over to see it. So lines are unnecessary. I only need a dot every other position because visually, I know that I just to have place my finger halfway between two dots to hit a proper note like F#, C#, A#, etc.

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If you play with your fingers straight across the fingerboard like a slide, you will have an even purer note with less or no overtones. You'll also be able to "fret" notes with the rest of your finger and not have to more around as much..making intonation more precise overall. Make sure the dot is in the middle of your fingertip, and you're pressing down flat on the string for the best tone/sound. *Make sure you're in perfect tuning on your open strings beforehand.

 

[devnulljp]

If you're going to try fretless, do everyone a favour and make sure you have a chromatic tuner inline -- at least for the first while -- and keep an eye on it when you're playing. It helps a lot with intonation.
I still have my old Boss TU-12 with the needle dial on my double bass board and use it to check when I'm playing.

 

[georgiagoodie]

Yes.

 

[dkelley]

What scares me is how many players I've heard who are good, play fretless all the time, but always play flat.

Watch out for that common error. Better to veer on sharp (high) side if ubcertaib specially in bass range.

 

[ArtechnikA]

Better to veer on sharp (high) side if ubcertaib specially in bass range.

'cause you wouldn't want your finger to be just a little too far left ;-) ...

I think I mostly veer a little sharp, especially in the lower positions, 'cause it's a bit of a reach.

 

[pnchad]

these are getting funny

 

[Jeff Scott]

Is it harder to play a fretless? Only if the action is too high.

Otherwise i find them much easier to play IME.

 

[pnchad]

no speed bumps