New member that could use your input.

[DBFIU]

Hi everyone, I just turned 30 years old and I started playing bass 3 months ago. I started playing acoustic guitar about 6 months ago and got very frustrated with it so I made my way to electric guitar then I bought a bass and the rest was history.

One of the reasons why the bass attracted me was because for the past 11 years I have been a huge Pinback/Zach Smith fan. I have been listening to Pinback for a long time and when I bought the bass, it was really a monetary investment (I got a sick deal on my bass) without thinking that I would be playing Pinback songs non-stop.

So my bass is a 5 string rogue and I have a 60 watt bassman fender amp. Just a humble combination for a beginner like me. I can play about 8 or 9 pinback songs and I struggle daily. Pinback is not the most beginner friendly for bass playing, as you know Zach is a bass prodigy and it is hard for a beginner like me to follow even with tabs.

I had a few questions. I am using the 5 string bass because thats all I could afford (I bought it used from a friend for pennies). I cant strum the bass because the low B string gets hit and screws up the sound, should I buy a 4 string bass? Can I remove the 5th string without hurting this bass? What do I do if I want to play Zach's sound on the 5 string (requires heavy strumming).

I really appreciate the input, I'm just a newb.

Thanks,

- D

 

[MalcolmAmos]

First - we do not normally strum our bass, we play the scale or chord notes one note at a time to the beat of the song. Normally the only time we play melody is when we get a lead break. The solo instruments play the melody we play the bass clef harmony. I would recommend with only three months under your belt that you back up and start at the beginning. Where is the beginning? IMO......

The major and natural minor scale. Why? So we can start finding the notes on our fretboard and get our fingers going to those notes. Plus we need to get our ears recognizing the good sounds from the bad sounds. First things first. Start with your scales. When the scales are flowing.....

I take for granted you will not be playing from standard notation sheet music. If this is correct read on...

Call up some fake chord sheet music that I'm sure you have used with your acoustic guitar then instead of strumming the chord play the chord's notes one note at a time to the beat of the song. Right at first roots to the beat work fine. Need something more add the 8 (octave) need more add a 5 (R-5-8-5 is generic and makes a pretty good bass line). Need more bring in the correct 3 and 7. R-3-5-b7 for the G7 chord or R-b3-5-b7 for a Dm7 chord. Yep get some spellings into memory and make up your own bass lines. Whole lot more fun that relying on tab. If you have the chord progression play notes of the chords hitting the chord changes dead on same way you did with your rhythm guitar, but, this time play the notes one note at a time with out stepping on the solo instrument's toes.

The following saved me a lot of time and effort. Use as much as you want:

Bass Patterns based upon the Major Scale box.

Major Scale Box.

G~~|---2---|-------|---3---|---4---| 1st string
D~~|---6---|-------|---7---|---8---|
A~~|---3---|---4---|-------|---5---|
E~~|-------|---R---|-------|---2---|4th string
You'll find this pattern used with just dots. IMO adding the scale degree numbers makes the pattern come alive. Read on...

Want to play the C major scale. Find a C note on the 3rd or 4th string, put the box's R on that C note and play the spelling for the C major scale. It's R-2-3-4-5-6-7-8. A Fmaj7 chord is coming up in the song. Find an F note on the 3rd or 4th string and put the box's R on that F note then play the spelling for the Fmaj7 chord. It's R-3-5-7. Yep for this to work you are going to have to memorize some spellings.

Here is a cheat sheet http://www.smithfowler.org/music/Chord_Formulas.htm Point of interest; I never go higher than the 8 and leave the higher notes to the solo instruments. Right now you take care of the bottom end and let the solo instruments get the high end.
This will also come in handy. http://www.guitar-chords.org.uk/chords-key-c.html

Basic Chord spelling

• Major Triad = R-3-5 for the C chord.
• Minor Triad = R-b3-5 for the Cm chord.
• Diminished Chord = R-b3-b5 for the Cdim chord.

7th Chord spelling

• Maj7 = R-3-5-7 for the Cmaj7 chord.
• Minor 7 = R-b3-5-b7 for the Cm7 chord.
• Dominant 7 = R-3-5-b7 for the C7 chord.
• ½ diminished = R-b3-b5-b7 for the Cm7b5 chord.
• Full diminished = R-b3-b5-bb7 for the C with the little o

See a chord and play it's chord tones. As every key will have three major, three minor and one diminished chord it's a good idea to get your major, minor and diminished bass line chord tones into muscle memory so when you see a chord your fingers just know what will work. Now the song may only give you enough room for the root, or root five - adapt and get as many chord tones into your bass line as needed. Root on 1 and a steady groove from the other chord tones plus something to call attention to the chord change is what we do.

Scales - Yep that same major scale box pattern, just change one or two notes and play the spelling for what you want.

• Major Scale = R-2-3-4-5-6-7 Home base
• Major Pentatonic = R-2-3-5-6 Leave out the 4 & 7
• Natural Minor Scale = R-2-b3-4-5-b6-b7 Major scale with the 3, 6 & 7 flatted.
• Minor Pentatonic = R-b3-4-5-b7 Leave out the 2 & 6.
• Blues = R-b3-4-b5-5-b7 Minor pentatonic with the blue note b5 added.
• Harmonic Minor Scale = R-2-b3-4-5-b6-7 Natural minor with a natural 7.
• Melodic Minor Scale = R-2-b3-4-5-6-7 Major scale with a b3.

Let the major scale be your home base then change a few notes and you have something different. No need to memorize a zillion patterns. Let the major scale pattern be your go to pattern - then adapt/adjust from there.

For the next 6 months scales IF you are playing the melody and chord tones when you are providing the bass line harmony. Sure later on you can put some scale notes in your bass line, but KISS right now is what I would recommend.

Couple of sites that would be time well spent.
www.studybass.com
www.musictheory.net

Have fun.

 

[Bassist4Eris]

I had a few questions. I am using the 5 string bass because thats all I could afford (I bought it used from a friend for pennies). I cant strum the bass because the low B string gets hit and screws up the sound, should I buy a 4 string bass? Can I remove the 5th string without hurting this bass? What do I do if I want to play Zach's sound on the 5 string (requires heavy strumming)

First of all, welcome.

Being unfamiliar with Pinback, I just checked out their performance live on KEXP, via youtube, so I could not only hear the style you're talking about, but watch the bass player too. He has an interesting style. It should, however, be playable on a 5-string. What you need to do is, first of all, work on your strumming technique until you're able to control which strings you're hitting. It's possible to do this; guitarists must learn to do it.

With a bass, sometimes open strings ring out. This is a challenge of playing bass regardless of style, and will be an even bigger challenge with this style. Developing a muting technique is important. Check this out; it explains it better than I can. http://www.studybass.com/lessons/bass-technique/open-string-muting/

So, between working on your strumming technique and working on your muting, the B-string issue you're having is conquerable. Whether it's worth conquering or not is another matter. It doesn't sound like you plan to actually use that string any time soon. If you can afford to do so, there's no shame in buying a 4-string. Ultimately, you want to be using the bass that best meets your needs. That's a determination that only you can make.

I would not simply take the string off. Bass strings exert a tremendous amount of pull on the neck, which is counteracted by the truss rod inside the neck. Taking that string off and leaving it off would mean that the pull on the neck would be applied unevenly. I would be concerned about twisting the neck.

 

[DBFIU]

Thanks for all the replies guys that is such great info. I am going to have spend a couple weeks just going through the links and revisiting my approach.