open or closed notes

[jjmuckluckjr]

I love using open notes. There's always the caveat that positioning is dependent on the riff. Along with the nice full tone, playing an open string gives you a jump on the riff. I have been working on my speed an accuracy. The fastest way I found was going across the finger board. By playing opens, you let the bass do some of the work (fingering) for you. Why not use all options.

 

[Hamish MacCleod]

I'll sometimes hit an open for the first note, buying myself time to get into position for the next note.

If it sounds better open, I play open.
If it sounds better closed, I play closed.
If I have to choose one or the other, it is due to impossible fingerings.

I know upright players do this all the time. Using open strings when walking because it makes it so much easier to get around a neck of that size when playing fast songs!

^ These... I started on Double Bass, sometimes it makes more sense to hit an open note. Now playing fretless 35" scale but what we learn when starting out sometimes stays with us.
Rondo

 

[SG-Jazz]

I was once taught by a classical bass teacher that anytime you're playing from string to string you should do it in blocks of 2 notes on the same string. So if that means going from b to open a to g to fretted A I would play both open a and then fretted A. I think it makes sense once you start getting used to the idea and I believe adds a bit more continuity to my playing.

 

[pnchad]

Open strings are your friend

 

[Gaolee]

Recently I've been learning bass tunes by the late, great James Jamerson and he uses open notes/phrasing a lot. If I am not mistaken I do believe I read that The Funk Brothers tried to make the music uncomplicated and using open notes was lart of that strategy.

Jamerson was a jazz bass player first and played a DB. Playing open fourths is a whole lot easier and makes a whole lot more sense than fingering them on a DB. At the time he was playing, the Fender bass was pretty well established as its own instrument, but there were still remnants of DB playing that have been evolved away by now. I don't know for sure if that's how he thought about it. It's just an observation about playing both instruments and my own behavior switching back and forth.

 

[vin*tone]

I'm assuming the Hofner in your avatar is your bass?

Hofners have a really distinct tone played up the neck - very rich and full. One of the beautiful things about that bass is the different voices you can achieve open or fretted. Enjoy.

 

[Rayjay]

Its just a different timbre. As a contrast, I sometimes like to play way up the neck on the lower strings for the big parts of songs. The notes are really fat up there. In fact they are so fat they don't often work, but they make a big difference in a performance if you use them for effect every once in a while. Compare the D on the 7th fret G string with the D in the 22nd fret of the E. Same note, different sound.

I also contrast by playing open strings often.

 

[christpncher]

Im playing in a power-pop/rock-n-roll group and could not live without the open A, its pretty much my favorite note.

 

[FunkHead]

Electric bass is still a fairly new instrument. There really is no right or wrong way to play it. Muscle memory will kick in as you get used to your bass. You will be able to get open and closed notes to sound 99% the same just by your attack. You can also make them sound way different based on your attack. It's all in the fingers......The biggest difference to me is the sustain. I find the need to mute the open notes after 1/2 second or so where as there's no need with fretted notes. Again, It becomes a second nature "Muscle Memory" thing.

 

[matthewbrown]

Electric bass is still a fairly new instrument. There really is no right or wrong way to play it. Muscle memory will kick in as you get used to your bass. You will be able to get open and closed notes to sound 99% the same just by your attack. You can also make them sound way different based on your attack. It's all in the fingers......The biggest difference to me is the sustain. I find the need to mute the open notes after 1/2 second or so where as there's no need with fretted notes. Again, It becomes a second nature "Muscle Memory" thing.

I respectfully disagree, at least in part, based on my own experience. In 1976, I entered the Studio Music and Jazz program at the University of Miami and took lessons from Don Coffman, who taught Jeff Andrews and Mark Egan, among others. His approach was very systematic, and thanks to him I made very swift progress on the instrument, especially from a technical point of view. There really ARE better, more efficient ways to play bass, adopted from both guitar technique and double bass technique -- both of which I studied, and which helped me make gains in mastering the instrument. And there are less efficient approaches that inhibit expression and accuracy -- I've seen many students come in for lessons with techniques that prevented them from making progress.

I do agree with you that the attack and the sustain and controlling them with your hands is crucial. Which is why when I teach, I include those techniques right away, as well as a systematic approach to shifting, using single-string scales.

 

[FunkHead]

I respectfully disagree, at least in part, based on my own experience. In 1976, I entered the Studio Music and Jazz program at the University of Miami and took lessons from Don Coffman, who taught Jeff Andrews and Mark Egan, among others. His approach was very systematic, and thanks to him I made very swift progress on the instrument, especially from a technical point of view. There really ARE better, more efficient ways to play bass, adopted from both guitar technique and double bass technique -- both of which I studied, and which helped me make gains in mastering the instrument. And there are less efficient approaches that inhibit expression and accuracy -- I've seen many students come in for lessons with techniques that prevented them from making progress.

I do agree with you that the attack and the sustain and controlling them with your hands is crucial. Which is why when I teach, I include those techniques right away, as well as a systematic approach to shifting, using single-string scales.

Did Don specifically address Open Versus fretted technique? I am sure he is a great teacher but I would not let anyone tell me how to achieve "My" sound. But for the Majority of the Bass playing population I guess you can't go wrong by doing what someone else tells you to do, I don't think anyone is saying "Don't Use open notes" or "Only use open notes". This is what I mean by "no wrong way"....

 

[matthewbrown]

Did Don specifically address Open Versus fretted technique? I am sure he is a great teacher but I would not let anyone tell me how to achieve "My" sound. But for the Majority of the Bass playing population I guess you can't go wrong by doing what someone else tells you to do, I don't think anyone is saying "Don't Use open notes" or "Only use open notes". This is what I mean by "no wrong way"....

No, I agree there is no right or wrong way about using open notes (except the wrong way of using them to sound REALLY BAD ). And I agree that in achieving an individual sound you'll need to experiment.

Don taught more of an approach to the instrument, rather than a strict set of rules. He had me examine different ways of fingering passages and justify the choices from a musical standpoint. For instance, when working on Donna Lee, he asked me why I chose to use a less-efficient choice. I was using it so I could slur the notes, and he agreed it made sense, because the result suited the passage. He was also given to experimentation -- he was using tapping techniques with a mute on the neck before anyone I'd ever heard of using it.