Practicing intonation

[Joshua Vance]

I was reading random internet articles about fretless basses earlier as I own one and have recently starting playing again after 10 years. Someone mentioned a jazz bassist who was said to practice his intonation for an hour everyday. Any thoughts on how exactly one does this? I keep a tuner clipped onto my headstock, and occasionally I will play a note and kinda see where I’m at with it, maybe doing slow arpeggios or whatever, but is there any other sort of technique I should be aware of? Thank you all!

 

[Nashrakh]

I don't have much fretless experience, but I do go through the same trouble with my upright.

The first thing I will do to warm up on intonation is checking 1/2 and 1st position. In that area you have a lot of fifths and octaves to work with that can tell whether you're in the right position. Check fifths and octaves against open strings, for example finger the A on the G string and check against the open D string. The same works for 1st position, I personally like to check my C on the A string and the G on the E string agains the open G string to hear how close I can get with that fifth or octave.

From then on it's mostly muscle memory, sometimes checking the above again when you do most of your playing in the "money zone".

Try to practice against drones too, that is for example let a C note ring (via audio files or a synth if you'Re old school) and play a C major scale to that. You'll hear how each of the notes intonates against the C, and adjust accordingly.

Higher up the fingerboard is where it gets tricky. I suggest the "vomit exercise", which is simply sliding along one string to hit the various notes of a scale. For example, try A minor on the G string, start on the A, slide up to the B, slide down to the A again, slide up to the C, slide down to the A again, etc and the list goes on.

 

[Joshua Vance]

I don't have much fretless experience, but I do go through the same trouble with my upright.

The first thing I will do to warm up on intonation is checking 1/2 and 1st position. In that area you have a lot of fifths and octaves to work with that can tell whether you're in the right position. Check fifths and octaves against open strings, for example finger the A on the G string and check against the open D string. The same works for 1st position, I personally like to check my C on the A string and the G on the E string agains the open G string to hear how close I can get with that fifth or octave.

From then on it's mostly muscle memory, sometimes checking the above again when you do most of your playing in the "money zone".

Try to practice against drones too, that is for example let a C note ring (via audio files or a synth if you'Re old school) and play a C major scale to that. You'll hear how each of the notes intonates against the C, and adjust accordingly.

Higher up the fingerboard is where it gets tricky. I suggest the "vomit exercise", which is simply sliding along one string to hit the various notes of a scale. For example, try A minor on the G string, start on the A, slide up to the B, slide down to the A again, slide up to the C, slide down to the A again, etc and the list goes on.

 

[Joshua Vance]

Awesome. The drone and vomit exercise sound perfect! Any ideas on the easiest way to find a drone? Maybe in protools but I’m not sure where or how off the top of my head. Maybe I can figure something out with my synthesizer...

 

[jj.833]

Drone Drone Tone Tool

You might want to try this little excersise attached. I find this extremely rewarding to internalize not just intonation, but also the basic scales and the names and feels of modes. It enhances greatly my ability to play a solo in any key. Do the whole excersise over a F drone, then transpose to Bb over a Bb drone etc. through the whole circle of fifths. I play this on a double bass, try to do it every day if I can find the time. All twelve keys take about an hour. When it starts to get boring, I try different fingering.
Don't omit the second part, modes played only downwards and leaping a 7th up, it's a good test if you already hear the modes internally. Don't play from this sheet - rather, speak the names of the notes as you are playing.

 

[misterCRUSH]

I practice my drone exercises with a looper pedal. I loop my drone note and then play my scales and arpeggios over the top of it. It's a lot easier than trying to watch a tuner or fiddle around with my computer.
I saw a video where a guy was using the Freeze by electro harmonix...seemed to work the same way as a looper but i haven't tried it personally.

 

[two fingers]

I have an EHX Freeze pedal. It allows you to sustain any note you hit and then play overtop of it. So I'll hit an open string and then "noodle" over it. Recently I've been sustaining notes on the board and checking to make sure they're in tune before noodling over them. It's more fun/creative than simply running exercises over and over again. If you're intonation is off, the sustained note will tell on you as you will immediately sound "out of tune".

It's harder than it sounds but a lot of fun.

 

[nilorius]

I would more call it doing the intonation, not practising, because, it comes and gets better only with time past, not caring how much hours you will practice it in a day.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Working through arpeggios is helpful: major, min, maj7, min7.

I think the higher register on the neck is the most troublesome spot since there is less margin for error.

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Working through arpeggios is helpful: major, min, maj7, min7.

I think the higher register on the neck is the most troublesome spot since there is less margin for error.

 

[bbh]

I practice intonation while playing with others. I judge my notes from others fretted notes.

 

[BarfanyShart]

On DB you'd play 2-3 octave whole note scales at the start of every day with a bow, occasionally checking the intonation against an open string. It's as much (or more) about training your ears as it is training your hands. I imagine a core intonation exercise on fretless BG would be similar - slowish scales and arpeggios over a drone note for reference. An electronic tuner seems lime the absolute wrong way to do things, because the goal is to train your ears in concert with your hands, not your eyes.

 

[bholder]

I often work on my intonation by writing riffs that involve open strings and then using my ears to ensure the fretted notes are in tune with the open ones. Like the "freeze" examples above, I let the open note continue to ring while I'm playing over it.

 

[Michael Milner]

The best way to practice intonation on a double bass is with a bow (it also allows you to work on your arco technique). Really though, it is your ear that you have to develope, as you are making the note by proper fingerings on the instrument. So, IMHO, include in your practice schedule, work on your fingering positions and listen to insure you are playing in tune. I still warm up with scales (major, dominant, minor, half diminished & diminished) played chromatically two octaves from the low E to E flat on the third string.

 

[Lagado]

Double stops all over the scale, 5ths, octaves, for instance. A five string is handy because of the extra string to use as a drone, also good for avoiding what would otherwise be wide stretches, as now your low E is at the fifth fret. Playing along to tracks recorded with a fretted bass etc.

The best education for me, was leaving the fretted at home and playing the whole gig on fretless. You can't do it in every situation, but when I could, I would. To see what is required in a gig situation, is quite another animal.

And most importantly, get lines.

 

[BarfanyShart]

You know what I think would work really well for practicing fretless BG? One of those organ-footpedal-style keyboard things. You could play through your scales while occasionally checking intonation against the organ, set a drone, practice shifts to notes. I like the idea.

 

[MVE]

There are several Iphone apps that are great for intonation and interval identification. (Not sure what the Android equivalent to these is, but I'm sure they must have something.)

Tunerval - plays a tone and then an octave, fifth, third (etc.) and you decide if it is sharp, flat or in tune. Keeps track of your % correct and average divergence from tune you can reliably identify. (I'm terrible, in a quiet room, I'm only good to like 15 cents on thirds and fifths, but good to under 5 on octaves and under 2 on unisons.)

Tunable - allows you to record a session and then tells you how "in-tune" you were. (I'm usually about 65% on my fretless)

Tenuto - plays a tone and then another and you identify the interval (there are a lot of apps like this.)

Anyway, all three are great for practicing your intonation. But none of these are a magic-bullet, you still need to put the work in and practice.

 

[lfmn16]

Record yourself! That's the best way to see if you are making progress. Lots of other good suggestions, but if you don't record yourself and listen back, I don't think you are getting the whole picture.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Playing a fretless bass means hearing the pitch you’re playing, adjusting as needed and, over time, embedding the sensation of on-pitch “muscle memory.” Two practice studies are paramount: ear training and scales/arpeggios. [Too simple, can’t work. Never mind.]

 

[misterCRUSH]

Record yourself! That's the best way to see if you are making progress. Lots of other good suggestions, but if you don't record yourself and listen back, I don't think you are getting the whole picture.

This is great advice! I record myself every tuesday. doesn't have to be anything eloborate, usually i just play along with a standard of something. It is wonderful not only for intonation, but feel, time, touch, tone, all sorts of things!