I have never in my life heard of calling 'C' note an 'F'... What is the purpose of that? I mean, you can call it F but the rest of band still plays 'C'? Interesting concept but my head hurts just from thinking of it..
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Should I learn on an EADG bass before stringing BEAD?
- Thread starter RemoteOutpost
- Start date
I have never in my life heard of calling 'C' note an 'F'... What is the purpose of that? I mean, you can call it F but the rest of band still plays 'C'? Interesting concept but my head hurts just from thinking of it..
Maybe if they're doing capo 7? (If I did my mental math correctly) Heh.
Almost nobody is playing BEAD, or at least relatively nobody. It is possible as a self-described "new bass player" that you've come across something that is revolutionary over the 60 year history of the electric bass. But it's also more likely that EADG is a standard for the vast majority for a reason. Fours strings tuned EADG and five strings tuned BEADG make up probably 95% of the players out, if not higher. I'll include those that drop a half step as a band in the same group as that's more of a change of reference pitch than an alternate tuning. When you're new to something, follow the rules before you try to break them. I suspect you'll discover why players use EADG and BEADG as the standard.
Unless you form your own group and make it big, no one will need a bass player who can only play the BEAD bass.
Late to the party here, but advice from someone who owned one; at first the missing G is no big deal. Maybe it’s the novelty of it all. To my playing at least, it just got annoying to have that stutter-step that you get when working out new material. You go for the octave on some little run your doing, and there’s nothing but thin air where you want your fretting pinky to go. My option was to just get a pretty decent 5-er and call it good. - This is largely contingent to my playing style, which is to ignore the B string except as to be used as a 5th below accent. It’s not a thumb rest by any stretch, but I can go a few songs before feeling the note choice avail on the low B is right for the 1.
I have never in my life heard of calling 'C' note an 'F'... What is the purpose of that? I mean, you can call it F but the rest of band still plays 'C'? Interesting concept but my head hurts just from thinking of it..
I will explain as clearly as possible: Many rock guitarists call their lowest string 'E' regardless of which pitch it is actually tuned to, because this is a well-accepted style of guitar notation that any guitar teacher might teach their student. For example if you buy a songbook of popular songs that has both piano and guitar chords, the guitar and piano might be notated in different keys, to account for the capo or alternate tuning on the guitar. Here is some professionally-notated sheet music for a famous song. Notice that the piano is notated in the key of C, but the guitar chords are notated in the key of A, because James Taylor put a capo at the 3rd fret for this one.
These guitarists aren't dummies, and they aren't breaking any rules. The miscommunication occurs when they try to use guitar-style notation to teach songs to non-guitarists. They may not be aware that capo or scordatura notation might be totally unfamiliar to non-guitarists, and therefore they are expressing the correct musical ideas, but communicating them poorly by using the wrong type of notation. It would be like handing bass TAB to a tuba player, or something like that.
For whatever reason, early on in my musical education, I decided that "bass guitar is a guitar-family instrument" and I was going to learn to read guitar notation. After a bit of practice, I was able to figure out that, for example, when a guitarist says "chord progression E, A, B in B standard tuning" what they actually mean is concert-pitch B, E, F#. This is a skill I'll have for life, that lets me read from guitar songbooks and jam with guitarists of all backgrounds. I can do these "mental gymnastics" in real time, even with an unfamiliar song, and it will sound good; we are all playing in the same key.
At the end of the day, however, the most important musical skill is having a good ear. Being able to hear that you are in a different tuning or key than the rest of the band, and adjust a few frets up or down to compensate, is a really valuable skill. Doesn't matter if you call it B# or whatever, so long as the whole band sounds good.
Having the B string down there isn't really going to make much of a difference. You can just play on the top 3 strings of your bass or play on the B in a higher position. If you think tuning BEAD is the thing that will make you pick up your new bass and play it, you should just do that. Actually playing the thing is more important than the tuning IMO
Don’t listen to people who say 99% of music is played on EADG because clearly they don’t listen to the music that you do. I think it’s tough for some old timers to understand that the music they grew up listening to and being inspired by sounds like Gershwin and Prokofiev to younger listeners who have no interest in it. I can think of very popular and successful rock bands that never play in EADG. That said, it’s also true that plenty of five string basses have the same string spacing as four string basses.
In my opinion, learn EADG.
if you want B, you should buy a 5 string. If you want 19mm spacing, buy one with 19mm spacing.
Even if it has a narrow spacing, you're a beginner, so it's not like you have 10 or 20 years of playing with 19mm.
How long do you play?
The other tunings, CGCF, in my opinion, for you, are just nonsense. You are a beginner and you want to learn with two strings as 5ths and the other two as 4ths?! What for?
You are over complicating things.
Reminds me of a thread some time ago, where a new member (and new to the bass) before buying a bass was already thinking of modding it. New bridge, new pickups, etc..
For me BEAD is not extended range. For me and for the things I play, it would be limited range. I would miss the G a lot.
if you want B, you should buy a 5 string. If you want 19mm spacing, buy one with 19mm spacing.
Even if it has a narrow spacing, you're a beginner, so it's not like you have 10 or 20 years of playing with 19mm.
How long do you play?
The other tunings, CGCF, in my opinion, for you, are just nonsense. You are a beginner and you want to learn with two strings as 5ths and the other two as 4ths?! What for?
You are over complicating things.
Reminds me of a thread some time ago, where a new member (and new to the bass) before buying a bass was already thinking of modding it. New bridge, new pickups, etc..
For me BEAD is not extended range. For me and for the things I play, it would be limited range. I would miss the G a lot.
No matter what turning you use I recommend staying in 4ths - the relationships between the notes (in other words, the patterns made by scales) is something you want to keep consistent. EADG, BEAD, EbAbDbGb, DGCF, GCFBb (yeah, really), once you find one note you know where they all are. Picking up a bass tuned DADG, or DAbDAb (yeah, really) can mess with your head.
Exactly!
Just off the top of my head, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, U2, Guns & Roses, The Rolling Stones, and Stevie Ray Vaughn have often used non-standard tunings. That's got to be at least 1.1% of popular music right there, disproving the 99% claim, just with those 6 acts.
Beatles used an alternate tuning on the Ed Sullivan Show. Hendrix used an alternate tuning at Woostock. U2 used an alternate tuning at Live Aid. These are iconic performances. Alternate tunings are here to stay.
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So the goal should be to just follow the crowd and be like everyone else?
Not everyone plays just to try to get hired by someone else.
Given what his profile says about his taste in music, what makes you think going to a "blues jam" is of any relevance?
Honestly, from someone who moves between 4 and 5 string a lot, if I were you, and you think you’ll wanna have a B string, I’d just get a 5 string.
When you’re playing a 4 string tuned BEAD you’ll be surprised how many songs you wanna play that use the G-string.
If string spacing is an issue, there are plenty of bass makers who build 5 strings with wide spacing.
When you’re playing a 4 string tuned BEAD you’ll be surprised how many songs you wanna play that use the G-string.
If string spacing is an issue, there are plenty of bass makers who build 5 strings with wide spacing.
Because playing blues, country, classic rock and a few other genres are basic skills most musicians will need to do, even if its not their thing..
