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Sight reading - open or fretted notes?

WrapRough

WrapRough

Jan 26, 2021
760
1,239
London
#1
Hi all,

When you're sight-reading, for the first five frets do you shift your pinky to, say, the A on 5th fret of the E string or play open A string? And same for the other strings. I've been played fretted and I had a sudden feeling I am doing it wrong and should just play open strings and keep my fingers across the first four frets... The course I am doing teaches fretted, by if I play open I never have to shift so it's kind of easier.

Is there a "proper" way to learn this or does it not matter?

Cheers!
 
#2
There's not necessarily a right answer for this, but you want fingerings that are both easy and sound good. So you generally pick fingerings to limit shifting, and--to some extent--to avoid accented or prolonged open strings. So if you are playing a section where the lowest note is F# on the E string, and the highest note is C on the G string, putting your 1st finger on the 2nd fret and 4th finger on the 5th fret would be very natural.

It sounds like you are describing a passage where it's an either-or situation--the open strings avoid the shift, but the open strings sound different from fretted notes. Play it both ways, record yourself, and see how each feels and each sounds. I imagine the course tells you to fret notes at the 5th fret to avoid the jarring tonal contrast (at least when playing by yourself) of mixing open notes with fretted, so there is a reason for it. But eventually empower yourself to make executive decisions like that to best serve the music.
 
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#6
WrapRough said:
So it's really important to analyse the piece to see what the lowest and highest notes are and then consider your fingering...
Click to expand...
yes, that's what i'd do. play it multiple ways to make sure my assumptions/preferences are correct (or corrected!) and settle on the way that makes the most sense re: comfort, flow, speed, whatever.
 
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#7
I keep my first finger on the 2nd fret, 2nd on 3rd, 3rd on 4th and so on. I will shift down to the first frets if needed.

this is mainly because I try to adhere to the major positions. The first c major position is what I described above. you have c Ionian, g mixolydian, and b locrian at your disposal from that position without shifting.

Its all preference though. So I guess to answer your question, I use my pinky on the a of my e string all the time as the position is usually already there if I'm down at the first five frets of the bass.
 
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#8
WrapRough said:
Hi all,

When you're sight-reading, for the first five frets do you shift your pinky to, say, the A on 5th fret of the E string or play open A string? And same for the other strings. I've been played fretted and I had a sudden feeling I am doing it wrong and should just play open strings and keep my fingers across the first four frets... The course I am doing teaches fretted, by if I play open I never have to shift so it's kind of easier.

Is there a "proper" way to learn this or does it not matter?

Cheers!
Click to expand...
Great question, I have wondered the same myself.
Thx for great responses!!
 
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#11
When I started to play in big band, I was not experienced enough in sight reading. I remember I had to use open strings, because I was able to find the note faster that way, and because I was not sure enough with my hearing to rely on in completely. Is it G I just fingered? I'm not sure, so I'd rather play open string. I can't look or I will get lost in the sheet.
After some time, my ability to rely on my hearing without looking allowed me to use fingered notes only. I found that in jazz situation (lots of notes, each just once), it's actually harder to play the open string sensibly, because I need to change my right hand plucking to avoid too loud and too crisp open string sounds. These micro changes tend to affect my rhythm precision and I need to focus on it too much.

So I think when learning you should aim to play mostly fingered notes. You will learn faster to rely on your ears. The more you play from many sheets, the better you get, and it is quite fast if you really delve into it. In a real music situation however, do whatever is convenient at the moment.

EDIT: by the way, it is vital not to forget to learn to avoid stretching of left hand fingers when playing low on bass. I know Adam Neely's viewpoints are not always sensible, but this video is really great.
 
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#14
All depends on whether you want the open or fretted note sound on the note you’re playing. There’s no absolute right or wrong to it. Only what best serves the song.

In some bass guitar circles open notes are seen as a major faux pas for some reason. However, I started on upright where playing an open string was never considered a sin. So I’m more open minded about it. I suggest you keep an open mind about it too. :)
 
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#15
I play both ways, letting the song structure determine which method I use. In general I find that I have much more control over the tone and note duration by using fingered notes. As earlier stated, upright players probably use open strings more than most bass guitar players do, but there really is no right or wrong method.

Thump on,

One_Dude
 
#16
As has been noted, learn both ways, use whichever fits best. Open strings are often times discouraged because unless you have a zero fret they may have a slightly different tone than fretted because frets are metal and nuts generally aren’t. But fingering wise depending on where you are going an open string can give you a little extra time to make a big shift and if playing Fretless it let’s you check and adjust your intonation real quick.
 
#18
For me, I make fingering choices based on what I'm doing next: What method is going to facilitate the next note best? There's almost always at least 2 ways to play most lines. Sometimes 3 or 4 and if something is giving me fits using my go to way, I often find solace after exploring other fingering options.

I personally avoid open strings when I can (hard to control), but have adapted many lines that learned in other position s to incorporate the open string because it makes more sense.

From a strictly academic perspective, you should learn both ways - one will feel better to you, but as your career advances, you'll get the benefits of being able to easily developing multiple fingerings as you find the need to do so.
 
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#19
As above: it all depends. I started playing bass sight reading jazz band charts in junior high summer band camp in 1975. I have used all the above techniques in getting the charts covered from that day through now.
 
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