Sight reading - open or fretted notes?

[Pings Bass]

In sight reading, sounding parts out by ear, and scale/arpeggio practice I generally stay away from open notes, because then I am moving in easily transposable patterns and can read/hear intervals as opposed to thinking of absolute notes. Playing a figure in the key of A is exactly the same as playing it in Bb or C with a position shift. Of course there can be efficiency gained using open notes; when I'm learning/practicing parts I use them frequently.

 

[groooooove]

it's almost like asking "highway driving, which lane should i be in?"

well, depends on the situation.

sometimes open strings make more sense and/or make something more playable, or sound better, than fretted. sometimes open strings sound awful.

it depends on the context. for sight reading, your priority really should be rhythm. if you are playing correct rhythm and the right notes, even better. as your skill gets better you'll develop a sense of where to put the notes, but for sight reading remember that correct rhythm is king.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

For the first several years of playing, I played in first position and only ventured out of that block if I needed notes higher than a middle C, so I just worked up the G string. At the time, I was mostly playing transcribed jazz lines and it "worked", but I was missing a lot of possibilities. This book really helped me get out of the box:

MEL BAY'S COMPLETE JAZZ BASS BOOK - HIDDEN - BassBooks.com

 

[smtp4me]

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!

As others have suggested, play what works for you - there is no right and wrong. IMHO and experience, it is no more difficult to mute an open string than a fretted note, and the average listener cannot distinguish between the two. Like so many things it comes down to your preference, and you will probably be the only person in the room who knows you played an open string note unless someone is watching your fingerboard as you play.

Some players and musicians believe they can hear a difference between open strings and fretted notes - maybe they actually can when hearing an isolate bass track - but again IMHO, it would require super-human hearing skills to pick out an open string note on a bass in the mix, even for us fellow players.

Personally, I always try to achieve "economy of motion" - to reduce the shifting of hand position as much as possible. And sometimes open strings help with this.

 

[sawzalot]

Be able to play either way. The choice of whether to use an open string or not is about tone and convenience, not an arbitrary rule about what is correct or not. Watch poorly trained guitarists who suddenly turn white when someone says "play it in E flat instead of E" because they can't function without their open chords and open strings. Work at it so you're not one of them.

 

[WrapRough]

When I'm playing songs I have no problem utilising open strings to achieve efficiency. That's all good. It's just with sight-reading I am still so crap that it takes more brain power to play the open string for some reason.

I guess as I become a sight-reading ninja it will all just figure itself out and I'll just naturally choose the best thing at the time. I like the suggestion of 2,3,4,5 and then shifting down when needed. I'll give that a try later.

Thanks for all the input, team!

 

[David1957]

If I am reading a chart for the first time, I’ll scan to see what part of the fretboard I want to use. Are there lots of big jumps? If so, I either mark them so I’m not surprised or simplify for the first reading. If I’m sight reading fast swing, I’ll probably use a bunch of open strings the first time through. Some jazz arrangers write ridiculous bass lines. I’ll edit as I go to make it more playable first time through. You can always work through the technical stuff on your own later.

 

[drumvsbass]

Use the open string. Shift less. It's one of the bonuses of playing in first position. There is a growing number of people that are actually teaching NOT to play open strings for their tonal difference... That is one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. If the tonal difference between a Fretted A on the E and the open A string is enough to be noticed in a band mix, you need a new bass, and you're focused on the wrong thing. This is the type of thing that people only notice when playing by themselves.

 

[StatesideRambler]

Serve the song, use your ears. Timbre differs between closed and open notes and a given song or passage in a song might be better served by one than by the other.

 

[AFRO]

I will preface with this initial qualification: I do not read frequently (or as frequently as I could anyhow).

But when I was reading much more regularly I would start with the "closed" positions first, because those transpose much more consistently than the 5 open notes that are at my 'Open note' disposal.

also a quick glance or once over and I can see peak-notes and low-notes in the piece and can decide on which position(s) I think I will need to cover or shift to/from.

 

[Bill Murray]

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!

Of course, the open strings work just fine. That being said, do not rely on them and let them become a crutch. You will gain a greater knowledge of the neck and in turn become a more confident musician by avoiding the open strings (this is particularly important and useful on extended range instruments and even more so when it comes to transposing). Granted, that’s not a blanket statement, it does depend on where you’re headed next on the neck, but in general it’s good practice.

 

[basslayer]

I was taught to define hand position be the lowest and highest notes to be played in the piece so you can move your hands as little as possible.

 

[Ric5]

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!

That is the problem with sight reading for an instrument that has a fretboard. You can have 2 or 3 places to play the same exact note, but a piano you only have one place for that note.

 

[lfmn16]

To me, the whole point of sight reading is to make the same choices reading at a high speed that you would make reading at a slow speed. If you were working out the passage, would you play it open or closed? That's your answer.

 

[M0ses]

E, A, and D can be very useful as references on fretless instruments and when it comes to frets, I totally agree with others that there's a time and place for either way.

The one thing I will add that no one has yet said is, on an electric bass, NEVER EVER play the open G string! have you ever heard one that didn't absolutely HONK at you?!

 

[Bob_Ross]

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

Neither.

All music is contextual. You're not sight-reading in a vacuum, you're playing a specific piece of music with a specific group of musicians in a specific venue...so you need to consider more than just Where Do I Put My Fingers To Make The Correct Pitch Happen? You need to consider What Do I Do With This Instrument In Order To Get It To Make The Sound That Is Appropriate For This Particular Context?

Sometimes that will be an open string. Sometimes that will be a fretted note. You need to learn what those two things sound like and then learn how (or if) they fit into any particular context.