Using low frets and empty string notes

[Pilgrim]

This may be a dissenting note, but I got started on upright bass and that influenced my choice of hand positions.

I PREFER to use open strings and lower frets, and find it silly to play up the neck if you don't need to.

I use tabs to get a look at how others have played the tune. I often see that tabs use a lot of higher positions when it's quite unnecessary, and I keep wondering "why did you do that??" To me, the unnecessary use of higher frets and avoidance of open strings is annoying. It just makes the tune more complex to play and IMO adds nothing.

Granted, there are many tunes in which it's advantageous to use higher positions because it sets you up to cross strings and hit notes with minimal hand movement. That makes perfect sense.

But when the use of higher positions is not necessary, I strongly prefer, and consistently use, open or lower positions and open strings.

 

[TheOldFlatwound]

Naturally, it depends on the specific part and context. Open strings definitely sound different than the same note fretted. Similarly, the middle of the neck EAD sounds and feels different than ADG at the first few frets.

Most of the time you can get a fatter and more consistent sound going up the neck on the lower strings, but again, depends on the particular part and situation.

Listening really closely to a part you’re trying to learn to get the nuances and correct register is time well spent IMO. You can also take a part you already know well and try to play it in a different way or position on the neck. Helps you learn the fingerboard and leads to the best sounding and easiest to play option. All of that becomes more natural the more you do it and you won’t think about it at all most of the time.

 

[EricOnTheBass]

I recently had to learn 40-50 songs in a short amount of time, so I relied heavily on tablature, and I know what you are saying. Quite a few tabs I came across had either incorrect notes, or strange fingerings, and some of them do seem to prefer open strings. I use the tab to learn the notes, and then make my own changes so that I can play it more cleanly/comfortably and get the tones I like. Don't tell anyone, but sometimes I even play the notes in a different octave, shhh!

Like a couple others have said, if you prefer the tonality of lower strings at higher positions, you might really like playing a 5-string. Since returning to bass after a long break, my main axe is a 5 and I am really enjoying the flexibility in positioning. To me that's been even more beneficial than the extra 5 notes.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I use tabs to get a head start on certain songs. That's it...

Beyond that, I often work out my own fingering based on tone and playing efficiency. I see lots of tabs that jump from, say, the second and the tenth fret on the same string. If the tone works with the jump, I'll do it, but often crossing strings sounds good and is much better to play.

There's nothing better than tabs that state "standard tuning", then show D-G-C-F as the tuning.

 

[LowendG]

It's all about the end result--how does it sound and how does the bass part feel for the listener? You get very different results for each factor depending on how and where you play on the fretboard. Sometimes you want to have to make a big jump, or slide, or whatever to get to the next note--you want the listener to hear and feel the effort, the excitement--it sounds more "alive", even if there's an easier way to execute it. If you just wanted every bass line to be perfectly static, same...everything for each note, then you might as well sequence it on a keyboard.

 

[micguy]

Play the notes in the most efficacious hand positions. Simple as that.

That’s one consideration. The same note on a different string will sound and/or sustain different - there are times when playing higher on a lower string (which has more fundamental) will sound better, and other times where playing on lower frets on a higher string will sound better. If it’s a fast or difficult part where mistakes are likely, then play in the easiest place. If not, go for the best sonic result.

I’ve never used tabs - played over 45 years so far without them.

 

[75Ric]

I think you (and others) missed the point of the thread, but it is my fault because I should have avoided mentioning tabs multiple times...

My question is not about the tabs, my question is about playing notes on lower frets of high strings and on open strings. Tabs using these are only what made me notice that I don't like them, and the abundance of such tabs made me question if I am in a minority that doesn't like them, and instead maybe most bass players actually prefer using them (but if otherwise it is entirely a problem with the tabs themselves, then it's good to know!).

And yes, clearly it's a personal choice at the end, between tone/performance and comfort, but I would like to hear what are people's most common preferences or otherwise if they don't have a preference at all.

I used to try and play every note fretted until I started taking lessons with a good teacher. Today I use open strings all the time, Same with playing the lower fretted notes, including all strings (Simandl method). I used to think open notes were verboten; everything had to be fretted. What a relief when I learned open strings are one of my best friends. If you are concerned about this, take some time and listen to Jamerson. It may not be your taste in music or seem like "old school" music, but don't dismiss it. He played open strings and in the fretboard area you're concerned with all the time. His tone was fine (lots of folks try to emulate it).

I've also found that concerns about tone will drop away in a mix. The bass will blend with the with other instruments and sound different than it does when playing alone. My band plays Cruel Twist (Immediate Family). The song has a distinctive bass line and I play it in the middle of the neck. There is one section of the song that I play low on the neck (first few frets) with some open-string notes. I can't make the shift fast enough to get back to the middle of the neck to play the main riff, so I play it on the higher strings (D&G) once and then make my way back to the middle. In practice it sounds very different than the rest of the song, but no one notices on the bandstand.

Regarding tabs: Tabs were useful when first starting, but learning to read isn't hard and opens up a whole new world. Highly recommended. Today, if all that's available is tab, then I'll use them but I consider the fingering as suggestions only. I'll try different fingerings, sometimes on different parts of the neck until I figure out the fingering that works best for me.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Play the songs whatever way works for you. I started on acoustic guitar, so I am comfortable with open strings and low positions.

 

[smeet]

Tabs have the frets baked in, you can’t leave them out. And you can’t tell if the author meant it or they are arbitrary.

Unless a part is particularly difficult technically, I will choose my fret/string based on timbre. Many basses sound very thin and weak playing low frets on higher strings. It’s one of the things I check for on a new bass these days, I want to be able to play the A on the 2nd fret of the G string and have it still sound like a bass. On the other hand, the timbral differences between the various locations you can pay a note can be thought of as a plus - sometimes you might want a thin stringy sound.

In any case, I say celebrate the way your instrument sounds on different strings and frets, and learn to find (and pre-hear) all the possible fingerings quickly.

 

[mikewalker]

Open-string notes are handy if you need the note to ring whilst you move around playing other things. Otherwise I have usually went with the fretted equivalent as it often fits well in some box-pattern or another. I have noticed that there can be substantial tonal disadvantages playing notes far up the fretboard on the lower strings but I am usually only picky about that if I'm recording

 

[pepj]

Style and choice.
Depends how articulate your bass notes are and how much you want or need them to be.
Your musicality makes you choose where to play what.

 

[comatosedragon]

So I'd like to hear if these are for you perfectly normal and comfortable ways to play or if you perhaps share my preference for fretted notes over empty string notes* and higher frets of lower string over lower frets of higher strings.

I personally feel similar to the OP in that I almost always prefer a fretted note over an open string. Playing fretted notes just seems more, I don't know, economic? I'm probably not explaining that right. It' easier (for me) to get in a groove when open strings are not involved. It's why Can't You See is giving me such a headache right now.

I kind of like the lower fretted notes though. I like raking on those low frets, and I love the E on the second fret of the D string. I'm kind of obsessed with it actually...

Anyway, I have been playing for close to 20 years but am one of those people who have never played out, so take it for what it's worth. My main way to play these days is by using the game/learning tool Rocksmith, which is basically moving tablature.

 

[Mojo34]

On the topic of muting, don't forget to check out the Gary Willis videos!

 

[Shenron]

It' easier (for me) to get in a groove when open strings are not involved.

Exactly. This is how I (the OP) feel too. Transitioning from guitar to bass, one of the main differences I noticed, is how important it is for bass to not only nail the start of each note but also the end of it. With guitar it's not really a concern of nearly the same magnitude, you play a lot more notes on guitar and typically faster, to the point that the exact ending of each note is often unimportant because the next note is already coming anyway. With bass, you need to play the rests as well as the notes, your groove depends a lot on them. On fretted notes, controlling when they stop is easy, you just stop pressing with the finger which is already there. Doing the same on open string notes requires something different depending on what other fingers you have available.

 

[jdthaddeus]

Short answer: most tabs are wrong. I don't know how the idiots get them wrong or if they're written by a computer but I see some really goofy stuff in tabs.

There will be a riff with tabs that are like 7 frets apart. What kind of psycho moves 7 frets in the middle of a riff instead of just going to the next string? It seems to me that whomever wrote it was not actually playing it. Looked good on paper, but ridiculous in real life.

PS - I play open strings as much as possible. I think it's fun. And I'm lazy (sorta.... Some of our gigs have 5 sets, over 50 songs, and so I like to conserve energy.)

Sometimes I give myself a break. Some songs have parts that are only E, A and D, so relax my shoulders, let my hands hang, and play open strings with my fretting hand. People think it looks really cool and think I'm showing off, but I'm just giving my muscles a break. It's a win-win. Chicks dig it lol.

 

[micguy]

Unless a part is particularly difficult technically, I will choose my fret/string based on timbre. Many basses sound very thin and weak playing low frets on higher strings.

I wouldn't call it "weak", but it does sound different - I often play up around the 5th to 10th frets to get more "beef", but there are times when you want to emphasize the clink and clank, not the beef - last weekend, there was one tune where playing low on higher strings was just the ticket.

Part of playing bass well is using the fact that the timbre of the same note is different depending on where you play it. Part of the usefulness of a 5 or 6 is that the notes you play low on the E string on a 4 (you have to; there's no other place to play them) sound fuller when played on the B string.