How to Play a Fretless Bass
This article is written for people with experience playing the fretted bass., Get one with lines., Play ON the lines, not behind them., Learn to slide., Turn up., Learn what works.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: This article is written for people with experience playing the fretted bass.
If you've never played bass before, starting on a fretted might be a good idea, since they're generally easier. -
Step 2: Get one with lines.
Some fretless basses come with lines on the neck where the frets would be, while others have no lines at all.
While some people think lined fretless basses don't look as cool (and you will get people saying "That's a fretless? What are those lines then?), going from a fretted bass to an unlined fretless is a great way to play lots of very wrong notes.
Besides, Jaco Pastorius played a lined fretless, and he's the greatest fretless player of all time.
If you really don't want visible lines on the neck, you can get ones that have the lines only on the side of the neck, though these are harder to use. , The biggest mistake that people make when using a fretless for the first time is putting their fingers where they would for a fretted bass, between the lines.
This can produce notes that are a quarter tone or more off from the note you intend to play.
On a fretless bass, you need to put your finger precisely where the fret would be- so if I'm trying to play a C on the A string, I put my finger exactly on the third line, not between the second and third lines.
Always watch your fingers when they're playing so that you're playing exactly the right note. , One of the best things about fretless is that you can slide perfectly smoothly between any two notes on a string, getting all the intermediate tones as well.
Sliding on Fretless sounds fantastic, and can be used as the basis of terrific bass solos.
Play around with slides, and listen to the different tones you get
-- a quick slide has a sharper sound, while a slow slide is very smooth and resonant.
Just be very careful that you stop exactly on the right line and get there on the right beat. , Fretless basses are, on average, quieter than fretted ones, so you'll need to turn your amp or volume pots up higher to get the same amount of volume.
Even at high levels, though, the type of sound a fretless produces isn't going to blast anyone out of their seat, so you need to... , It's not just the sliding, fretless basses have a very different tone from fretted basses.
They sound very warm, fluid, and smooth, and are conducive to beautiful sounding melodies, but they lack the hard, defined punch of a fretted bass, and slapping and popping will sound very different without a metal fret for the strings to bounce off of.
On the other hand, you can produce sounds that you simply can't with a fretted bass- Jaco, for example, had a very horn-like tone.
Overall, try to think more melodically, hold notes out and think less about pounding pedal tones.
Playing fast and loud can work very well
--Steve Digiorgio made a career out of playing Death Metal on fretless and it worked beautifully-- and in fact fretless is ultimately easier to play fast once you get good with it, but you need to respect your instrument and what it can do. -
Step 3: Play ON the lines
-
Step 4: not behind them.
-
Step 5: Learn to slide.
-
Step 6: Turn up.
-
Step 7: Learn what works.
Detailed Guide
If you've never played bass before, starting on a fretted might be a good idea, since they're generally easier.
Some fretless basses come with lines on the neck where the frets would be, while others have no lines at all.
While some people think lined fretless basses don't look as cool (and you will get people saying "That's a fretless? What are those lines then?), going from a fretted bass to an unlined fretless is a great way to play lots of very wrong notes.
Besides, Jaco Pastorius played a lined fretless, and he's the greatest fretless player of all time.
If you really don't want visible lines on the neck, you can get ones that have the lines only on the side of the neck, though these are harder to use. , The biggest mistake that people make when using a fretless for the first time is putting their fingers where they would for a fretted bass, between the lines.
This can produce notes that are a quarter tone or more off from the note you intend to play.
On a fretless bass, you need to put your finger precisely where the fret would be- so if I'm trying to play a C on the A string, I put my finger exactly on the third line, not between the second and third lines.
Always watch your fingers when they're playing so that you're playing exactly the right note. , One of the best things about fretless is that you can slide perfectly smoothly between any two notes on a string, getting all the intermediate tones as well.
Sliding on Fretless sounds fantastic, and can be used as the basis of terrific bass solos.
Play around with slides, and listen to the different tones you get
-- a quick slide has a sharper sound, while a slow slide is very smooth and resonant.
Just be very careful that you stop exactly on the right line and get there on the right beat. , Fretless basses are, on average, quieter than fretted ones, so you'll need to turn your amp or volume pots up higher to get the same amount of volume.
Even at high levels, though, the type of sound a fretless produces isn't going to blast anyone out of their seat, so you need to... , It's not just the sliding, fretless basses have a very different tone from fretted basses.
They sound very warm, fluid, and smooth, and are conducive to beautiful sounding melodies, but they lack the hard, defined punch of a fretted bass, and slapping and popping will sound very different without a metal fret for the strings to bounce off of.
On the other hand, you can produce sounds that you simply can't with a fretted bass- Jaco, for example, had a very horn-like tone.
Overall, try to think more melodically, hold notes out and think less about pounding pedal tones.
Playing fast and loud can work very well
--Steve Digiorgio made a career out of playing Death Metal on fretless and it worked beautifully-- and in fact fretless is ultimately easier to play fast once you get good with it, but you need to respect your instrument and what it can do.
About the Author
Charlotte Harris
Specializes in breaking down complex creative arts topics into simple steps.
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