Re: Question for fretless players

On Jul 23, 9:22 am, "Steve Freides" <st...@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
edspyhill01 wrote:
On Jul 21, 12:54 pm, edspyhill01 <edspyhil...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I just received my Basstar 4-string fretless. I've read that fretless
is a different animal and it certainly is. I don't feel tied to the
frets. Suddenly the notes are the focus of my attention. I think
"note" not "fret". There is something magical about playing the
fretless. Today I'm picking up a Planet Waves Strobe Tuner to use as
I do the lessons. I used a small clip-on tuner last night which
worked fine for then.

As for method books, I did a bunch of searchs and it looks like the
best book is the Symandl. I have the book "My First Symandl" for
double bass that I started last night. That book is a short
compliation of the Symandl method and an etude book for beginners. I
don't think anyone has a dedicated fretless method book out there. (I
like Ed Friedland's approach in his bass method that uses upright
bass position.)

I hope to take lessons with an UB teacher in the area but my layoff
is about 2 -3 months away so finances will be an issue. (I'm buying
all my "necessities" now.)

Any advice for a new bass guitar fretless student?

Ed S.

Thanks to all.  I'm not staring at the tuner while I play.  I spent
some time working on the current position coordinating LH finger
locations with visual feedback from the tuner and listening to the
headphone amp.

I also went back to the Ed Friedland book once I felt confident with
the second position.   I do a little extra checking.  I find "G" is
not a fret but a fairly precise spot on the E-string.

With the low notes and flatwound strings I could be a little sharp or
flat and not be noticed?  I don't want to fudge the intonation.

Thanks for the advice.  I'll check back when I complete book 1.

Ed S

Being able to fudge intonation is one of the wonders of playing
fretless, e.g., you roll your finger a little forward and the pitch goes
up.

Surely not (!) from the same person that wrote within the same thread
"I think it's
largely to do with one's ear, and I've been blessed with a good one,
not
to mention perfect pitch, so it really wasn't much of a transition..."

ehehheeeehhe, it wasn't a gee up, was it Steve?





Does your fretless have lines?  If so, that makes it much easier.
Personally, I don't care for the lines but I've yet to find a fretless
that doesn't at least have dots on the side, and I confess I do look at
those.

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