BASS
ENTER THE MATRIX | Adam Nitti
A lot of players are interested in being able to navigate the fretboard more effectively . For some , it is a difficult concept to confidently play ( in key ) outside of a set pattern without thinking about it , and the idea of jumping to a higher register to play a phrase or fill may seem like a challenge . Being that the bass guitar is an instrument with mostly a foundational role , it doesn ’ t really require us to be a master of our full range to get by playing most functional bass lines . After all , there ’ s no money above the 5 th fret anyways , right ? :)
However , there are actually a lot of reasons why a bassist should become more interested in being able to scale the entire range of the fingerboard . For example , there are going to be times where you want to get a rounder , thicker sound , and do so requires playing the same notes on lower-pitched strings . That means you have to play higher up on the fingerboard , meaning playing farther up on the neck in order
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 3 to play the same line on lower pitched strings .
Quick note : Just so I don ’ t confuse anyone , I like to think of ‘ higher up ’ as moving in the direction towards the bridge of the bass , since the more you move in that direction the higher ( and more ‘ upward ’) the pitches get on any stringed instrument . You might be thinking of ‘ higher up ’ on the neck as moving closer to the headstock of the bass , so I wanted to clear up any ambiguity .
Here ’ s an example of how the same bass line can be played in two different locations . Try playing Figures 1 and 2 back to back and note the significant difference in tone :
Another example of taking advantage of fretboard awareness might be spontaneously playing a fill at the end of a phrase at a higher register to signal a transition or build some excitement or drama . See figures 3 and 4 :
These are a few application-oriented examples of how you might use larger shifts in a groove context . Because so much of what we learn on a stringed instrument derives from patterns and shapes , it is easy to develop muscle memory over time that allows us to play within them instinctively . However , this can be a blessing and a curse because although we want our musical interactions to be spontaneous and automatic , we don ’ t want to fall into the rut of playing the same patterns over and over as meaningless rehearsed bursts of motion . This is the basis of why we need to transition from playing our instruments by ‘ sight ’ ( i . e . identifying shapes and visual cues on the fingerboard we choose notes from ) to playing them by ‘ ear ’ ( i . e . allowing what we hear to spontaneously choose what we play and where we play it anywhere on the fingerboard ).
Of course the great irony in all this is that it probably makes sense to at least start our practice with the visual elements in order to connect them to our auditory awareness ; which is why , coming full-circle , we usually start with shapes and patterns on stringed instruments to learn the sounds of things in the first place . The next critical step after some muscle memory is developed is to then use the shapes as ear training exercises , dissecting them down and learning the intervallic character built into their construction . My hope is that what I ’ ve explained so far will at least help you to start prioritizing things differently moving forward , paying more attention to the built-in ear training opportunities that come from shapes .
FIGURE 4
So how can we learn the fingerboard effectively ? A great place to start is to learn how to play comprehensively through key centers on the bass , using the entire range of the instrument . In other words , taking one key at a time and devoting time to memorizing how the scale degrees connect on the fingerboard . There are countless ways to approach this , but I ’ m a huge