I NEVER BOUGHT A 5 I HAVE A CUSTOM MADE TOBIAS THAT MIKE MADE FOR MY HAND SIZE ARM REACH ECT. NO OTHER BASS EVEVN FEELS CLOSE SO I LOVE MY 4, AND ALL I DO IF I NEED TO GO LOW IS TUNE MY E TO a D ITS GREAT TO PLAY IT LIKE THIS.
THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR BUT IT IS FUN A BERKLEE TEACHER WROTE THIS OUT HE IS A CHALLENGE FREAK, WHICH IS GOOD ALWAYS PUSHING HIMSELF. JUST SOME FUN STUFF
(“the instant boredom buster”): You can NOT use any of your index fingers!
…what?? Not my right index, nor my left…? – that’s right!!(and left): you have to do your picking with either “m” (middle finger) only, or you can alternate pick with “m” and “r” (ring finger), or you gotta use your thumb; also, your left hand will have to do with m,r,and pinkie, giving them a probably long deserved workout.
(When Steve Bailey decided to get his right ring finger up to speed, he used his then Disneyland gig to accomplish this, completely omitting his right index. Con: Nobody got to hear what a flashy player he really was. Pro: Steve could care less.)
You can NOT look at your instrument whatsoever
That means: not at the fingerboard, not at the strings, not at the little dots indicating your 5th, 7th and 12th fret; only at your future ex-girl(/boy)friend in the audience, or your drummer (just kidding!), or the singer (just superkidding!!). However, this will turn your easiest shifts into little micro-adventures and force you to totally rely on your ears, for once.
You can NOT use any open strings
uh-oh… have we neglected our low B string far too long? Yes, it does have a low E on it somewhere. You’ll also discover that you now can apply some of that Rocco-Prestia-left-hand-muting on every note if you stay away from open strings.
You have to use an open string WHENEVER possible
Sometimes you will jump an ocatve up or down in your lines – however: did you know that you can play the entire intro to “Proud Mary” on open strings (of a 5 string bass)? D-D-B D-D-B D-D-B-A-G-G-G-G-A-E. I actually HAD to do this once when my music stand collapsed, and I had to reassemble it without interrupting my playing…
You cannot play below your 5th fret
Yes, we all know that “there’s no money above the 5th fret.” But we’re not in it for the money, right? Doing this, you might discover more unknown territory than Lewis and Clark, especially in the 10th fret area!
You try to play your left hand coming from ABOVE the neck instead of underneath
You might have seen Eddie Van Halen do it, now it’s your turn. Guaranteed to be a showstopper when applied during a slap solo.
You D-tune your E string, regardless of the necessity.
It sure keeps your brain busy for a while to play those octaves on the same fret! However, you can tune down ANY string a whole step (or all of them – no wait, that’s been done I think). Or a half step (if that doesn’t mess you up,
You have to stay away from a certain string
Let’s say, you cannot use your D string for a whole set. If you’re hardcore, take it off! (However, fellow players might start thinking you’re not taking your gig seriously enough, and nothing could be further from the truth!)
You have to EXCLUSIVELY stay on one string
Can you walk through “Autumn Leaves” on your E-string? And if so, how about “Giant Steps”? And, imagine the fun of playing a bossa nova bass line on 1 string!!
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