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Suggestions for Songs to learn for a 5-string


Stub Mandrel

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7 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

Guy Pratt might disagree with you there as he wrote and recorded the original line using an octave pedal. 

I'm probably listening to the single which only has bass in about 40% of it...

" The album version features bass guitar by Guy Pratt doubled by an analogue Minimoog bass synthesizer, while the 7" version has a different bass part played by Randy Jackson. "

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11 hours ago, Sibob said:

Out of curiosity....why did you buy a 5 string?

Si

The best question to ask!

I've had a Hohner B2 since the late 80s and love it for its sound and playability. Last October i was very much on the cusp of deciding to really get back into playing music again. I went into Guitar Guitar in Edinburgh and they had a Jack Custom V for £130. It was an obvious buy for me just seeing it - I would then have both the top and bottom of the range versions of the Hohner headless range. Then I tried it and found it was dead easy to play and sounded great. After agreeing to buy I discovered it came with an old hard case, strap & dunlop straplocks and even a passable lead!

So it was not quite an 'impulse buy' as fate...

My rationale for buying it was also that it would be a new challenge to help motivate me into recapturing my skills, such as they are.

In the real world, I've found it quite intimidating, it's the one bass I haven't had the courage to take to a band practice, although there are probably 3 or 4 songs where I could throw  in a few low notes. I worry about 'getting lost' but also

If I was playing the sort of music I would really like to play in a band, it would be sort of space rock with noodly but not particularly harmonically complex improvisation and I think this bass would be really suited to it.

I really feel it's a very different instrument to a 4-string. It changes your technique and the extra notes aren't in my mental library so I can't 'think' a line using them before I play it.

 

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16 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I want to learn how people make use of the opportunities a 5-string offers. Seems they don't go much further than using a few extra low notes.

Updating old bass lines especially root five, where the original player didn't have the luxury of going down to the five - commonly G to D - without the fifth string.

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46 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’ve never played it on a 5 and I don’t believe I’ve seen Jamareo play it on a 5 either.

Far easier to play it on a detuned 4.

 

Recorded on a 5 string Precision IIRC, goes right down to the C. Runaway Baby also really needs a 5 as the main riff is played an octave lower at points.

 

Sure you can blag it with a 4 and detune but I can't be bothered with that at a gig - just use a 5!

Edited by lemmywinks
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12 hours ago, Maude said:

Surely the main point of a 5 is to change how you play, not what you play? 

But if you want songs that use notes below the bottom E then, from memory of doing them a long time ago, Frankies 'Two Tribes' and QOTSAs 'No One Knows' need a lower note. 

This 100%. It’s about economy of movement in most cases, rather than extension of range. That’s not to say people don’t venture to the lower reaches, of course they do, it’s just it reduces the need for position shifts.

Edited by Burns-bass
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31 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

It's not about blagging it. I have 5's and I'm comfortable playing them. 

I was asked to learn 24k Magic for a gig and was given the live version below to use as a template. Original key and played on a detuned 4.

I wondered at the time why Jamareo would do that so I experimented with both 4 and 5. IME 24k Magic is far easier to play on the detuned 4.

Wasn't talking about you in particular, you can play it detuned and that's what I did before I had to switch to a 5. The theme of the thread seems to be songs which need a 5, in reality I can't be bothered detuning at gigs and it's easier just to have an extra string. Even with a detuner it's extra faff especially if you need a low B/C.

 

EDIT- Also I didn't mention 24k Magic anyway, no idea why that video is there! I was talking about Uptown Funk (which needs a 5 really) and Runaway Baby (which can be done downtuned).

Edited by lemmywinks
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1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

My rationale for buying it was also that it would be a new challenge to help motivate me into recapturing my skills, such as they are.

In the real world, I've found it quite intimidating, it's the one bass I haven't had the courage to take to a band practice, although there are probably 3 or 4 songs where I could throw  in a few low notes. I worry about 'getting lost' but also

It's good to challenge yourself and expand your experience, but forget the extra string, it's only a bass. Play all the bass lines you already know. There are no 4 string lines or 5 string lines . . . . . they are all bass lines and you can play them all on this bass.

Put the 4 away and concentrate on becoming comfortable with a 5 string. If you get lost work through it and it will happen less frequently. As others have said, a 5 string bass is not just about a couple of extra notes, it's about changing how you play to use less hand movement. A 5 is very flexible but don't look as a different instrument. It isn't.

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18 hours ago, ambient said:

Anything. Don’t treat it like that. Play low E at the 5 fret, F at the 6th etc. Play across the fretboard, rather than along.

+1 .  I play mostly blues.  Sometimes with a 4, but when I need some abuse a 5 or a 6.  Just means I can use a low E and D for maximum impact. 

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Listen to Anthony Jackson, he uses low notes on the B string a lot. Listen to him with Hiromi, Steve Khan or Michel Camilo. I transcribed a lot of his lines a few years ago. This is with Michel Camilo, from the album ‘we three’, here he’s playing a low C. 

B1608C61-8B36-47F7-BFBD-2E8C5FC398E6.jpeg

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6 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I'll take your word for it - I looked at six different tabs and they were all for a 4-string.

I think this comment explains a lot. You are looking at how some one else has transcribed it and tabbed it out. This doesn’t mean it’s correct to the recording.

Also I have seen the best advice you can get about 5 string playing said several times on this thread and I will repeat. Don’t be looking for songs with the 4 extra low notes, use the B string where you would usually use open E or or F (1st fret E string). The main reason for the B is efficiency and not having to move up and down the neck to get notes you want as they can be under your fingers.

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2 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

I think this comment explains a lot. You are looking at how some one else has transcribed it and tabbed it out. This doesn’t mean it’s correct to the recording.

Also I have seen the best advice you can get about 5 string playing said several times on this thread and I will repeat. Don’t be looking for songs with the 4 extra low notes, use the B string where you would usually use open E or or F (1st fret E string). The main reason for the B is efficiency and not having to move up and down the neck to get notes you want as they can be under your fingers.

Exactly, they’ve just transposed it up.

 

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25 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’d take yours back if I were you 😂

Only advice for getting the best out of a 5 string.  I’m sure just about every serious 5 string player would say the same... Not saying I am a serious player...lol

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51 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

Also I have seen the best advice you can get about 5 string playing said several times on this thread and I will repeat. Don’t be looking for songs with the 4 extra low notes, use the B string where you would usually use open E or or F (1st fret E string). The main reason for the B is efficiency and not having to move up and down the neck to get notes you want as they can be under your fingers.

^This x 100^

Put your 4 string bass(es) away and use the 5 for everything.  You'll soon work out little shortcuts to the B string and be hovering around frets 5-7 where before you'd be fretting on the lower frets of the E.  You can then make the choice of where to play notes according to what sort of timbre you want .  The extra low notes are the bonus, even though they start off being the attraction.

The, if you feel you can't get on with your Jack V, sell it to me as I'd like one muchly :) 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Crawford13 said:

Don’t be looking for songs with the 4 extra low notes

 

37 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I’d take yours back if I were you 😂

 

10 minutes ago, Crawford13 said:

Only advice for getting the best out of a 5 string.  I’m sure just about every serious 5 string player would say the same... Not saying I am a serious player...lol

I think HKH's comment was more about 5's having an extra five low notes. 😉

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I got my first real 5 string as i was playing in two different bands, playing very similar set lists but in different keys. The singer in the second band didn't have quite a range as the first, so they played a lot of songs quite low. For me it was easier to get a 5 string and just play the same way, but lower. The second band was just a dep gig so i didn't want to mess with my muscle memory for the first band.

Other than that, and being able to play Superstition in Eb i cant say i need a 5 string, but i do enjoy messing about on them (and yes, i have two).

Edited by dave_bass5
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