greghagger Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 I've lost count of the amount of time I've been asked whether it's ok to use open strings on the bass guitar. It's a fair question though as there are lots of urban myths floating around about this topic. The open E-string is obviously an open string that we can’t do without on a 4-string but many bassists won’t use the other open strings. Some players favour open strings more than others but there are situations where they are useful to help with fingering patterns and for certain effect. So this week I've made a video to discuss open strings in depth. Find out more in my latest YouTube lesson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 When playing a DB or EUB, open strings are always my go to, when possible. However, when on EB, not so much, no real reason. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waddo Soqable Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 I've always used open strings when it's suited what I'm doing, why ever not? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greghagger Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 2 hours ago, ezbass said: When playing a DB or EUB, open strings are always my go to, when possible. However, when on EB, not so much, no real reason. Yes, whole different ball-game on the upright! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greghagger Posted October 28, 2023 Author Share Posted October 28, 2023 44 minutes ago, Waddo Soqable said: I've always used open strings when it's suited what I'm doing, why ever not? Totally agree @Waddo Soqable but judging by the questions I get asked about using open strings it was worth making a video! There’s a lot of misinformation out there so it’s confusing for inexperienced players. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 Sometimes a fretted sounds so much different that I make the choice soundwise. May require different fingering, but as long as there are possibilities... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted October 28, 2023 Share Posted October 28, 2023 (edited) I often try not to use open strings in case I have occasion to play a song in a different key so it's less of a pain to figure out the fingering, and sometimes because the tone is nicer, but it's sometimes nice to use open strings where to not would be awkward. Edited October 28, 2023 by asingardenof fixed typo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greghagger Posted November 1, 2023 Author Share Posted November 1, 2023 On 29/10/2023 at 00:28, asingardenof said: I often try not to use open strings in case I have occasion to play a song in a different key so it's less of a pain to figure out the fingering, and sometimes because the tone is nicer, but it's sometimes nice to use open strings where to not would be awkward. Yes, open strings do make transposing a little harder! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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