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So you wanna play fretless huh?

(How to play fretless without getting fired!)

by Keith White

If you read my last piece (Harmonically Speaking, Oct 1) you know that I was immersed in Jaco-ism from the first note of his first record. It wasn't long after hearing that record that I had the frets yanked outta my Guild SG bass. An even shorter period of time passed when I learned that playing fretless (in tune) was going to be a bit mo' difficult than it sounded. (I think it was about 2 or 3 minutes)

Fretless bass, to me, is one of the most hip and expressive sounds in all of music. However, it can be a difficult instrument to master. Mastering fretless requires a great deal of shed time to develop the proper technique. The one finger per fret rule still applies (except for extended fingerings) but you have to be diligent in your practice to achieve good intonation. Plus, you have to grow ears the size of Dumbo.

So what can you do to develop good tone, technique and intonation? Let's address tone first. Why? Cuz it's first in the previous sentence. Good tone comes from using the tips of your fingers. NO KNUCKLE COLLAPSING ALLOWED! To practice this, place all of your fingertips (including your thumb) on a tabletop. (Your hand should look like a spider hence, this exercise is called, The Spider) Lightly press down in an attempt to touch the underside of your largest knuckles to the table without pain and without allowing your knuckles to collapse. This is the shape your hand needs to become accustomed to in order to produce good tone. Practice this until you can do it without your knuckles collapsing.

Technique and intonation go hand-in-hand. Good technique=good intonation. Practicing the exercises below will assist you in developing good T&T. Practicing with a drone is a good idea to assist you with intonation as well. Set a metronome or some other device to emit a constant tone and practice scales against the drone. Choose your drone note according to what scale you are practicing. (I suggest the tonic) That way you will know when your intonation is correct.

Make sure your bass is set up properly too. If the bass is not in tune with itself, nothing you can do with your fingers it going to make a difference. If you don't know how to set your bass's intonation, get someone to show you how. You need to know how to do this.

As far as those Dumbo ears go, um……I dunno, start eating a lot peanuts or sumpin'.

Here are a few exercises to assist you in achieving that blissful state that can only come from being a fretless monster……..and keep you from getting fired the first time you take your fretless to the gig.

This is a tedious but necessary exercise to develop muscle memory and intonation.

Hold the pairs of 5ths moving the top note until the perfect 5th is achieved.

Do the same as above with the octaves.

Diatonic 10ths (major and minor scales)

2 octave major and minor scales with a drone: (all 12 keys, drone on tonic)

These are very rudimentary exercises. Come up with your own exercises that are more musical and more challenging.

Until next time,
k-dub, keeper o da funk

I can be reached via email at k-dub@funknotes.com.