Why you SHOULDN'T play a 5 string bass...

[Music] hello one two oh please and focus okay I'll do hi guys what's up Scott Devine here from Scotts bass lessons comp hope everybody's havin a wicked day out there I know we are here well me and George over there a really common question that crops up time and time again from my personal students that are studying with me over at the over at Scotts bass lessons calm and is the five string thing right should you play a five string if so why should you play a five string so in this video I'm going to talk about five reasons that you should play a five string bass but I'm going to back that up and give you five reasons why you shouldn't play a five string bass as well okay so ready for it let's get into it so the first reason why you should play a five string bass is because of the lower extended range you may or may not know it but having lower notes has more function than you you might think strap about right so you might just think oh here looks cool I've got five strings but it really does have a function okay and a great example of this is that songs that are in the key of E flat or D or D flat right those particularly fat like superstition by Stevie Wonder [Music] that is a great example of a song that just really doesn't feel that great play on a four string because that's your lowest root note right there that a flat there on a four string you know it doesn't feel that low in the mix so and on the original it's actually it's that e-flat down there and again if we took a tune in the key of D say like D minor for instance just having that the second reason why you should think about playing a five string bass is that some gigs it's just it's a must to have a five string bass and having a four string won't cut it so for instance for the lot a lot of the theater work that I've done will be playing musicals and shows and that type of thing like the part the bass part are written for five string bass and it will not cut the mustard if you turn up in just a hey I was going to four string you're gonna have to lumpy you're expected to be able to play that bass part as written and most of them are written for five string bass the third reason that you might think of are playing to five string is because you can actually shift a little bit more efficiently on it so instead of going down the way you can actually go just across the way in fact that piece I was playing the other day had a Wickham now if I was doing that on a 4 string bass I would finger it like [Music] like that which is cool you know I can do it but I did it on that gig I was playing fostering base but if I add a fire stream it's kind of right there under the hand so efficient shifting if you're using your five string correctly which will get onto efficient shifting is something that defies the five string camp bring to the can bring it to the party the fourth reason why you should think about playing the five string is that if you're playing with a instrument that is tuning down so let's take a guitar player for instance so stevie ray vaughan tuned down to e-flat jimi hendrix tuned down to your flat me is the bass player i don't want to turn up to a gig and have to you know for the guitar play to say hey i tuned down to E flat and then I have to tune down to E flat I wanted to be like okay he's tuned to E flat but I've got a flat right there so it is advantageous if you're playing with instruments that do tuned down because in a nutshell it means you don't have to cue down and you still understand where all the notes are on the neck because as soon as you start tuning down well then you just have no idea what notes of which and we just get far too complicated we want to keep things easy right the fifth reason you'd want to play a five string is because of transposing some songs when you transpose them out of their original key especially if they're riff based just sound really really weird if you can't get the lower register within the riff a great example of this transposing thing and how five string can you know help you out in a lot of ways when it comes to transposing riffs is I wish by Stevie Wonder [Music] now the original riff is in e-flat it's in e-flat but I'm hitting that low - the G flat for me I stood up on a gig we had this thing it was a female singer and she wanted to do it in the key of C right so that's great if you're going you've got you haven't got that low no you haven't got the e-flat you need that low E flat to play in C now you could play here it just sounds weird right or you could just play it but again it doesn't sound right this is where five scream five string can really help out because you could play the original riff in C [Music] so there are the reasons why you should think about playing a five string bass now remember I don't play a five string bass I do have a five string bass just in case I get called for a gig that needs one I'm working with so many who particularly wants one but a 4 string bass is where I feel most at home now with that in mind let me talk about five reasons why you shouldn't play the five string bass so the first reason you shouldn't play a five string bass is that if if for any reason you think it is the natural progression of a bass player as in you know as you get better you transition from a four string to a five string start on a four string then move to a five string and then hey let's go to a six string that's just not the case okay the B string is there as a functioning tool within within all the strings okay it's got nothing to do with being a beginner or intermediate or advanced okay if you want to play a five string now play a five string if you want to play a four string well it was okay for Jaco Pastorius it was okay for Jack Andrews and it was okay for a multitude of absolutely killing bass players it's okay for you to you don't need to feel like just because you're getting better you need to transition to a five string the second reason why you shouldn't play a five string bass is that muting of that B string this here B string is an issue I'm not saying don't play a five string because of that mutant issue that you're going to have to deal with because that's exactly what you'll do you'll deal with it you'll learn how to get around it and you'll offer your technique to deal with it okay - to mute it effectively but what I am saying is if you I'm not going to put the work in to dealing with that B string if you're not going to put the work in and the practice and the grunt work that's going to get be needed when you first transition to the five string bass then just don't play a five string bass so for instance when I'm playing a five string I use my thumb and lean it against can you see that I leaned it against the b-string so when I'm playing these top strings that's muted it's not doing that it's muted by the back of my film it's absolutely essential to be able to do that in some form or another some people have other ways of doing it but you need to do it you can turn up a session and be playing a bass line and then when they solo it it's got this like rumbling B string because that if you're just going okay you need to be muting that effectively so make sure you're going to put the practice in to mute that string effectively if not don't move to a five string bass so the next one guys is for you guys that have a B string on your bass don't use it unfortunately I know I'm calling you out and there's a ton of bass players who have five string basses and when they look down they just pretty much ignore the B string and don't use it it's not integrated into what they do at all it's like a very long thumb rest right that causes muting problems when they play it down here right if you're not actively trying to get this B string into your plane if you are just ignoring it and using it as a a very extended along thumb rest then just go back to a four string you'll save yourself a heap of problems with muting and enforcing is a great hey guys so this is like a quick interlude in the video and I'm editing it right now in fact let me just grab a laptop so here I am editing the video that you're watching right now face super-late my kid's room bed which is why I'm whispering obviously I'm supposed to be telling you guys the five reasons why you should play about a fighting bass the five reasons why you shouldn't I just realized I only gave you four reasons why you shouldn't so I thought I could go to the studio tomorrow and try and wear the same stuff and we that fooi to it as thought we've got a little interlude for you and and this can be your number for why you shouldn't play a five string bass while I've got you let me know in the comments why you think you should or shouldn't play a five string bass okay let me know in the comments why you should or shouldn't play a firing but anyway back to editing and tickles number five so last but not least guys and this is kind of encapsulating the last four points that I've raised is don't play or don't think about playing a five string bass if you're not willing to accept that there's going to be a pretty big learning curve to it and a bit of practice a lot of practice that will need to go in to really make you a five string player some tips for you and one fact one cool really cool tip that somebody told me a long time ago you just take the riffs that you already know so let's say for instance okay blow all the bougie right okay if I was learning how to play five string bass again and really trying to integrate this B string into my knowledge and learn all the notes on it I'd be playing this appear and I'll be forcing myself to do it [Music] it would feel uncomfortable and it will feel uncomfortable for you to start with but unless you do that you're never going to get it down you're never going to truly be a five string player and I think that's the key guys don't be a four string player playing a five string right if you want to play a five string be a five string player and really commit to it if you want to play really play a five string you've got to stop playing the fostering for a while don't be going between the two but it's never going to happen you're always going to be visualizing the four strings with this extra added B string right and you're always going to see it like that get rid of that four string put it in the cupboard put it onto the bed wear whatever you want to do for now then really commit to the five string if you want to be a five string player if you think you want all of the the things the advantages that a five string bring to the table okay put the four string under the bed in the cupboard and really commit to that five string because otherwise you're never going to get it into your plate in a real meaningful and solid way okay guys so hopefully enjoyed this lesson subscribe to channel if you're not subscribed to this channel obviously and and if you really like what I do and 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Channel: Scott's Bass Lessons

Views: 2,284,677

Rating: 4.5803027 out of 5

Keywords: scott devine, bass lessons, bass guitar, soloing, funk, cover, groove, jazz, slap, tuition, masterclass, beginner, beginners, clinic, 5 string, jazz bass, precision bass, scottsbasslessons, sire bass, 4 string bass, beginners bass

Id: Rr7XSxq_Vxg

Length: 14min 53sec (893 seconds)

Published: Fri Aug 18 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/agualongo]

As usual pretty good stuff from Scott. One thing about the 5 stringers that have always called my attention is that they never sound the same as their 4 string counterparts when playing the other lower strings. 5 strings always sound like more focused and midrange than a 4 version, at least to my ears. Anyone else feels the same?

[u/OlyNorse]

I figure if I am going extended range why not go all the way and get a 6 stringer. Don't be halfassed.