Suggestions for Songs to learn for a 5-string

[Paul S]

When was that?  Summer, maybe 67?

[dave_bass5]

52 minutes ago, Paul S said:

When was that?  Summer, maybe 67?

2006 😫

[jazzmanb]

On 09/08/2019 at 18:07, Stub Mandrel said:

Is it really that rare to find songs that actually use five strings, rather than just contriving a four-string song to fit?

It's not very motivating to just change things I already play, or drop them down a few tones, and scales get really boring really fast...

That's my take on it too.Unless you're playing those low notes why bother ? I'm enjoying the gauge and quitaryness of the 5 string but struggling to find a need for it in the set I play 

[lozkerr]

On 10/08/2019 at 15:19, Crawford13 said:

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 should be a pinned post. That was what convinced me to switch to a five-string.

Take Teenage Kicks. Dead simple bassline - so simple that even I can play it without cocking it  up too much. The first note is a D. On a four, you might start at fret 5 on the A string and bob up and down towards the nut. Fine if you have hands the size of shovels, not quite so easy for us lesser mortals.

On the five, start at fret 10 of the E string. You can play the whole thing over four frets without changing position at all - just drop down to the B string when you hit the chorus. 

[chris_b]

Stub, when I look at a 5 string bass I see notes and possibilities. You seem to be focussed on counting the strings and imagining problems. 

You're not even taking it to rehearsals! Don't fight this, sell it and stick with the 4 string bass you're happiest playing.

[Woodinblack]

8 hours ago, chris_b said:

You're not even taking it to rehearsals! Don't fight this, sell it and stick with the 4 string bass you're happiest playing.

I must admit to being puzzled why you are trying to find a use for it. If a use for it isn't immediately apparent, what good is it for you?

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

9 hours ago, chris_b said:

You're not even taking it to rehearsals! Don't fight this, sell it and stick with the 4 string bass you're happiest playing.

I must admit to being puzzled why you are trying to find a use for it. If a use for it isn't immediately apparent, what good is it for you?

Good question...

It's really fun to play, and feels very different, the fact all my basses feel different is more important to me than them sounding different, as this encourages me to play in different ways and not just hammer out the same riffs.

The 5 is the most distinctive of them all, except the fretless.

I can just play the same old songs on the fretless (and I have been to a rehearsal and done just that) but it's real appeal is slowing down and letting the notes swell  and try to bring out that sound and feeling which is so distinctive. There's loads of music out ether which showcases the fretless as almost a completely different instrument, such as Wherever I lay my Hat or A Remark You Made.

The 5 string doesn't seem to broaden musical horizons in the same way.

Anyway, I've been trough our setlist looking for opportunities to use it. Most songs have a bit where you can go down instead of up. On Green Day their songs the dynamic of whizzing up and down the E and A strings and letting them ring between notes is a big part of the dynamic. Sunday Afternoon is a prize - the very last note is a D and a low one sounds good.

There are also a couple of songs where dropping a tone might help the singer.

I think I have to have a try and see what happens.

 

10 hours ago, lozkerr said:

Take Teenage Kicks. Dead simple bassline - so simple that even I can play it without cocking it  up too much. The first note is a D. On a four, you might start at fret 5 on the A string and bob up and down towards the nut. Fine if you have hands the size of shovels, not quite so easy for us lesser mortals.

I cam play teenage kicks one-finger per fret up there no trouble - I have hands the size of shovels... or at least long fingers - my one bass playing advantage.

[chris_b]

38 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

It's really fun to play, and feels very different. . . . . . The 5 string doesn't seem to broaden musical horizons in the same way.

If it's "really fun to play". . . . play it anyway.  Take it to rehearsals and enjoy it for itself. Maybe the subtleties and possibilities will emerge.

Having 5 strings doesn't mean you have to use them all on every song. Play all your 4 string lines and see what develops. The number of strings you have available and the number you use on a song don't have to line up. Often I just use 3 stings on a song. I don't know anyone who thinks a 4 string bass is "too much" or keeps a 3 string bass at hand for those songs.

I'm easily confused, so I prefer the familiarity of having the same fretboard under my fingers, no matter how many strings or notes a song or band requires.

Edited August 14, 2019 by chris_b

[kusee pee]

How about learning all your old songs in new positions on the 5?  Aim to play nothing below the fifth fret on strings E to G.  That should open new musical possibilities for you and give a taste of what a 5 can bring to your playing.  Since moving to a 5, I have become a much better musician by having this approach.  And I have short arms so it helps me having more notes within easy reach.  Don't give up, 5s are very cool instruments 😎

[dave_bass5]

58 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Having 5 strings doesn't mean you have to use them all on every song. Play all your 4 string lines and see what develops.

This i think is the best approach, especially if you arent convinced or sure that a 5 string is the way forward.

I started playing like this and slowly started adding in new fretting positions and utilising the B string more around the middle of the neck. I actually found playing 5 string improved my 4 string playing as well, as i was starting to use different fret positions.

Oh, and the over use of a low D to finish any song that ends on D 😂

[Paul S]

29 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Oh, and the over use of a low D to finish any song that ends on D 😂

Not just me then!  😂

[chris_b]

19 minutes ago, Paul S said:

Not just me then!  😂

Oh yes. Hit that low note. Own the ending of the song.

[Paul S]

Even 'All Or Nothing' - so help me... 😂

[dave_bass5]

13 minutes ago, Paul S said:

Even 'All Or Nothing' - so help me... 😂

Yep, we used to do that and yep, the bass made that last note 🙂

 

[SpondonBassed]

5 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

There are also a couple of songs where dropping a tone might help the singer.

Good point.  I think a five gives you a little more scope for transposition.  After all, keys are usually chosen to suit the vocalist(s) and sometimes the horn section.

Edited August 14, 2019 by SpondonBassed

[SpondonBassed]

5 hours ago, chris_b said:

Often I just use 3 stings on a song

AKA: The Sumner Clones.

[spectoremg]

Poor old Stub, the victim of a major thread hijack. Good job Talkbass aren't obsessed with their own agendas...

[Stub Mandrel]

11 minutes ago, spectoremg said:

Poor old Stub, the victim of a major thread hijack. Good job Talkbass aren't obsessed with their own agendas...

Don't worry, it's the biter bit. I'm responsible for more thread drift than a tornado in a cotton mill.

[bigjimmyc]

Try “Blackbird” by Alter Bridge

 

Edited August 15, 2019 by bigjimmyc

[jazzmanb]

On 10/08/2019 at 10:13, Burns-bass said:

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.

Always assumed they appeared to go sub bass,synth like for modern artists rather than save your fingers 

I like going up and down the neck ,I never do the open note stuff and stay at the nut either .Just sounds odd to me .Chord stuff I can see being handy with that 5th string 

[jazzmanb]

On 14/08/2019 at 08:51, Woodinblack said:

I must admit to being puzzled why you are trying to find a use for it. If a use for it isn't immediately apparent, what good is it for you?

Not hearing loads of "how can you do without one " either so is it just for show to get one ? it cant be to save your hands getting tired ?

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, jazzmanb said:

Not hearing loads of "how can you do without one " either so is it just for show to get one ? it cant be to save your hands getting tired ?

Well, I can't do without one, but if he was using a 4 and didn't have a problem, there is no problem to be solved. I have no problem either, I just use a 5 (which is what I do). 

[Stub Mandrel]

21 hours ago, bigjimmyc said:

Try “Blackbird” by Alter Bridge

I do like that, Myles Kennedy is a vocalists at the peak of his abilities.

Classic bit of Ultimate Guitar tab:

Tuning: 5-string down 1/2 step (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb) 
This can be played on a B-tuned 5-string bass with a few adjustments. I tabbed it as tuned down to match the guitar parts.

Then the whole tab doesn't go lower than B...

[Stub Mandrel]

Number of strings isn't a big thing, I'd like one of these too:

Bit hard to hide it behind the sofa...

[Stub Mandrel]

Well I took the 5-string to last night's rehearsal, having gone through all the songs on our list looking for ways to use it. For some it's just adding a couple of low notes, others you can add a bit more depth  - doing the dum-dum-dum bits of Crazy Little Thing Called Love an octave down made them satisfyingly thumpy 🙂

The song that befitted most is Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting, with an assortment of riffs all of which can be played an octave down from time to time and this seemed to work well.

Finding that with practice it's becoming more natural - but not all rosey - at one point I found my right and left hands were playing different strings and I had a major panic trying to work out which hand was in the right key...

 

But the best thing was that last night we revisited songs we hadn't done for a while, and (a) they went well and (b) best of all a couple of times when we did get a bit lost we improvised and it worked.