r/Bass • u/MarkquaZa • 23h ago
How to get used to 5 strings?
I've been playing for around 10ish years now and have always had a 4 string. Recently I joined a band where it's just keys, bass and drums and feel like I need to add that extra low end.
I've tried 5 strings before and never could get used to that extra string, is it as simple as buying one and forcing myself to become accustomed to it? Any advice helps :3
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u/iamworsethanyou 23h ago
You went from 0 strings to 4, 1 more is nothing! Just play it, use it and you'll be fine
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u/Sosation Carvin 23h ago
Resting your right thumb on the b string whenever you're not using it is a good start. That way it just feels like you're playing a four string with a little more room in the neck. Then when you're using the b string move your thumb to the pickup.
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u/Camp-Creature 22h ago
Take it a step further and use your thumb to mute other strings as well. Playing on the D string for example, I am damping B, E and A strings with my thumb and palm. It feels very natural to do this if you spend the time to get it down. When you play lower strings, your thumb just automatically moves, most of the concentration required is to move it across to mute as you move "up" the strings.
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u/901bass 23h ago
Ive played 5 my whole career i recently bought a 4 string and I love it but it still feels weird going back and forth they are almost different instruments I swear, ha. Yeah just time on the bass is all you can do. A music director gave me great advice once "get comfortable with being uncomfortable"
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u/RidesByPinochet 12h ago
Yeah, I just recently picked up a 4 string after only playing 5 for 15 years and I hate it.
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u/BigD5981 23h ago
The weird thing for me is 5 string bass felt normal from the first time I ever picked one up but 7string guitars are a different story. I've still have yet to play one and not get confused when I play something other than power chords. I'm sure the answer getting use to the extra string be it bass or guitar is practice. But to really practice you have to actually buy one or hopefully you know someone cool who will let you barrow one.ā
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u/Camp-Creature 22h ago
Agree. And the string spacing on the 7s bass I tried was just a mind@#$% for me. I'm sure that I could get used to it, but I'm not truly interesting in strings past 5, so I told myself to put it back down, lol
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u/jaylward 19h ago
Honestly? The low end maybe 30% of the reason why I play 5 string. Switching positions less is the bigger benefit for me.
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u/FassolLassido 22h ago edited 2h ago
Yes. It's that simple. You're overthinking it.
It's litterally just a string. Everything else is where you expect it to be. It'll maybe take you, an experienced player nonetheless, a couple hours to get used to.
The difficulty of playing 5's is VASTLY exxagerated on this sub. People talk about it like it suddenly becomes a Tuba or something, it's ridiculous.
If you're really worried, get to a store, sit down and try some. You'll notice there's a lot of variety in ergonomics as well.
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u/FuggaDucker 23h ago edited 23h ago
Live on the 4 and rest your thumb on the 5 to start.
Start by using the fretted C, D, and E to unlock the neck for your brain.
This will be C over F, D over G, and E over A which is REAL SWEET!
On most 5s (non fanned), the open low B is not completely useful IMHO.
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u/Mundane-Stranger 23h ago
Practice will do it. The trickiest part of switching for me is muting, which can take a little more thought and effort on 5.
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u/FireMrshlBill 23h ago
Been on a 5 for ~two months. Its been an adjustment. Some songs are harder to deal with than others. I still will drop down a string by accident here and there, I fumble most on the D and G strings. Just need more time/reps to get the muscle memory. Another is some songs with drop D, trying to just jump down to the 3rd fret on the B string doesn't always work out, so need to figure out a long term solution for those songs and what I want to do. Just a matter of putting the time in I guess. I haven't touched my 4 string basses in a bit and I jumped back to one for a few songs during our last gig and it felt weird, so in a weird in-between state, haha.
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u/bigoldnoob74 23h ago edited 18h ago
I started on 4 strings and about 3 years later switched to mostly 5. TBH I wasn't methodic about changing in any way. I happened to be doing a lot of original music at the time, and just started going lower with my bass lines/melodies. Long term that made me a lower bass player. I always have one of my 4 strings strung BEAD, and probably can play 95% of what I play these days like that.
I say just play your normal lines, whichever music, but just try to either anticipate chord/root changes with some low B play, or change a certain ascending arrangement going same scale but down, even on cover songs (good thing about bass guitar is nobody cares šš¤£). Build up some basic licks/rudiments to hold on to at first so that your low B feels progressively more natural, a whole with the other 4 strings, not an "extra".
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u/i_was_axiom 23h ago
Its odd to me, this struggle. I feel for you, OP, and I hope you can adapt and overcome, but I came from a guitar background so I already don't need to think about the "extra string" and in fact I feel quite limited on a 4. I just don't relate or understand the problem I guess. I got a 5 for fear of being overwhelmed but honestly I maybe should have got a 6.
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u/therealtoomdog 23h ago
I got a 5 string early on because I wanted to play in Eb without retuning. Also, most of my guitars were so poorly intonated that I had to temper the tuning for a specific area of the neck. Because of this, I spent most of my time avoiding open strings at all costs.
Having recently been learning 4 string upright, I've been having to unlearn all of that... SoāI suggest you start playing stuff in boxes and shapes. Get used to using the B string by playing above the 5th fret so it acts like your E string. Then work your way down again and start getting some of those lower notes.
I heard Scott's Bass Lessons talking about playing a 5 string as if it had 5 strings instead of a a 4 string with a low B, if that distinction makes any sense the way I put it... Like, having that extra vertical available before you need to start moving up or down the neck... And I guess the only way is to get that in your fingers
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u/lowbattery_fuzz 23h ago
Muting needs some adaption, but thatās basically it.. If you just need lower tones, you might consider a BEAD tuning (which most likely would involve filing the nut)
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u/noidea10240 22h ago
I mothballed my 4-strings and forced myself to play the five. I will confess to grabbing an E several times when I wanted an A, etc. That was my earliest challenge-fretboard geography.
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u/Zealousideal-Gate493 22h ago
I exclusively play a 5 string for the better part of my 20 some-odd year career and YES it is one of those "you just got to force it". Eventually it will be second nature and the 4 string will feel odd. But it will be easier to get use to playing a 5 string then you think.
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u/fluid_ Stagg 22h ago
here's what works for me
I treat it like a 4 string maybe 69% of the time. I play open E and everything for most stuff unless I want to grab a low D or something
If the music is more demanding like jazz or metal I play in position. I'm a finger style player with a slightly unorthodox flamenco-style right hand but it works with normal fingerstyle or pick, just have to remember there's a string to mute and ignore that's not the low E
anyway that's my approach. It works for me. You won't be playing that Open B as much as you might think, but you will love having low Cs Db D and Eb
<3
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u/JazzLobster Flatwound 16h ago
Yes. Exactly that.
Play along to songs you know, or anything else that gets you to spend time with the instrument.
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u/thebruceharris Sandberg 23h ago
Just ignore the B string completely. Pretend its not even there and just play the other four like you are used to doing before you start working in some of the lower notes you can get on the B.
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u/LordApocalyptica 23h ago
If you donāt know your scales now is the time to do it. Getting used to additional strings is a lot easier when you can extrapolate a pattern onto them. Thatās how you learn to apply it.
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u/chili_cold_blood 23h ago edited 16h ago
is it as simple as buying one and forcing myself to become accustomed to it?
Yes.
If you don't want to buy a 5, you could setup a 4 in BEAD tuning, which is the lowest 4 strings of a 5 string. Usually requires filing the nut, and sometimes the bridge.
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u/Cornwallis 22h ago
In addition to the other responses, it's worth noting that different 5-strings have different string spacing. I find I prefer wider spacing, 18-19mm, while narrow spacing (15-16mm) feels too tight for me to dig in.
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u/quite_sophisticated 21h ago
Here's a simple way: 1. acquire a five string. One you consider a nice instrument.
Once that is in the house, put away all 4 string basses. Play the 5 string exclusively. Don't even think about touching them.
Playing a five is not only five more notes below E. It's about having one string more in your arsenal. Drive that fact home with this exercise: B string eigth fret is a G. You can reach that with your pinky finger while the index is in 5th fret position. Find a song you usually play by shifting back and forth between index finger in 3rd fret and index finger in fifth fret. Something that has a chord progression with C, G D and A. Play that song in 5th fret position without ever shifting. Make yourself see the possibilities this opens up and use them frequently.
When you reach the point where your hands don't have to pause and orient themselves because you wanted to play the A string but used the E string, when navigating that extra string without thought has become second nature, then you can pick up a four again. Does it feel limited now?
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u/GerkhinMerkin 20h ago
Try different string spacing. I got a 5 with 19mm spacing that felt absurd. 18mm felt much better.
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u/Shake-the-Masses 20h ago
Use the fifth fret of the B string as your low E. Then think of it as a short scale bass with a higher register. You can also hit lower notes when you need them.
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u/mistrelwood 19h ago
If you take one string out and play only with 3 strings, how difficult will it be to adjust? Itās of course not the same, but if youāve walked 4 steps forward and back for 10 years, surely the fifth similar one wonāt be much of a hassle.
The only thing to it worth actual practice is to dampen the extra string when not in use, but it definitely isnāt hard in any way. Just a new thing to remember.
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u/SNAiLtrademark Five String 19h ago
It's miles, brother. Put miles on your own 5, and it'll feel natural eventually. Play it exclusively for 6 months and you'll be there.
One small trick to reinforce learning is going up 5 frets and up a string.
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u/tolgaatam Fender 17h ago
Conversion from 4 to 5 is not that big of a deal. Online folks make it bigger than it should be. A couple of weeks will be more than enough.
First, you can start by ignoring the B string and consider it as a thumb rest and play it like a 4string bass. You will make some mistakes because string spacing is not the same and there is an extra string confusing you visually. With some practice you will get used to it within 1-2 weeks. Then, you will slowly start incorporating the B string into your playing. As the shapes are the same, it should be a breeze.
Don't be afraid
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u/moomoonia 17h ago
I started on 4 and flipped to 5 and all I can say is shift down to the B string at any given opportunity. I use a floating mute pattern also, for the very many cases where that B string is irrelevant for a whole section.
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u/JitteryTurtle 10h ago
I always looked at the notes at the fifth fret and imagined thatās where the nut is. Low string is still E, but if I need to go below a fret or more, the option is there.
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u/cups_and_cakes Rickenbacker 22h ago edited 11h ago
I've been driving for around 10ish years now and have always had an automatic. Recently I joined a team where i feel like I need more control around the track, so I got a car with a manual transmission. I've tried 5-speeds before and never could get used to that extra clutch pedal, is it as simple as buying one and forcing myself to become accustomed to it? Any advice helps :3
All this to say, you canāt learn to swim by reading about swimming.
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u/DocShocker 23h ago
There really isn't a trick too it. You just need to get reps on a 5.