bass chords, how do you do them?

[Left_Hand_Strat]

Hi all,

just wondered how you guys play bass chords, as I prefer to play chords rather than single notes on bass....

At the moment I am doing an octave thing so for example, the A on the 5th fret of the E string is played with the 7th fret of the D string and muting the A string.... its possible but it hurts a bit! how does lemmy do his chords? because his look a lot more than 5ths and octaves....

 

[JohnJohn]

Re: bass chords, how do you do them?

Just stick with 4ths and 5ths for now and get a feel for playing the chords, 3rds also ring nicely.
Because of the register some combos and positions it just sounds muddy, IMO.

A lot has to do with the the technique and where and when you use them.
A couple of 4ths thrown into a mid neck groove line can add a nice punch, but can also start to crowd the guitars and keys if used too much.

Play with where you hit the strings as well.
Chords played on a downstroke right over the pickups aren't as tight sounding as when plucked closer to the bridge or on the last couple of frets on the neck.
Usually with chords I'll use the back of my fingernails to strike them for a sharper sound to define it.

Check out guys like Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm, Doug Pinnick, Jeff Berlin, and Stanley Clarke for some really great chord usage.
Jaco Pastorius and Geddy Lee have some occasional chord work in their stuff but not as often as the other guys.

 

[zontar]

Re: bass chords, how do you do them?

Hi all,

just wondered how you guys play bass chords, as I prefer to play chords rather than single notes on bass....

At the moment I am doing an octave thing so for example, the A on the 5th fret of the E string is played with the 7th fret of the D string and muting the A string.... its possible but it hurts a bit! how does lemmy do his chords? because his look a lot more than 5ths and octaves....

I mostly do octaves and 5ths---and I pick with my fingers and thumb.

But you can use a pick or hybrid picking or try anything else.

Usually higher on the neck works best.

 

[Jeremiah]

Re: bass chords, how do you do them?

I find that chords with wide separation between the notes give more space to the sound and have less tendency to get muddy - so 10ths rather than 3rds and octave + 4th (whatever that is...11th?) rather than a plain 4th.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: bass chords, how do you do them?

Here's a clue, boy.

Detuning the low E string to D turns the bottom three strings into a root, fifth, octave "chord shape" that you can hold with one finger. In extreme cases, you might be able to hold down the bottom two strings with your thumb wrapped over the edge of the fingerboard.