Fretless bass
Summary
- Introduction
- Improvisation Ibanez GWB1005
- Improvisation Ibanez GWB1005 (News)
- Improvisation Fender Jazz Bass
- Slide
- Vibrato
- Thème Sonate de Brahms
- Pat Metheny - Last train home
- Bruno Tauzin - Quand le père noel joue du blues
- Bruno Tauzin - Le p'tit blues du mardi
- Bruno Tauzin – Passeport
- Bruno Tauzin – Canon chromatique
- Bruno Tauzin – Avant l'heure
- Bruno Tauzin – Promenade automnale
- Style Gary Willis - #01
- Style Gary Willis - #02
- Style Gary Willis - #03
- Style Steve Bailey
- Jaco Pastorius - « Kuru » (News)
Introduction
The fretless bass is a bass guitar without fret. It's more expressiv, like a violon or cello, but, you should have a good intonation.
My method of fretless bass:
There is fretless with or without fret marks.
Cort B4
Ibanez GWB35
Extract from my solo bass album:
Improvisation on Tacoma acoustic fretless
Here is an improvisation centered around the D Dorian mode, played on an Ibanez GWB1005. You'll notice the great use of octaves and the low notes.
Improvisation Ibanez GWB1005 (II)
New improvisation in C major with an african flavor.
The slide is a very important technique on fretless bass. Play a note normally, and slide your finger to the next note. It can be ascending or descending.
Other important technique on fretless bass, the vibrato. It makes the charm of fretless instruments. The violinists or cellists use this technique.
For that, you should play a note and quickly rotate the finger in one direction then the other, by rotating the wrist.
Here the main theme of Brahms' second sonata op120.
Click on the score below:
Bruno Tauzin - « Quand le père noel joue du blues »
Here a solo arrangement of a christmas song, for fretless bass.
Transcription PDF:
A wonderful theme of great guitarist Pat Metheny, "last train home" from "Still life" album, released in 1987.
Bruno Tauzin - « Le p'tit blues du mardi »
A little blues solo fretless ... simply entitled "Le p'tit blues du mardi" because I made up this Tuesday. The mood is spring. The pulse is ternary. There is some dead notes, slides and chords.
Transcription PDF:
Here a funk lick inspired by Gary Willis.
For 5 strings, this lick is in C minor pentatonic (C Eb F G Bb). If you do not have 5 strings, you can transpose in F minor pentatonic.
Be careful for the dead notes and rhythm. Inspire you to the video to see the work of right hand technique.
Did you like the first lick in the style of Gary Willis? here's another one
In E minor, it combines dead notes, palm mute, chords and harmonics.
Have funk!!
This third lick use A minor pentatonic with an alternance of palm mute and « real notes », and also dead notes.
Have fun !!
Steve Bailey plays on a wonderful Fender signature 6 string Fretless, mostly solo and with his friend Victor Wooten. He uses a lot of chords and harmonics.
I propose in this lick some chords and artificial harmonics. For those who wish to extend these techniques, I recommend my two books (in French): « Basse et accords » and « Techniques pour la basse »
See you soon !!
Bruno Tauzin - « Passeport »
For my new bass, a Fender Jazzbass 62 fretless (made in japan), I composed a new piece for solo bass.
Transcription - PDF:
Bruno Tauzin - « Canon chromatique »
Here my second composition with my new jazz bass. It's a canon with some chromatismes.
Improvisation Fender Jazz Bass
An improvisation over two chords: Cmin7 and Gm7. I use the mode of C dorian.
Bruno Tauzin - « Avant l'heure »
Composition for fretless solo.
Transcription PDF:
Bruno Tauzin – Promenade automnale
Composition for fretless.
Transcription PDF + Playback MP3:
A wonderful song from the first album.