crazy bass

[clanner]

ok, so I want to be alot better at bass and learn to write more complex stuff, people don't like playing my bass because my action is so high,( about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch off fret board), ppeople also tend to be jerks and act superior.

what would you guys recommend for writing more complex stuff on bass aswell as getting better by practicing, I do take lessons from an instructor,

I'm getting sick of people saying, "I'm still better than you". it's starting to piss me off:mad:. thankyou. and why exactly do they need to say this? to prove something to themselves? well I don't care. it's just that they always say this when I bring my 5-string to school so I can practice during lunch and when I finish school work early. sorry for the rant.

and I don' care about the action on my bass, it's my style.

and this is kind of odd, but has anyone ever tried tuning a mandolin down to bass tuning and playing that way?

[Mateo150]

You should probably ask your teacher. As far as writing music, complex shouldn't be your goal, in my opinion. The results are usually much better when its genuine, like you hear the rhythm in your head and then you want to make it happen. As far as making what you hear more complex, I don't really know a shortcut, other than practice and listen to great players. If your a genuine article of music, you'll end up being a lot better than those people using music as competition, so don't worry about "I'm better than you" comments, those guys will end up sucking.

[clanner]

thank you, for all of your advice,


do you have any suggestions on voicing what I herer in my head into an actual line, because I have had very few succesful attempts, I normally play around in the guitarists chord progressions and then create something supportive but not quit what the guitar plays, some times I like it sometimes I don't, but sometimes I get these wild lines stuck in my head and don't know what to do with them.

[MattW]

thank you, for all of your advice,


do you have any suggestions on voicing what I herer in my head into an actual line, because I have had very few succesful attempts, I normally play around in the guitarists chord progressions and then create something supportive but not quit what the guitar plays, some times I like it sometimes I don't, but sometimes I get these wild lines stuck in my head and don't know what to do with them.Ear training! There are many articles here (http://www.ibreathemusic.com/cat/2) on iBreath that can get you started.

[Poparad]

and I don' care about the action on my bass, it's my style.This seems totally self-defeating if you're interested in getting better and playing more complicated music. Low action simple makes things easier on your fretting hand. It's next to impossible sometimes to play anything with a deal of speed if the action is too high. Do yourself a favor and lower it so you can improve your playing ability.

and this is kind of odd, but has anyone ever tried tuning a mandolin down to bass tuning and playing that way?There's a reason why a bass guitar has a scale length of 34" and a mandolin of only 14"

There is also a reason why bass strings are so much thicker than those on a mandolin.

You need a combination of increased string thickness and length of the string to produce lower notes, and vice versa for a high sounding instrument. Tuning down a mandolin to the range of a bass would yeild strings so loose and flabby that no musical pitch could be discerned from them.

[Factor]

I think he meant to tune it to fourths ( E A D G ) instead of "violinstyle" fifths ( G D A E ).

I wouldn't do it though. Sure it will be nice to experiment with it, but there's a reason that that tuning has prevailed.