The NUMBER ONE Bass Myth (and why it's ridiculous!)

Today I’m going to talk about something I hear reiterated over and over from beginners all the way through to top pros and how it’s so easily shown to be a complete myth. I’m talking about the so called ‘money area’. You’ll hear experienced players say “there’s no money to be made above the 5th fret”. Well, I can tell you right now that’s total hogwash

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Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
1:15 Why is it a myth?
2:01 String Comparison
4:31 Practical Example

#bassmyths #basslesson #talkingbass
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Bass Gear:
► Fender Precision
► DR bass strings
► Levy Leathers Bass Strap
► GRBass Bass Amps

[Mighty_Atheismo]

You're right Mark. The common myth that the Irish arent that funky is just plainly wrong!

[tjsogmc]

I play a 5 string and it's 100% true that you can play "meatier" notes the higher the bass you go and still be boomy bassy. For me, it's about playing in a more comfortable position and being able to do more without having to shift. With the 5 I can play most everything centered around the 10th fret.

[shipsahoy]

The electric bass guitar is one of the unique class of “polyphonic” instruments, whereby each string has its own voice, and some of the same notes are available to be sung by each voice. Hence, at any given time,
all notes on all strings need to be accessible for best effect. Voicing is an important part of professional bass tone, as Mark points out! There’s also some BS going around about how you’re never supposed to play open notes, and that’s not entirely true either.. it has its place, but it’s a conditional requirement, just like which strings to be playing certain notes on.🥳

[kevinhoward]

One factor that's being overlooked here is right hand position. If you pluck the strings at the same distance from the bridge, it will be closer to the middle for notes fretted higher on the neck, also making them bassier. If you move your plucking position closer to the bridge for the higher frets, it lessens this effect. I try to be conscious of this when playing, and if my tone sounds thin, I move my right hand closer to the neck. It's a seamless way to adjust my tone while maintaining my preferred left-hand position.

[MarkPeotter]

Great job! Even with my computer speakers I can easily hear the difference in the timbre of every string. "Come Together" is a good example. Paul McCartney plays the opening bass line starting on the 10th fret of the low E string. So, even though the song is in D minor, it sounds deep in the bass.

[grantkoeller]

This bass lesson was golden!!!!
its not the position of the money notes, it's the string you choose in terms of brightness or darkness.

[flatwoundfisker]

This is why I love playing a 5 string! Can play above the 5th fret, maintain the low end and be in a more comfortable playing position.

[sliverhandsonbasses]

The “money area” it’s an inside joke concerning mostly the sight reading. When you have to sight read for work playing high on the neck means taking extra risks, that’s why expert readers suggest staying on position as much is possible. Other than that there’s no reason not to love bass fingerboard on his entirety! ❤

[LeftiBassist]

This is one of the reasons I took your Simple Steps to Walking Bass course. The course accelerated my fretboard note knowledge, allowing me to walk the entire fretboard, instead of mostly using 1st through 7th fret. Now I have the confidence to walk the fretboard, and play lower toned notes higher up to the fretboard.
Thanks, Mark for all the great courses you provide!

[pics]

Thank you. I am in a situation where I am being "instructed" on how I should be playing my bass by someone who is younger than the bass I am playing. Meaning I have owned my bass longer than they have been alive. I have had to show them that playing the riff my way was no different sonicly than their way but a better technique. You are a great teacher of the bass. Thank you again.

[DavidRamos-nzbh]

Thank you. I’ve played bass professionally for 40+ years and of course you have to play the songs. Having said that, Tom Hamilton said best, I’ll be damned if I’m just going to pump 8ths all of the time”. It’s also a “don’t outshine the master “ clause.

[CirrusSRPilot]

Wow Mark! Thank you. I've recently been striving to learn/master the entire neck while sight reading music after completing your "Simple Steps To Sight Reading" course. I believed (incorrectly) that it was simply for "convenience" of limiting travel up and down the neck. I never thought about the tone differences! Epiphany!!

[bits-of-bass]

I love coming up the neck and "humming" out a string of straight eighths every once in a while. Those "whoom-whoom-whoom-whoom" notes on the E and A string can sound fantastic. They're really powerful and great for transitional fills. You don't even need to play anything complex... just pound out a single note through the transition.

[thomasfioriglio]

Very cool lesson Mark and a good reminder of the different tones produced on the fretboard by the same notes. I tend to live on the E and A string mostly. With the D string in there as well, but that G string, unless playing octaves, is a little too thin for me most of the time.

[mungo_mick]

Thank you for an excellent, thought-provoking video. I also noticed a decrease in volume as you moved up the neck. That's another factor to consider.

[RkyMtnBassist]

So totally spot on! I love playing higher up to grab those juicy thick string tones that shake the house when songs call for it!
Awesome Mark! (As usual...) =)

[NiechoBGC]

The timbre is so much more beautiful higher up the neck. Excellent lesson! Thank you!

[gallitoonbass]

This is something I always have in mind when I arrange or compose basslines. Depending on the song and feel, if it needs more low end, then I play low on the neck. If I need more of a trebble type of tone, then I play high on the neck.

[kimmorgan]

Great. Thanks Mark! Just as a bass player, the tone when you're playing way up the neck sounds like it's about to slide down because I associate it with

[MissingMars]

This is why I take a regular light gauge set of bass strings & replace my low E (100) with the next lightest gauge (95) and the opposite with my G string replacing the 45 with a 50. Because I sing I like to stay in position & this string replacement keeps them more similar low e through the g string ;-}