Improve Your Tuning & Intonation On Fretless Bass 

Once comfortable with exercise, try it with the lights out! Seriously. I started playing the bass in school, as a kid. Upright bass. I stood on a stool so I could reach the fretboard. For intonation practice my teacher told me to turn off the lights in the room and force myself to ~listen~ to what I was playing, not ~watch~ what I was playing. I thought he was crazy, but it worked for me. My key for playing fretless is listening/ear and muscle memory.

Thank you for the inviting and erudite lessons. I’m always inspired to pick up my bass.

👍 Even you could not resist to add a sprinkle of vibrato on the last note of the sequence 😀

Thanks!

Cenk is awesome, been following him for awhile. Thanks for the lesson

Thank you, you're so right !...

As always, excellent content Rich. Thank you so much! Justin

What a great exercise! Thank you Sir.

Hey! I have started to play fretless 5 month ago, and your video is super useful! Just subscribed😎! Cheers from France 🍻

What a gift to find this lesson, and Mr Rich Brown. I'm fretless only, and a working trombonist. Thought it would be easy to switch from the horn to the bass. Yeah right! Thank you sir.

Thanks so much for this, Rich! I'm an intermediate guitarist and a beginner on several other fretted instruments (including electric bass), but my first violin arrives today. It'll be another adventure and so much for relying on frets. As you adapted this exercise from guitar to bass, I'm going to adapt it from bass to violin! We'll see how that goes.

Thanks, you're right about there not being a lot of fretless bass lessons.

Bout to get a fretless soon! I started on a Yamaha fretless P-Bass when I was 15! This is making me wanna go back to my roots!! Great lesson!!

Such a good lesson - thank you so much Rich. I've found this exercise to be so helpful with intonation - it's like a laser focus for the ears. I kept working it with arpeggios in the same fashion, and then also in reverse, starting at B past the G harmonic on the G string and then going low. And it also works great on upright. A righteous exercise.

I love playing fretless and this exercise is really helpful. I'm off to check out Cenk Erdogan too.

Great info, great video! I love your content as you're one of the few six-string players making instructional videos, and I'm going to implement this on my six-string fretless immediately. Please keep up the great work!

Just starting on fretless and eub after some 30 years, but not playing as much as I should because I didn't know what to use as a point of reference. This answers that. Thank you!

Just purchased a fretless 6 string and there’s not many videos on those, but this is a great exercise I can still do. Very nice.

Amazing Rich ! Thank you a ton, this is so useful and fun. And never lose your sense of humour. :)

Thanks for the video! A good exercise for me as a fretless beginner. And also thank you very much for recommending Cenk Erdogan, he is really a great musician!

My fretless bass is coming after tomorrow, i play fretted bass for 2 years just for fun, I loved your simple tips, and others as well from experiencies shared by other fellow bassists on this video's comments.

Just ordered my first fretless and I have a feeling this exercise is going to be very helpful.

Just found you on the tubes. Enjoying your lessons, your making the connection to the brain. There is a LOT of excellent instruction out there but you have to find that way to connect to get the most of it. Will be following. Thank you!

That bass sounds so good❤

This really is a great exercise

Love this exercise Rich(as well all the other lessons you share with us), thank you so much!! Can you give us more advices about fretless bass? 🙏🏼🙌🏼🔥

great lesson!

Oh great! Thanks Rich, now I need to go out and get a fretless bass. Peace and love.

love fretless from Turkey.

I've got a fretless violin bass coming in a few weeks, I'm sure this exercise will get a lot of use, thanks!

Brother, that is such great advice

I love your sense of humor. You really made me laugh and i thank you for that! Much needed...

Wonderful stuff Rich. I love this.

Thanks for a fine video. I would mention that the last exercise, playing to the recorded piano scale, is by far the more valuable lesson. While playing scales and melodic fragments in tune is a good practice, the reality of fretless playing is matching pitches. Rarely will we be playing in a fretless bass guitar in an ensemble of other pitch adjustable instruments. Keyboards and guitars will make up the most of it, and while horns, vocalists and strings are adjustable, they too are listening to the non-adjustable instruments. You might consider a video on using the drones in tuners, or looping pedals, or how to make your own backing tracks with apps like iReal Pro or Band-in-a-Box. Many people might have access to a DAW or even a music writing program that has playback. If so they could create their own scale and chord sequences as play alongs. Matching pitches is where its at. Thanks again, I enjoy your videos and your approach to teaching.

AWWWWWYEAH!!! More fretless stuff, please! There's a lot of fretless vids, but not a lot of great ones.

"All you have to do is play the bass in tune. End of lesson!" 🤣 2:36

Nice lesson and really good tips. A drone works well for me a couple of octaves higher than the root :)

Hi Rich ; Thank you for your kind words buddy you made my day . When I heard the ideas about my music and when it comes from a qualified pro musician like you It is super motivating. Hope to meet in person and play as soon as possible

Oh, I see, Cenk Erdogan. Yes, man! It is he, who inspired me to buy instrument for make fretless guitar from it and begin learning how to play fretless guitar couple of months ago. But I've not heard exercise from Cenk...

Thanks Cenk and Rich! I lubs dis shit😂 For real. More fretless stuff, please!😉👊🏽 ETA Other intonation stuff: a variety of exercises using open strings as a reference tone; octaves across 2 strings or 3 strings; chromatic scales ascending and descending one string from open string (lowest) to highest available note...and so on... And, yes, drones are awesome to play with, too😉👍🏾🤗 ETA # 2 Brownstone t-shirts?

Great video and lesson! I just subscribed to your channel and looking forward to learning more. Quick question: I’m assuming that fretless is a custom? It’s really beautiful. I’d love something like that.

As someone who tends to flail a bit on the double bass, I can stress the idea of using open strings to check your tuning as you do this exercise. Obviously octaves, but 5ths and even 3rds can work. It's good ear training too.

I caught the vibrato, BTW. p.s.: great drill

You played some vibrato.😀

There's loads of drones available on RU-vid. Sitar drones are fun for Fretless. I use an EHX Freeze pedal to sample any note / chord on my fretless that I want to drone, which helps too. Thanks Mr Brown!

I am trying to be fluent on the fretless. I have a 6-string fretless and fretted (it's easier for me because my pinky finger is short) I needed this sooooooo much!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ This is badass!!! Thank you and Cenk Erdogan!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

There's a lot of fretless exercises but most are for intonation.There has to be more to offer.

Similar to exercises on Chinese violin where we don't have that extra violin's E string and have to glide all the way up for the highs. I play until I'm a sixth/7th away from the open string and come back down.

what bass is that, sounds amaze !

Thanks! Could swear I spotted a vibrato or two 😬😁😂

you know, rich, there's a ****-ton of blokes out there pouring some wisdom to suck up, but out of all of them, I'd rather prefer to watch you. just because your videos focus on content, not flashy editing, video settings and the likes. pls, even if you plan on "improving that", don't do it, keep your videos exactly like this! much love man! :)

Gold. 🤛 we see you vibrato though!😂

Safran semi acoustic bass

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

What A Sound - Would Be Interested In Hear You Noodle Around On That Beauty For A Few Minutes - No Lesson, Just A Simply Jam Solo Style - Stay Rowdy Go Team Human, Cheers

Vibrato intensifies.

I have a tendency to play the major third a little flat to get rid of that beating.

Amazing!! What bass is it youre playing? Is it Saffran?

2:55 "For many of you this is going to be the open E. As it is for me...for once." Don't give up that 6-string, Rich. Ever. 😀 I just started learning "Give Blood" by Pete Townsend. Pino Palladino on fretless bass. Such a great sounding instrument.

🇹🇷🇹🇷

Thank you for the lesson I don’t have a fretless bass anymore but I will try it on all my bases I have noticed in the background on occasions that you have a six string bass I recently decided to go on a six string do you have any advice or any lessons planned for six string players

The challenge is not playing vibrato. In the past when I played my performances back I was so shocked at how much I do it. Old habits die hard🤷‍♂️It should be used like cilantro and not salt😜

Hi Rich, on the 12th do u play between the double dots or the one closest to the bridge or closest to the nut?

Hello, Rich! Is this method adoptable for fretless guitar? I have one classical with nylon strings. Thanx for your activity as provider of knowledge. Once again salut from Northern Honduras AKA Russia!

Dude station

Always annoys me when open strings sound different than fretted (fretless) ones - I made an Ebony bridge saddle & Ebony nut - used Tapewound. Solved - even response over all strings.

Just bought my first fretless. Can’t stop sliding and virbrato. Please help.

Is that a hollow body?

I'm a little perplexed Rich...... My bass may not be classified as a "fretless" but it is...... this bass is the "fender jazz". the fretboard is marked but smooth. I think this bass came out in the 70s.... please tell me you are not refer to this bass....

Play bass on weekdays and call UFC fights on sundays

But what is THIS bass?

It would be better if you played more and talked less... A little talk and more playing

I've never had a problem staying in tune. You talk like a lot of people have that problem. Do they? Also, tons of fretless videos.

Amazing!! What bass is it youre playing? Is it Saffran?

Amazing!! What bass is it youre playing? Is it Saffran?