The 5-String Bass Guitar

      For anyone who has learned how to play the bass guitar that has four strings, having one that is 5-stringed would be heaven-sent. This type of bass guitar is much more popular today as it allows you to play music without the need for you to move up or down on the fret board that much.

      The five string guitar of this kind is much like the four stringed one, only that a B string is added on top of it. This has been introduced to the music society way back in the 1980's at the onset of the darker and heavier type of sound. The strings tend to be much closer together which makes it easier for you to move around your neck area when you play. This also allows you to play songs using the drop D tuning. It would also be an easy start if you used a five string guitar when you start learning to play bass guitar.

      The first commercial production of the 5 string bass guitar was in 1986. It was known as the Musicman Sting Ray 5. Within a couple of years, a lot of models for the 5 string guitar if this kind were made by many top producers of guitars such as Yamaha, Ashburn and the likes.

      Now going back to the B string that has been added on top of the strings to make it the five string guitar. There is of course a certain way to make it sound well. The common way to use the extra fifth string is when you are playing in the key of D. One of the main things to adjust to when using the five string guitar would be to be more familiar with the E string being close to you instead of the B one. Once you get past that stage, you are now comfortable playing the five string bass guitar.

      There may be a lot of tips to consider when playing the five string bass guitar. One thing to remember is to be familiar with all the notes on all the strings. Also you must not use a certain string as your point of reference. This manner of consciousness would make you easily learn even the six string guitar in the future. Lastly, what you should focus on much more would be which string you are on when you're playing at any specific time.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Paul_I_Haley

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