Intermediate Bass 20: Moving Up the Neck: Position Playing
By Roy Vogt
Bass Instructor, Belmont University 		Print This Lesson
RoyMost of us start reading music on the bass and acquire a comfort zone fairly early. We're very comfortable with the notes in the first five frets and from there we either get really haphazard about organizing the fingerboard or we become masters at shuffling up and down the G string.

I was in the same boat as a younger player when I went to The University of North Texas to study Jazz. I could read well as long as I was in the lower register. I quickly realized the limitations that put upon my reading, playing and working. One of the concepts that helped me with this was position playing.

In position playing the player plays all of the notes in a given 4 note range. I've written out the notes in 5th position. 5th position means that you place your 1st finger at the 5th fret (the second dot on most necks) and place the other fingers 1-2-3-4 in line behind that one. In effect that gives you a practical range of one octave and a fifth.

Another trick I employ in position reading is to shift with my first finger from 4th to 5th position and then play 1-2-3-4 which yields a chromatic scale with a range of an octave and a fifth.

I've laid out the notes in 5th position in notation and TAB. In my study this lesson, "The Mid Neck Blues", we've entered the TAB-Free Zone. Your mission is to play all of the notes in this Blues in 5th position. Have fun!

Peace and Low Notes,
Roy C. Vogt
Nashville Bassist
Bass Instructor, Belmont University, Nashville, TN

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