Learn DropD Bass

Hello; I am a Melvins fan. I want to play Melvins Bass!

Most everything is Drop D . . .

so PLEASE help me!

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Oh . . . did I mention? I’ve had only a few lessons but everyone teaches Open E. Basically Open E Bores me! Open E is OK if I want to learn “Journey”(sorry if I offended Journey fans). The fact is, if someone teaches me drop D, I’ll stay with it.

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Pluck your open E string and turn your E string tuner so that the note goes “Eeeeeoooooooooowwwwww”

You’re now in Drop D

You might want to check with a tuner to confirm it actually is D.

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Yep, that’s pretty much it. Also, for tabs (or songs you learned) in EADG, adjust all low D string fingerings by 2 frets higher. You’re done, you’re now in Drop D.

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Lots of songs i like to play requires Drop-D or even lower tunes. Now i have 5-string that is in BEADG and my 4-string is in BEAD tune.

EADG is the most common, but you can have whatever you like.

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So it’s really minimal to tune to drop d. You’ll probably find yourself picking it up really quickly. It gets quite easy after doing it a few times. You could also add a hipshot drop tuner. They aren’t terribly expensive, and if youre going to be constantly switching up to play metal, maybe it’s worth it?
I can state for fact that there are actual hipshots ( not knock-offs ) on eBay for a really decent price. I think i paid about 60 usd last year. Good luck and happy shredding!

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There are no special lessons, techniques or secrets for playing in dropped D other than tuning your bass appropriately.
I think they’ve described it well up above.

If you’re ever interested in technical things like scale fingerings or similar bits, that would be different, but I don’t think you’ll need that for Melvins riffs. Just some nice TABs, and a loud amp.
Melvins rule.

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Thanks to all who responded!

OK; next on the agenda to becoming a boss bassist - LESSONS!

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By jove, i think he’s got it!

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Won’t find a better course or deal than Josh’s course here :slight_smile:

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