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When I was looking for a fretless bass a year ago, I ultimately chose one with fretlines because I wanted to have a quick start. I got advice both that is is good and that it is bad to have fretlines on your first fretless bass. Good, because you can begin to play at once. Bad, because you will get used to staring at the fretboard. Some weeks ago I decided that it was time for me to stop looking at my left hand and train myself to play in tune by ear. I discovered that I did not dare to look away or close my eyes from fear to play out of tune.

It is very obvious that if you have fretlines and if you look at your left hand, you are going to trust your eyes more than your ears. At least for me, the visual feedback was stronger than the aural feedback and it blocked my musical growth. I really want to have an automatic connection between my finger and my ears.

What is my strategy then? There is a some good advice on the internet, like using open strings often, playing scales again and again, playing against a chord played on another instrument. I have done like this: I play the songs of my band with my eyes closed. I have chosen songs with a low tempo or lowered the tempo of other songs, in order to hear every note I play and have time to correct it if I am out of tune. It is good to start out slowly. I had to allow myself to play out of tune in the beginning.

You have to hear yourself relative to the song. For the sake of feedback your tone has to be clear and strong.

I discovered a new level of attention as I listened closely to my playing. Now I have to concentrate on every note I play. As a side effect I have became more aware of how the note sounds and how I can affect and shape it with my fingers making slides, vibrato and mwah for example.

At first I felt lost when hitting the wrong note, but gradually my “fingers” learned how to automatically slide in to the correct tone. I had to force myself not to look, but only trust my ears as the source of feedback. I believe that as we use our ears as reference, they become more and more sensitive and accurate. When I say “development of ears” I really mean the development of the sense called hearing as a channel into our mind.

Now I am playing the same songs over and over again, trying to relax and put my trust in my ears. Things change slowly. It is evident that you have to be persistent. But it is really fascinating how you can develop your abilities. Are you struggling with the same thing? Why not share with a comment?