Tony Franklin is the “Fretless Monster” – he’s played bass alongside Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers, John Sykes, Carmine Appice, David Gilmour, Kate Bush, Whitesnake, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Donna Lewis, Gary Hoey, Pat Travers and a host of other top artists and bands. In his first TrueFire course, Fretless Bass Foundations, Tony will take you through some of the basics of playing the fretless bass starting from the ground up. He’ll reveal the idiosyncrasies of the instrument and show you some of the things that make his bass playing so unique over a variety of styles.
In these lessons taken from the course, we’ll get a sample of some of the techniques Tony uses, as well as a bonus performance to help you piece it together. Let’s get fretless!
Fretless Vibrato Vibrations – Demonstration
Here are the most common vibrato techniques I use.
Playing on the Dots – Demo & Exercise
Download the tab and notation for this fretless bass lesson on TrueFire.
This is one of my favorite exercises to nail playing on the dots.
Landing Big Jumps – Demo & Exercise
Download the jam track for this fretless bass lesson on TrueFire.
Landing notes after a big jump can be tricky. I love playing this piece – another one of my favorites.
Basic Chords on Fretless – Demo & Exercise
Download the jam track for this fretless bass lesson on TrueFire.
Chords can be very effective and beautiful on the fretless.
Groovy Boogie – Performance
Download the jam track for this fretless bass lesson on TrueFire.
This is all about keeping the groove and the touch steady and consistent.
If you’re craving MORE fretless bass, make sure to check out the full course on TrueFire. Tony will take you through all the ways that the fretless bass stands apart and teach you how to unleash your inner “fretless monster”. You’ll also get the tab, notation, and jam tracks to go along with each demonstration. Check it out now!