Tony Franklin, the “Fretless Monster,” has played with 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. He has appeared on more than 150 albums, been featured on countless TV shows, and helped Fender design his widely acclaimed Signature Fretless Precision Bass guitar.
We’re thrilled to welcome Tony to the family with his first TrueFire course, Fretless Bass Foundations!
”For me, Fretless bass takes the fretted bass to a whole different level of expressions, nuances, sounds, and creative possibilities. It broadens our awareness musically, and I truly believe that fretless makes us better musicians. I liken the fretless to the human voice, with all its subtleties of expressions. This course and the included exercises are designed to provide you with a rock solid foundation for using fretless bass, in any musical situation, from hard rock and pop, to funk and orchestral.”
Tony organized the course into 3 sections. The first section is a primer designed to get you up and running on fretless bass quickly. Lesson segments include: Working with Tuning Tracks, Working with Exercises, Subtleties of the Fretless Bass, Intonation: Lined vs Unlined, Fretless Vibrato Variations, Getting to Know Your Fretless, Tone & Gear Considerations, and Fretless & Tablature.
In the second section, Tony guides you through 22 exercises designed to develop and optimize your fretless technique. ”You've had the foundation, the overview, the subtleties of what makes the fretless bass special - now it's on to the exercises. In Section 2, we'll build up your fretless bass foundations so you'll be able to play any style comfortably and confidently.”
Section 2 exercise lessons include: Playing on the Dots 1, 2, 3, and 4, Playing Between the Dots 1, 2, 3, and 4, Finger Shifting and Positioning, Four Fingers Workout, Moving About the Fingerboard, Slides & Note Entry 1, 2, 3, and 4, Slides and Subtleties, Landing Big Jumps, Playing 4ths Across Strings, High Notes Tuning, Playing Fifths, Sliding Harmonics, and Basic Chords on Fretless.
Improvisational performances are featured in the third and final section. ”In this section, I’ll show you how I incorporate the techniques and exercises that we've studied in this course. These will be very freeform, improvisational performances that stretch out.” Performances include Raga Groove, Groovy Boogie, Rock Jam, and Fretless Funk.
All 22 of the exercises are tabbed and notated and you'll also have the rhythm tracks to work with on your own. You can loop and slow down the videos to work with the lessons at your own pace.
Grab your fretless and let's dig in with Tony Franklin!
What you'll learn
Play consistent fourths across strings using single-finger technique
Navigate the fretboard using dot markers
Apply finger rocking technique for multi-string playing
Understand how to modify technique based on hand size and finger strength
Develop finger strength in non-callused areas of the finger
Hi, I'm Tony Franklin. Welcome to Fretless Bass Foundations!
For me, Fretless bass takes the fretted bass to a whole different level of expressions, nuances, sounds, and creative possibilities. I liken the fretless to the human voice, with all it's subtleties of expressions. I started off on the fretted bass, and then was drawn to the fretless after hearing Jaco Pastorius! This course will help to develop the skills and the foundations to be able to use fretless in any situation, whatever the style.
This course and the included exercises are designed to provide you with a rock solid foundation for using fretless bass, in any musical situation, from hard rock and pop, to funk and orchestral.
All 22 of the exercises are tabbed and notated and you'll also have the rhythm tracks so you can work on your intonation, technique, and most importantly your ear. You can loop and slow down the videos to work at your own pace. Grab your fretless and lets get started!
2SECTION 1: Fretless Bass Primer
Fretless bass brings a different outlook to the bass. It broadens our awareness musically, and I truly believe that fretless makes us better musicians.
3Working with Tuning Tracks
I realized - in hindsight - when I was first practicing the fretless, that if we have some kind of tuning reference to play with, it speeds up our progress. I've created a lot of jam tracks specifically for this course.
4Working with Exercises
I approach the fretted and the fretless bass in much the same way. The fundamentals and basics are the same. Obviously, the big difference is the fretless doesn't have frets, and it needs to be tune!
5Subtleties of the Fretless Bass
I liken the fretless to the human voice. The voice does not have frets or steps. It would be very stiff and rigid if it did. It's not about the big slides or the exaggerated expressions; it's about the subtle inflections, the little variations. As we progress, these expressions just "happen".
6Intonation: Lined vs Unlined
I always recommend playing the unlined fretless. The lines are only a guide and are not 100% accurate because of the nature of the musical scale, which is not perfectly subdivided. The point is, we listen with our EARS, not our eyes! Lose the "fear of fretless-ness".
7Fretless Vibrato Variations
Contrary to a comment I made later in the course - oops! - here are the most common vibrato techniques I use.
Tony Franklin is a very engaging tutor. Fretless bass can be daunting but the lessons are well paced, the exercises enjoyable, and Tony makes the instrument approachable.
The Android app has room for improvement. It's unnecessarily complicated to set the completeness of each lesson. If I hide the completed lessons, it plays earlier lessons that aren't in the displayed selection, and it doesn't restart at the current lesson (annoying as it's too easy to unintentionally leave the course). Also the review feature didn't work for me and I've got a recent Samsung so nothing ancient or exotic.
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ImNotSid
Verified buyer
10/08/25
Reluctant no more
I put off playing a fretless bass because I thought it would be too difficult. However I'm enjoying the journey and the course is very good so far. I especially like Tony's teaching style. He plays much faster than me but as long as the tabs are displayed I can go at my own pace.
R
rene121068
Verified buyer
01/07/25
Great food for the soul
I love it!
P
promnisia
Verified buyer
01/02/25
Great keep on the good work
Great evening's ok. . . best services and graphics
O
olimpiu
Verified buyer
12/22/24
Pretty informative
Pretty nice! Sometimes he does things that don't have notation. Which is bad.
