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1. Bass Tabs
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4. How To Read Tab bass tabs

Bass Lessons — How To Read Tab bass tabs 4.1 / 5 (10x) Rate this tab: 54321 Add to favs Bass Lessons - How To Read Tab Bass Tab Q. What is tablature?A. Tablature, or tabs is a form of music notation that anyone can read with little experience with their instrument. Tabs are by—ear, note for note transcriptions of recorded songs that anyone can have access to. Having access to the recording is important as tabs are much more simplified than standard music notation and will usually not tell you things such as note length, which fingers you use to fret which note, and will usually not tell you anything about picking and strumming, etc. Q. How do I read the tabs?A. Tabs are written in with each line representing one string on the guitar or bass, usually 6 or 4, respectively. In tablature, the highest line represents the highest (pitch) string. So the "top" string is actually on the bottom when you hold a guitar. If this is confusing, imagine having the guitar strapped on and then flipping it up to your face, you would essentially be looking at the guitar upside down, and the thinnest/highest pitch string would be on top. Trust me, just practice and it gets easier :) Two more things you should know about tabs.1) The number displayed is the fret, counting from 0, an open string, and increasing one for every fret.2) Most tablatures will tell you the tuning of the instrument, with the letter tuning of the string to the left of it. If there is no bar showing tuning, it is either implied to be standard tuning, or will probably be indicated in the introduction to the tab. With that said, lets look at a basic tab (guitar on left, bass on right) e|——3—————————— B|——0—————————— G|——0—————————— G|—————————————————————————— D|——0—————————— D|———————————2——3—2———————— A|——2—————————— A|—————2——5———————————5——2—— E|——3—————————— E|——3———————————————————————On the left is the open position G chord on the guitar, on the right is the first bar of a 12 bar blues pattern, in the key of G on the bass. These two examples tell you something very important about tabs the notes are read left to right, and if they are on top of each other you play them simultaneously. As mentioned before, the numbers correspond to the fret that you play. On the guitar tab, you play the chord by pressing down the 3rd fret on the low (pitch) string, 2nd fret on the next lowest, open on the next three, and 3rd fret on the highest string. For the bass tab, play one at a time, the third fret on the lowest (E) string, then the second fret on the second lowest (A), then the 5th fret on that same A string, etc. Also keep in mind that these are by ear transcriptions, the tabber had to listen to the song to write it down and it is important that you listen to the song to get the timing of the notes. What other common symbols can be seen on tabs?A. h — hammer on p — pull off / — slide up \ — slide down b bend string r release bend ~ — vibrato t — right hand tap x — play 'note' with heavy dampingNote: When the x is listed in a tab it indicates that you should play a ghost note, i.e. play the note with your other fingers resting on the string to give it a muted, percussive sound. But when giving a chord shape, the x will indicate that the string should not be played. For example: E|———————————————————B|———————————————————G|———————————————x—x—D|———————————x—x—————A|———————x—x—————————E|———x—x—————————————Means that you should play each unfretted string with your fingers resting on it. On the other hand: EADGBex03320Is equivalent to: e|——0— B|——2— G|——3— D|——3— A|——0—E|————This shows an A chord, indicating that you should not play the low E string. Here is an explination for some of the most common tablature symbols: h — hammer on p — pull off With hammer—ons and pull—offs you might find things like these: E——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————B——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————G————————————————————————5h7———————————————————————————————————D—————————————————5h7——————————————————————————————————————————A—————————5h7——————————————————————————————————————————————————E———5h7————————————————————————————————————————————————————————Which would mean play the E string, 5th fret and then slam another finger down onto the 7th fret. Then play the A string, 5th fret and slam a finger onto the 7th fret, etc. No need to strum or pick the note right after the h as the act of slamming gives the string more energy. A Pull off is pretty much a backwards hammer: E——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————B——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————G————————————————————————7p5———————————————————————————————————D—————————————————7p5——————————————————————————————————————————A—————————7p5——————————————————————————————————————————————————E———7p5————————————————————————————————————————————————————————For each pull off you only pick the first note of the pair with the right hand — so in this example you would start with one finger on the 7th fret, and one on the 5th. Then pick all the notes on the 7th fret, and lift up that finger leaving the finger on the 5th. As stated before, you give the string an extra bit of energy when you hammer on or pull off, so you only need to play the first note. It should be noted that it does take a fair amount of finger strength and dexterity to sound a clear tone with this technique. ___________________________________________ b bend string r release bendWhen bends are involved you need to know how much to bend the note up. This is indicated by writing a number after the 'b'. For example, if you see this : E————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————B——————7b9———————————————————————————————————————————————————————G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————D————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————A————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————E————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————it means strike the B string at the 7th fret, then bend the note up two semitones (one whole step) so that it sounds the same pitch as a note fretted at the 9th fret would do. (Sometimes the bend is written with the second part in brackets, like this ———7b(9)——— ) Something like this : E————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————B——————7b9——9r7——————————————————————————————————————————————————G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————D————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————A————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————E————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————means play the note at the 7th fret, bend up two semitones, strike the note again whilst it is still bent, then release the bend so that the note has it's normal pitch. ___________________________________________ / — slide up \ — slide downFor a slide you start off plucking the first note and slide on the string up or down to the second. Oftentimes the slide down symbol ( \ ) is never used and the slide up ( / ) is used to indicate any sliding at all. For example: E|———————————B|———————————G|———————————D|———————————A|———3/7—————E|———————7—You would play the A string, pluck it at the 3rd fret and then, without releasing pressure, slide your finger up the fret board to the 7th fret Tablature player for this song:

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

• Strings and Frets:

  Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:

  • The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
  • The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).

  Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:

  G|-------------------| D|-------------------| A|---3---------------| E|-------------------|

  This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

• Hammer-On (h):

  Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.

  G|-------------------| D|-------5h7---------|
• Pull-Off (p):

  Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.

  G|-------------------| D|-------7p5---------|
• Slide (/ or \):

  Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.

  G|-------------------| D|-------5/7---------|

3. Advanced Techniques

• Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
• Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
• Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

• Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
• Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

Comments zachparrett 9 years, 9 months ago Report this comment Permlink Quote What about when two numbers are right next to each other? Just play those two frets in a quick succession? Or what. (I'm new to bass if you can't tell) Listenerr 8 years, 11 months ago Report this comment Permlink Quote In schism by tool it shows colon marks, n i dnt see them in ur legend. What do they represent? Listenerr 8 years, 11 months ago Report this comment Permlink Quote N can we not have a beib face?

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