The tab may specify the exact tuning, like Db-Ab-Db-Gb, or use a common tuning name like "Drop D" (Which means DADG). At the top of the tab it might specify to change the tuning of your bass for something non-standard (EADG). Often which hand is used is marked with an L or R and assumes you are right-handed.Īnother thing you will come across in bass tabs is alternate tunings. A back slash ( \ ) indicates a slide moving down in pitch.A forward slash ( / ) indicates a slide moving up in pitch.Some common bass tab markings you may encounter: Often these markings are defined somewhere at the beginning of the bass tab. Many of the other markings found in bass tabs indicate the way notes are to be played. In this bass tab example there is an eighth note count written underneath. Other times rhythm is marked underneath with the count written under the fret numbers. In this case you are left on your own to listen to the recording and piece it together yourself.
Many times rhythm is not indicated in bass tab. The above may look and sound like this (click play to see and hear the animated fretboard):īars are usually marked as they are in standard notation with a vertical barline.īars tell you when the count starts over: 1, 2, 3, 4 1, 2, 3, 4. In this example you are to play the 3rd fret on the E-string followed by the 2nd fret on the A-string, then the 5th fret on the A-string, and finally the 5th fret on the D-string, then back down the same notes. You may see fret numbers from 0 (the open string) up to 24. Most basses have between 20 and 24 frets. The fret number is written on the string on which it is played. In bass tab, notes are indicated by fret number. Some music will require a different tuning or more strings, but the perspective stays the same with the lowest (fattest) string at the bottom. Standard bass tuning from lowest to highest is E-A-D-G and looks like this: The bass strings are drawn with the lowest-pitched string (the fattest one) at the bottom. That will depend on whether more strings are required to play the song. Most often bass tab is written for 4-string bass, but you may see it for 5-string and 6-string basses, too. Strings in Bass Tabīass tab shows the strings of the bass drawn horizontally. If you haven't already, be sure to read my article on mistakes beginner bass players make in the bass basics section. IMPORTANT: Learning to play bass tabs and songs is only a small fraction of what learning to be a bass player is all about. You will find it in music books, bass magazines, and all over the internet. Bass tablature, or bass tab, is a pretty simple system of music notation for bass.
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