How to read Bass tab
Just so you know everyboy, this is by no means a thorough guide to reading tab.
This is meant just for the purpose of introducing people to tab. I might at a later date write
one that elaborates more on the subject
Okay, So let's begin with the basics. What do you see when you look at a piece of tab?
Well basically, (and this is the internet version because I couldn't procure an actual
piece of tab) it's going to look something like this -
G-------9-------7-----------
D----------------------9----
A---7-------5---------------
E------------------7--------
or at least, something similar to that. But the question is, what does all that mean?
Well essentially each of those lines represents a certain string on your bass. The "E" line is the
"E" string (that's the big fat one at the top). The "A" line represents the "A" string (the second on
down from the "E") and so on. Each of the numbers represents the fret number on your bass.
So reading normally(left to right),in the above piece, you would play the 7th fret on the "A" string, then go down and
play the 9th fret on the "G" string (no I don't mean a thong). Then, back up to the "A" string
to play the 5th fret and so on. Get the idea?
Okay, so that's really simplistic and you've probably seen tab with all kinds of strange
symbols on it and are wondering what they mean. Well i can't explain everything using ASCCI characters
but I'm gonna try a couple.
Hammer-ons, Pull-offs and slides
Okay I'm going to do my best now to explain what a hammer-on and a slide are, how to
execute them and what they look like on a piece of tab. first let's look at a hammer on.
NOTE* this is not what a hammer-on looks like on regular tab. It looks like this on most
text files but if you look at most tab in magazines (or books or wherever) it will look like a
curved line joining two notes at the top.
Hammer-ons
G-----------------------------------
D-------------------7---------------
A--------7----5h7-------------------
E---5-------------------------------
Okay, so what's the little h between the 5 and 7 mean? That's a hammer-on. A hammer-on
is when you fret one note and play it (plucking the string) and then use another finger to fret
another note without plucking the string. This gives it a smooth sound, because the notes
are continually ringing without the harshness of a plucked note. Okay, that was kind
of confusing, so let's apply that to the above piece.
In the above piece you would play the 5th fret on the "E" string. Then you would
play the 7th fret on the "A" string. Now the tricky part (a hammer-on!). Play the 5th fret on
the "A" string with your first finger and then use your second finger to come down and fret the
7th without plucking the string. Hear the difference in sound? Instead of a jerky DUHN DUHN sound,
you get the smooth DUHN-UHN sound. Cool.........
Pull-offs
NOTE* Once again this is what a pull-off looks like in text files, in most
regular tab, it looks basically the same as a hammer-on
G-----------------------------------
D-----------------------------------
A--------7-----6p5------------------
E---5-----------------8-------------
There you go. We've got a new symbol now. The p between the 6th and 5th fret means
that you do a pull-off there. What is a pull-off you ask? Well, a pull-off is like a hammer-on
in reverse. In this piece you would fret the 6th fret with you second finger (for example)
and pluck the note, then pull your finger up off the fret (hence the name) and, at the same time,
bring your first finger down onto the 5th fret. Once again you get the smooth, continuous sound
instead of the jerky sound. Simple, eh?
Slides
NOTE* strangely enough, this is basically what a
slide looks like in regular tablature.
G--------------------------------
D--------7/10--7-----------------
A------------------5-6-7---------
E---5----------------------5-----
So now we've got a little slash kinda mark up there.
You guessed it, that's a slide indicator. Now what a slide is
(simply put) is playing one note and then, without taking
your finger off the fretboard, sliding your finger down to another note
and then playing it. Simple concept. In the above instance, you would
play the seventh fret on the "A" string and then (don't take your
finger off the fretboard!) slide it down to the tenth fret. Personally
I love the sound of a slide on a fretless but I have yet to aquire one.
Anyway, it's a handy little device and I'll leave it up to you to figure out the practical application for it.
There's one more thing we need to discuss before I leave you now. Rhythm. See here's where tablature becomes impractical and notation becomes useful. Bassically (great pun, eh?) the only way to decipher the rhythm of a piece of tab is to listen to whatever you're playing. You can get a basic feel for it by looking how far the numbers are spaced, but there's no set guidlines for that either. My personal opinion is that if you know a song well, go ahead and use the tab. It's quick and easy and there's no harm done. However, I do recommend that you learn to read standard notation also because it will benefit you greater in the long run because it's a standardized system used all over the world.
Well there you have it. This was the best I could do with just text symbols, but I hope it was of value to you. Anyway, If you have any comments or questions you can e-mail me below. Any feedback at all would be greatly appreciated.
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