
The rock and jazz culture saw a widespread use of bass guitars. Today, many people learn to play the bass, due to sheer love for groove and gallop. Some easy bass guitar tabs and lessons have been provided in this article to help you become a good bass player.
If you are a beginner, you are bound to find some really simple bass tabs on the net. But, understanding the theory and logic behind such tabs is an absolute necessity. The bass guitar is a combination of double bass and guitar, and hence, it plays a very important role in any music ensemble. The bass controls the flow and tempo of the music, and gives any composition, the much-needed texture. It is essentially called the skeleton or framework of a song. There are three principles or basic styles (Groove, Gallop, and Solos), which you can adopt while playing the bass. Note that every style is unique, and you need to gain an almost complete mastery over each, to become a really good bass player.
Style 1: The Groove
Among the several bass styles, the groove is the most important one. Its meaning is simple, you have to pluck a pattern according to rhythm and texture, and keep on playing it in the proper scale.
Song 1: Hotel California (Eagles)
The following is a slow but melodious bass groove from the song, ‘Hotel California’ by the band ‘Eagles’.
Intro:
G————————|————————|
D————————|————————|
A—-9—–7—–5——-|—-9—–7—–5——-|
E-7—–5—–3—–0–2-|-7—–5—–3—–0–2-|
Verse 1:
G————–11—11—-|————-9–9—|————-7–7—|——————–
D—9–9—–11—11–11–|—7–7—–9–9-9–|—5–5—–7–7-7–|—2–2——4–4–4
A–9–9–9–9———–9-|–7–7–7–7——7-|–5–5–5–5——5-|–2–2–2—4–4–4-
E-7———————–|-5——————|-3——————|-0———2——–
G————–11—11—-|————-9–9—|————-7–7—|——————|
D—9–9—–11—11–11–|—7–7—–9–9-9–|—5–5—–7–7-7–|—2–2——4–4-|
A–9–9–9–9———–9-|–7–7–7–7——7-|–5–5–5–5——5-|–2–2–2—4–4–|
E-7———————–|-5——————|-3——————|-0———2——|
Chorus 1:
G———-2/7-7—-7–7-|——————–|
D-5—-5–5—–7–7–7–|-4—-4–4—–0-24-|
A–5–5–5——-5——-|–4–4–4–2-4——|
E—3——————–|—2—————-|
G———-2/7-7—-7–7-|——————|
D-5—-5–5—–7–7–7–|-2—-2–2-4-4/16-|
A–5–5–5——-5——-|–2–2–2———|
E—3——————–|—0————–|
The groove style was widely used by noted bassist Jaco Pastorious.
Song 2: Californication (RHCP)
The bassist Flea of ‘Red Hot Chili Peppers’ is another expert on this style, and hence, the bass tabs of the song ‘Californication’ are provided below. The letters, ‘h’ denotes hammer on, and ‘p’ denotes to pop.
Intro:
G————-9—9——7h9p7————–7—7—5——————–9—9——7h9p7————–10—10—7—
D—7—7——————————————————–7—7—————————————————————
A—————————————–8—8———————————————————–8—8————————
E—————————————————————————————————————————————-
Verse:
G————-9—9——9—7h9p7——————–7—7———————9—9——9—7h9p7——————–10—10—7—
D—7—7———————————-10———————10——7—7———————————-10——————————-
A————————————————-8—8———————————————————————8—8———————
E———————————————————————————————————————————————————
G—————————————–
D—————————————–
A—3—3———————5—5—
E————-3—3—1—1————-
G————-9—9——9—7h9p7——————–7—7———————9—9——9—7h9p7——————–10—10—7—
D—7—7———————————-10———————10——7—7———————————-10——————————-
A————————————————-8—8———————————————————————8—8———————
E———————————————————————————————————————————————————
G—————————————–
D—————————————–
A—3—3———————5—5—
E————-3—3—1—1————-
Pre-chorus:
G——————————————————————————————
D—7—777—7—777—9—10——————————-10—9———-
A——————————————8—888—88—88————–10—
E——————————————————————————————
G—————————————————-7/9—9—7—5——
D—7—777—7—777—9—10————————————–
A——————————————888—————————-
E—————————————————————————–
G——————————————————————————————
D—7—777—7—777—9—10——————————-9—10———-
A——————————————8—888—88—88————–10—
E——————————————————————————————
G—————————————————————————-
D—7—777—7—777—9—10———————————–
A——————————————888—888888888—
E—————————————————————————-
Chorus:
G———————————————————————
D———————————————————————
A—3—3————-5—5————-3—3—————–5—
E————-3—3————-5—5————-3—1—3——-
Outro:
G————————————————————————-7——————–7——-7——————————————————————————–
D————————————————————————————————————————————————————-3—1———————
A—3—3————-5—5————-3—3—————–5—5——-5—5——5——-5———-3—3————-5—5————-3—3————-3—2——-5—
E————-3—3————-5—5————-3—1—3———————————————————–3—3————-5—5——————————-3——-
The key is to observe the strumming of the guitarist or the keyboard player, and group together the notes accordingly. If the guitarist keeps up a strum such as 1-2-3, 1-2-3, then play a grove that has lower pitched notes in the beginning, and higher pitched notes at the end. Such grooves are found in all old rock songs and even in jazz songs. The jazz bass tabs are mostly all groovy; a very famous jazz bassist is Victor Wooten. Some bassists such John Myung of Dream Theater play according to all three styles. But, if you are looking for simple bass tabs for beginners, there is nothing more pleasing than old grooves.
Style 2: The Gallop
This style is more often observed in the metal genre songs. Steve Harris of Iron Maiden is one of the well-known gallop style players. This method is quite difficult, and you will require a considerable amount of practice with your right hand.
Song 1: Coming Back to Life (Pink Floyd)
Provided below are some easy to learn bass tabs to play. They consist of the bass line for the song ‘Coming Back to Life’ by Pink Floyd, and it has a very slow tempo.
…..shining sun
G||——————————————-
D||——————————————-
A||———-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3–3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-
E||——————————————-
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3–3-3-3-3-3-3-3—
E||——————————–3-
lost in thought….
G||————————————
D||—————————–5——
A||-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3–3-3-3-3-3/7-7\3-3-
E||————————————
G||————————————–
D||————————————–
A||————————————–
E||-1-1-1-1-1-1-5/8-5–8\1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-
while the seeds of….
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0——————
E||——————3-3-3-3-3-3-3-0-
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||———————————-
E||-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1–1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-
outside the rain…..
G||————————————
D||—————————–5——
A||-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3–3-3-3-3-3/7-7\3-3-
E||————————————
G||———————————-
D||———————————
A||———————————-
E||-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1–1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-
while I pondered….
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0——————
E||——————3-3-3-3-3-3-3-0-
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||———————————-
E||-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1–1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-
I took a heavenly…
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||———————————-
E||-5-5-5-5-5-5-5\1–1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0–1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-
E||———————————-
for killing the past…
G||———————————
D||———————————
A||-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0————-0h2-
E||—————–3-3-3-3-3-3—–
G||———————————-
D||———————————-
A||-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3–3-3-3-3-3-3-3—
E||——————————–3-
The gallop is extremely slow, and almost lethargic, but the melody is amazingly magical and awesome.
Song 2 : The Trooper
Intro:Â
G: ———————————————————————————–
D: -2——-0–0-0-0-2——-0–0-0-0-2———-0-0-0-2–2-2-0—0-0-0—————
A: ————————————————————-2——-3-0–3-3-3-0–
E: ———————————————————————————-3
Starting of the gallop:
—————–
-0-0-0-2——-
—————–
—————–
The following tabs are used for every verse:
G: ———————————————————————————-
D: -2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2—0-4-0-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2
A: ————————————–0——————————————-
E: ———————————————————————————-
——————————————————————————————
—0-4-0—————————————-0-4-0-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2
-0——-3–3-3-3–3-3-3–3-3-3–3-3-3–3-3-3-0——————————————-
——————————————————————————————
Chorus:
G: —————————————————————————————————
D: -0–0-0-0–0-0-0–0-0-0–0-0-0–0-0-0–0-0-0-4-0-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2
A: —————————————————————————————————
E: —————————————————————————————————
Style 3: Solos
Playing bass guitar solos is quite difficult, and you would require quite a bit of practice to accomplish it. Soloing is generally done as the intro or outro of the song. There are some bassists who follow the guitar solo.
Song 1: Solar Groove (John Myung of Dream Theater)
Introductory Solo:
G|——9——-4—|—–7——-5—|—–7—–5—–|-4—–5—–4—-|
D|o—7—7—6—6-|—5—5—4—4-|—3—3—–3—|—3—–3—–3-o|
A|o-0——-0——-|-0——-0——-|-0——-0—–0-|—–0—–0—–o|
E|——————|—————–|—————–|——————|
Song 2: Trooper (Iron Maiden)
Solo 1:
G: —————————————————————————————–5——-7–
D: —————————————————————————————5—5—7—7
A: -7–7-7-7–7-7-7–7-7-7–7-7-6–6-6-6–6-6-6–6-6-6–6-6-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-3——-5——
E: —————————————————————————————————-
Solo 2:
G—————————————————————————————5——-7——
D-7–7-7-7–7-7-7–7-7-7–7-7-6–6-6-6–6-6-6–6-6-6–6-6-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-2–2-2-3—–3–5—–5–7
A—————————————————————————————–3——-5—-
E——————————————————————————————————
The outro is the same as the intro.
The key to become a really good bass player is to start following the rhythm and scales. It must be noted that merely playing tabs, will not be sufficient. You also have to take into consideration the melody and feel of the song. Disciplined practice and consistent efforts with scales and grooves, will help you to roll out amazing bass lines. A very important aspect of playing the bass is patience and concentration. A combination of the two results in a killer bass line.