ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR TABS HOW TO

Other musical information can be included. Even having a basic idea of note rhythms will be a big help reading bass lines. When you become aware of the limitations of tab, you should start to learn to read notation. Occasionally, rhythmic lines are shown on the tab part, but these are not always accurate, and can often be more confusing than helpful.īecause tab numbers are positioned directly below their notation counterparts, and notation is usually spaced roughly according to the rhythm of the music, you can get an idea of the rhythm of the part. This is why tab is generally best used when you already have an idea of how the music goes, or when the rhythm is simple. Most tab parts do not show how long the notes are and when they should be played. One of the limitations of tab is that it does not include rhythmic information. Walking Bass Line Bass Tab Silent Night Excerpt Rhythm In tab

ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR TABS HOW TO

The best way to learn how to read bass tab is to play tunes that you already know and see how they have been written in tab. The third is the second fret of the A string, and so on. The first note is played at the third fret of the E (lowest) string. The diagram below shoes how a G major scale is notated in tab. Bass Tab Open Strings & Scalesīelow is tab showing the open strings of a bass guitar: How To Read Bass Tab Open Strings When learning how to read bass tab it is a good idea to see how it relates to the notation. Although easy to produce, text tab can be harder to understand. Many online guitar tab sites feature tabs written with text characters. Tab can also be written on its own, without the standard notation. Tab is usually included under standard notation. A zero means that the string should be played open, without any notes being held down.īar lines appear in tab as vertical lines, just as they do in standard notation. The numbers on the tab show the fret at which the string should be held down in order to play the desired note. The second and third lines represent the A and D strings respectively.

The bottom line of tab represents the E string, the top line represents the G string. If the part is written for a standard four string bass then there will be four horizontal lines, one for each string.

In tab, the horizontal lines represent the strings.

Tab is popular among beginner bassists because it is easier to read than traditional musical notation and can be learned in a very short space of time. Tablature has been in use for hundreds for years. It is in common use today, but is not a recent invention. Tab is short for tablature, a system used to show how music should be played on fretted instruments. This lesson will teach you how to read bass tab.

Electric bass guitar tabs