How To Sound Like Jaco Pastorius Bass Tabs - Bass Lessons @ BigBassTabs.com

This tab illustrates some tricks Jaco liked to use.
All of these Tricks will be based off of this basic line:

S = Staccato (Cut Notes Short)
L = Legato (Hold Out Notes)
X = Dead Note

 |S   L   S   L   S   L   S   L   |
G|————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————|
A|————————5———5———6———6———8———8———|
E|6———6———————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

This line works great over a Bb7 Vamp.
Jaco used this Varying of legato and staccato in his playing himself.

In addition to that, 
he also used 16th notes with dead notes. (muted notes) 
This gave his basslines a percusive feel.
There are many ways to implament these dead notes
Here's a few examples:

 |Bb      D       Eb      F       |Bb      D       Eb      F       |
G|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
A|————————5—5—x—x—6—6—x—x—8—8—x—x—|————————5—x—5—x—6—x—6—x—8—x—8—x—|
E|6—6—x—x—————————————————————————|6—x—6—x—————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

 |Bb      D       Eb      F       |Bb      D       Eb      F       |
G|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
A|————————5—x—x—5—6—x—x—6—8—x—x—8—|————————5—5—x—x—x—6—6—x—8—8—x—x—|
E|6—x—x—6—————————————————————————|x—6—6—x—————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

There are many other ways to vary the placement of these dead notes.
Interchanging these is a great practice and creates interesting rhythms.

Another thing he liked to do was use octaves with dead notes:

 |BbBb        D D   EbEb  F   F   |Bb  BbBb    D D EbEbEb  F     F |
G|——————————————7—————8———————10——|——————————————7/8—8—————————————|
D|——8—————x———————x—————x—————————|8———————x—x—————————————————————|
A|——————————x—5—————6—————8—x—————|——x—————————5———————6—x/8—x—————|
E|6———————————————————————————————|————6—6—————————————————————1///|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

In this example I played around with the rhythm a bit.
notice how not every note starts on the down beat.
This is another trick jaco liked to pull out.
Varying the rhythm is a great way to get the most out of one line.

Another trick he used was not starting a phrase on the root note.
Here's what i mean:

 |Bb7                                                              |
 |F G Bb  D D   D EbBbEb  E F F   |F#G Bb  C C#D   EbEb  EbF C F   |
G|——————————————7/8———————————————|——————————————————————8/10——————|
D|————8—————————————8—————————————|————8———101112x———————————10————|
A|8/10——x—5—5—x———————6—x—7h8—8—x—|9/10——x—————————6—6—x———————8—x—|
E|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

Notice how the 1st beat of both bars don't start on Bb.
This is another great way to vary the same line.

Notice how i also threw in a couple other little tricks.
I threw in a couple of chormatic notes. 
(ex: E in 1st bar/C# in 2nd bar)
I Also started utilizing 5ths of the notes from our original bass.
(ex: Bb is the 5th of Eb/C is the 5th of F)
These are also things jaco liked doing.

In addition to not playing the root note on the 1st down beat,
he also liked to not play anything at all on the 1st down beat.
I'm going to expand the bassline so 2 bars is one phrase.
Here's what I mean:

 |S   L   S   L   S   L   S   L   |S   L   S   L   S   L   S   L   |
 |Bb              D               |Eb              F               |
G|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
D|————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
A|————————————————5———5———5———5———|6———6———6———6———8———8———8———8———|
E|6———6———6———6———————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

That's the basic idea.
Here's the embellishment:

 |  BbBbBbAbBbF   DbD D     D A   |D Eb    EbEb      F F F EbF F  
G|————————————————————7———x—7—————|————————8—8—————————10——8———10——|
D|————8———6———————————————————7———|————————————————————————————————|
A|————————————8———4/5———————————x—|5/6—6—x———————————8———8———8—————|
E|——6———6———6———x—————————————————|————————————————————————————————|
 |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a |

In addition to not starting the phrase on the 1st down beat,
I also used the b7 interval on some of the original notes.
(ex: Ab is the b7 of Bb/Eb is the b7 of F)

I would like to mention that there is nothing wrong with playing the basic idea.
Alot of these tricks jaco liked to use are simply embellishments.
Sometimes it's best to just play the basic idea.
However, these embellishments do add alot of excitment and interest.

I encourage you to experiment with your own ideas based on these tricks.
There Are Sooooooo Many ways to vary each of these concepts.
Taking simple basslines and adding these ideas to them is a great practice.
Even if you don't end up using your jaco based ideas on the stage,
They're still great for building dexterity and rhythmic understanding.

I hope that this has been helpful.
please give me constructive criticism.
Thanks,

Connor Larkin

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! 🎸

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Bass Lessons — How to Sound like Jaco Pastorius bass tabs