Artist — Collective Soul
Song — Smashing Young Man
Album — Collective Soul (Self Titled)
Tabbed by — Alec MacDonald

Tuning: (Low to high) E flat, A flat, D flat, G flat.

Just play the song through, but watch repeat marks.

Note: the . means to play the note staccatto (very short)

Bass doesn't come in for a bit (20 seconds)

(0:20)
Gb|————————————————————————|
Db|————4—2————————2—1——2—4—|
Ab|—————————6—4————————————|
Eb|2————————————2——————————|

Verse (0:25)
Gb|—————————————————|
Db|————————————96———|  x 6
Ab|—————————————————|
Eb|—4p7—7—7—7————9—7|

(0:40)
Gb|————————————————————————|
Db|————4—2————————2—1——2—4—|
Ab|—————————6—4————————————|
Eb|2————————————2——————————|

Verse (0:45)
Gb|—————————————————|
Db|————————————96———|  x 2
Ab|—————————————————|
Eb|—4p7—7—7—7————9—7|

(0:50)
Gb|————————————————————————|
Db|————4—2————————2—1——2—4—|
Ab|—————————6—4————————————|
Eb|2————————————2——————————|


Chorus 1 (0:56)
    . .               . .                . .               . . . . . . . . 
Gb|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Db|—————4————2——1—————————4——————————————————4—————————————2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|
Ab|—2—2————————————4———————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|———————————————————2—2——————2——4——2———5—5——————5——4——1——0———————————————|                                                             
                                                           ^
                                                    Mute this note as quickly as possible.
                                               It's there, but hardly.


Chorus 2 (1:06)
    . .               . .                . .               . . . . . 
Gb|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————4———————|
Db|—————4————2——1—————————4——————————————————4—————————————2—2—2—2—2——2h4—4—|
Ab|—2—2————————————4————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|———————————————————2—2——————2——4——2———5—5——————5——4——1——0————————————————|

Verse (1:16)
Gb|—————————————————|
Db|————————————96———|  x 8
Ab|—————————————————|
Eb|—4p7—7—7—7————9—7|

(1:36)
Gb|————————————————————————|
Db|————4—2————————2—1——2—4—|
Ab|—————————6—4————————————|
Eb|2————————————2——————————|

Verse (1:42)
Gb|—————————————————|
Db|————————————96———|  x 2
Ab|—————————————————|
Eb|—4p7—7—7—7————9—7|

(1:47)
Gb|————————————————————————|
Db|————4—2————————2—1——2—4—|
Ab|—————————6—4————————————|
Eb|2————————————2——————————|

Chorus 1 (1:52)
    . .               . .                . .               . . . . . . . . 
Gb|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Db|—————4————2——1—————————4——————————————————4—————————————2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|
Ab|—2—2————————————4———————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|———————————————————2—2——————2——4——2———5—5——————5——4——1——0———————————————|                                                             

Chorus 2 (2:02)
    . .               . .                . .               . . . . . 
Gb|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————4———————|
Db|—————4————2——1—————————4——————————————————4—————————————2—2—2—2—2——2h4—4—|
Ab|—2—2————————————4————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|———————————————————2—2——————2——4——2———5—5——————5——4——1——0————————————————|

Bridge (2:12)
Gb|————————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————————————————|
Db|————————————————————————————————— ——————————————————————————————————————————|
Ab|——————————4—————————————————————— ———————————————4————————7————————7————————|
Eb|—4—————————————————4————————2——/11——9——4———————————————————————————————————|

Interlude (2:32) (During Guitar Solo) play all of these notes staccatto
Gb|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Db|——————————2——1—————————————————————————————————2—2—————2——2———————|  x 2
Ab|—2—2——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|————————————————2—2——————2——4——5—5———————5——4—————————————————————|

Chorus 1 (2:53)
    . .               . .                . .               . . . . . . . . 
Gb|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Db|—————4————2——1—————————4——————————————————4—————————————2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—|
Ab|—2—2————————————4———————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|———————————————————2—2——————2——4——2———5—5——————5——4——1——0———————————————|                                                             

Chorus 2 (3:03)
    . .               . .                . .               . . . . . 
Gb|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————4———————|
Db|—————4————2——1—————————4——————————————————4—————————————2—2—2—2—2——2h4—4—|
Ab|—2—2————————————4————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
Eb|———————————————————2—2——————2——4——2———5—5——————5——4——1——0————————————————|

REPEAT CHORUS 1 AND 2. 

Outro (3:33)
Gb|—————————————————|
Db|————————————96———|  x 4
Ab|—————————————————|
Eb|—4p7—7—7—7————9—7|

Cut off last note quickly.

About Collective Soul

Collective Soul is an American rock band originally formed in Stockbridge, Georgia. Collective Soul broke into mainstream popularity with its first hit single "Shine", which came from its debut album Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, published in 1993, and has enjoyed popularity in alternative rock, mainstream rock, and pop music through the 1990s and following decade. They have recorded seven Number One mainstream rock hits.

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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Collective Soul — Smashing Young Man bass tabs