I wrote this out with a little help from the chord markings in the guitar
tab. The intro and first few parts are written out for a 6 string bass
although they are manageable on a 4 string.  Each distinct passage in the
music has been written out.  At the end of the tab, I've listed the sequence
of each of the passages and when in the song they're played.

"Scarred" by Dream Theater from the album "Awake"
Transcribed by Jeffrey Swing
(mailto:[email protected])

symbols:
t = right hand tap
p = pull off
H = hammer on

Six—string Bass

Intro A — let ring..
C—|—t14——————————————|—t14——————————————|—
G—|—t14——————————————|—t13——————————————|—
D—|——————————————————|——————————————————|—
A—|——————————————————|——————————————————|—
E—|—————H5—H7——H5—H7—|—————H5—H7——H5—H7—|—
B—|——————————————————|——————————————————|—

—|—t11——————————————|—t11————————————————————————————|—
—|—t11——————————————|——t9————————————————————————————|—
—|——————————————————|————————————————————————————————|—
—|——————————————————|————————————————————————————————|—
—|—————H5—H7——H5—H7—|—————H5—H7——H5—H7—————————H5—H7—|—
—|——————————————————|————————————————————H5—H7———————|—

(To rise, to fall...)
Intro B
Variations on this:
—|—————————————————|— —|—————————————————————————|—
—|—————————————————|— —|—————————————————————————|—
—|*——7————————————*|— —|——7—p0———————————————————|—
—|*———————————————*|— —|—————————————————————————|—
—|—————5—H7——5—H7——|— —|——————5—H7—5—H7————————5—|—
—|—————————————————|— —|——————————————————5—H7———|—
                           (you get the idea)

Pre—Chorus
   F#                                F#
—|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|*———————————————————————————1—H3—|————————————————————————————1—H3—|—
—|*———————8—————————————1—H3——————|————————8—————————————1—H3——————|—
—|————————————1—1——1—1—1———————————|————————————1—1——1—1—1———————————|—
—|—6—6——6——————————————————————————|—6—6——6——————————————————————————|—

   D               Bb
—|———————————————|———————————————|—
—|——————7————————|—————3——/5~~~——|—
—|————7———7————7—|———3——————————*|—
—|——5————————————|—1————————————*|—
—|———————————————|———————————————|—
—|———————————————|———————————————|—

* * * * * 4—String from here on out * * * * *

   Riff A — Unison with band
G—|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|—
D—|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|—
A—|——————4—————————————3—————————————2—————————————1—————————|—
E—|—0—H2———2————2—0—H2———2————2—0—H2———2————2—0—H2———2—3~~———|—

  Riff B — unison
—|——————————————————————————————————————————————————|—
—|——————————————————————————————————————————————————|—
—|——————————————————————————————————————————————————|—
—|—2—2———2———2—0—2———2———2—0—2———2———2—0—2—3—0—1————|—


  Verse1 — (I never bared my emotion...)  G
—|——————————————————————————|——————————————————|—
—|*—————————————————————————|——————————————————|—

—|*—————————————————————————|——————————————————|—
—|——2—2———2—0—2—2—————2—0—2—|—0—————2—0—2—3————|—

                                          F   A
—|——————————————————————————|—————————————————————|—
—|——————————————————————————|————————————————————*|—
—|——————————————————————————|————————————————————*|—
—|——2—2———2—0—2—2—————2—0—2—|—0—————2—0—2—1———5———|—

  Chorus 1 (What if the rest of the world...)
   B    A   F#       G  F     E
—|————————|————————|————————|————————|—
—|*———————|————————|————————|————————|—
—|*———————|————————|————————|————————|—
—|—7————5—|—2——————|—3——1———|—0——————|—

   B    A   F#       G  A     B   C
—|————————|————————|————————|————————|—
—|————————|————————|————————|———————*|—
—|————————|————————|————————|———————*|—
—|—7————5—|—2——————|—3——5———|—7——/8——|—

  Verse 2A (It's never enough...)
first time (on upbeat)       X3                            4th time
—|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|*———————————————————————————————*|————————————————————————————————*|—
—|*———————————————————————————————*|—————————————————————————3———0——*|—
—|—————2—2—2———————2—2—2—2—————————|—————2—2—2———————2—2—2—2—————————|—
   s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s   s s s s s s s s s s s s q   q

  Verse 2B (You tell me I'm wrong...)
second time (on downbeat)       X3                         4th time
—|—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|*———————————————————————————————*|————————————————————————————————*|—
—|*———————————————————————————————*|—————————————————————————3———0——*|—
—|—2—2—2———————2—2—2—2—————————————|—2—2—2———————2—2—2—2—2———————————|—
   s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s   s s s s s s s s s s e   q   q


  Chorus 2 ("Blood heal me...")          sixteenths with
(bass is very hard to make out)         bass drum first time?
                                                       X2
—|——————————|————————|————————————————|——————————————————|—
—|*—————————|—6———6——|————————————————|—————————————————*|—
—|*—————————|————————|—9——————————————|—————————————————*|—
—|—5——7——5——|———7————|————7——7——————7—|—0000000000000000—|—


  Bridge (Do you feel you don't know me anymore...)
Whole notes, then with bass drum
   B   D   G   E
—|———|———|———|———|—
—|———|———|———|———|—
—|—7—|—5—|—3—|—0—|—
—|———|———|———|———|—


  Guitars
starts off in unison:
—|———————————————————————————|—————————————————
—|———————————————————————————|—————————————————
—|———————————————————————————|—————————————————
—|—2—2———2—2———2—2———2—2———2—|—2—2———2—2———2—2— ... etc.
    s s s s s s s s s s s s s   s s s s s s s s


At 7:21 in the track, The bass departs from this and sometimes follows the
guitar/key parts, and then does it's own thing.


  Key solo
    B                 X3  E
—|——————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|*——7—p0——————————————*|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|*————————————————————*|—————————————————————————————————|—
—|———————5—H7—5—H7——————|—0—————0—0—————0—0—————0—0———0—0—|—
                          s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s

  Guitar Solo
(these are the chords, most of the time the bass plays a whole note)
   B   A   G   E   F#  A   G   E   F#  G   A   B   G   A   B   E
—|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|—
—|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|—
—|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|———|—
—|—7—|—5—|—3—|—0—|—2—|—5—|—3—|—0—|—2—|—3—|—5—|—7—|—3—|—5—|—7—|—0—|—


Outro                                       |1st, 3rd..|2nd, 4th...
    B    A    F#         G   F      E        | D  Bb A  | G  A  C
—|——————————|——————————|——————————|——————————|——————————|——————————|
—|*—————————|——————————|——————————|—————————*|——————————|——————————|
—|*—————————|——————————|——————————|—————————*|—5——1——0——|———————3——|
—|——7————5——|—2————————|—3———1————|—0————————|——————————|—3——5—————|



|————————————————————————————|
|          Song Map          |
|———————————————|————————————|
| approx time   | part       |
|———————————————|————————————|
| (0:00 — 1:07) | Intro A    |
| (1:07 — 1:49) | Intro B    |
| (1:49 — 2:10) | Pre Chorus |
| (2:10 — 2:27) | Riff A     |
| (2:27 — 2:36) | Riff B     |
| (2:36 — 2:51) | Verse 1    |
| (2:51 — 3:00) | Riff B     |
| (3:00 — 3:16) | Verse 1    |
| (3:16 — 3:34) | Chorus 1   |
| (3:34 — 3:43) | Riff A     |
| (3:43 — 3:55) | Verse 2B   |
| (3:55 — 4:05) | Riff B     |
| (4:05 — 4:17) | Verse 2B   |
| (4:17 — 4:35) | Chorus 1   |
| (4:35 — 4:53) | Chorus 2   |
| (4:53 — 5:12) | Pre Chorus |
| (5:12 — 6:25) | Bridge     |
| (6:25 — 6:44) | Chorus 2   |
| (6:44 — 7:02) | Pre Chorus |
| (7:02 — 7:38) | Guitars    |
| (7:38 — 8:15) | Key Solo   |
| (8:15 — 8:53) | Guitar Solo|
| (8:53 — 9:11) | Chorus 2   |
| (9:11 — 9:31) | Pre Chorus |
| (9:31 — 10:59)| Outro      |
|———————————————|————————————|

——
Jeffrey N. Swing
Student of Mechanical Engineering, University of Rochester
[email protected]

http://uhura.cc.rochester.edu/~js018d/

About Dream Theater

Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Massachusetts, before they dropped out to support the band. Though a number of lineup changes followed, the three original members remain today along with James LaBrie and Jordan Rudess.

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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Dream Theater — Scarred bass tabs