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Misc — Beginners Bass Guide Part 2 bass tabs




Bass for Beginners part 2

Notice! All tabs in this manual were tabbed by me, and you can
find all of them, except for warmups on bassmasta.net! Just
wanted to brag a bit.

Hi again, If you're a beginner and you wanna learn bass go ahead
and read through this part of my bass for beginners manual.
Before Going through this part of the tutorial I suggest you
check out the first part which is called Beginners Bass Guide
(Includes notes to this is the place.)

Well if you're ready then let's get underway.

In the previous chapter you learned the slide, the double slide,
and that thingy which I dunno what it's called.
The first thing we're gonna practice this time is playing using
all 4 strings.
We'll start with 2 fingers and progress from there onward.

Here are my self tabbed 2 versions of happy birthday, an easy
song that can be played at any rate.
The first version is a high version and the second a low.
Try em both.

High Version
G:—————————————————————————————————7—4—0—————5—5—4—0—2—0
D:—0—0—2—0—5—4———0—0—2—0—7—5———0—0———————4—2————————————
A:——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E:——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Low Version

G:——————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D:—————————————————————————————————7—4—0—————5—5—4—0—2—0
A:—0—0—2—0—5—4———0—0—2—0—7—5———0—0———————4—2————————————
E:——————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Now we will play using 3 strings.
Here is my self tabbed version of Steve Miller Bands Jet airliner.
It's only the intro and 1 line of the verse but it'll do for now.

Beginning:
G:————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D:—3—4—5————————3—4—5————————3—4—5————————3—4—5———————————————————————————————————————
A:————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E:————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Verse:
G:————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D:————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A:—————————————————0—5——5———5——5——5——0————————————————0—5——5———5——5——5——0—5—0———0—5—0—
E:—5——5———5——5——5——————————————————————5——5———5——5——5—————————————————————————————————

Got it? Good!
Now we will play using all 4 strings the bass has to offer.

This is where it gets a little tricky. This is Red Hot Chili Peppers
new song Animal Bar.
Your gonna have to try this out a bit before you actually get it
right, for an easy warm up try moving your fingers to the notes
displayed but don't play them, this'll improve your reaction time.

Verse
G:6—6————————————————————————————
D:————7—0————————————————————————
A:———————————————————————————————
E:————————0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0

Chorus
G:——————————————————2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2———————0—0—0———————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7
D:——————0—0—0—4—4—4—————————————————2—2—2———————9—9—9————————————————
A:2—2—2——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E:———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

YOU WILL NOT MOVE ON TO THE NEXT STEP BEFORE YOU CAN PLAY THE SONG
ABOVE!

The next step.
Now we will try speed playing, but this time we're gonna go a little
bit faster than in the previous chapter.
Before we play an actual song stretch out your fingers a bit and
practice a little something.
Play as instructed in the picture below.

Warmup:
G:————————————————————————————————————————————————9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9
D:————————————————————————————————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7————————————————
A:————————————————5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5————————————————————————————————
E:3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3————————————————————————————————————————————————

Now play that little bit backwards.

Warmup:
G:9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9————————————————————————————————————————————————
D:————————————————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7————————————————————————————————
A:————————————————————————————————5—5—5—5—5—5—5—5————————————————
E:————————————————————————————————————————————————3—3—3—3—3—3—3—3

Now last but not least combine those 2 playing one after the other
without stopping.
Once you've got that we'll move on to the next song which will
be a little faster than what we did earlier.

Here is your next song, Red Hot Chili Peppers Fortune Faded,
one of my favorite songs.
This is the entire intro for the song. Its not too much faster
than the beat before, but the switches are ALOT longer.

Intro:
G:—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D:——————————————————————————————————4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4—4
A:—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E:—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—————————————————————————————————

G:————————————————————————————————————————————————
D:—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11
A:————————————————————————————————————————————————
E:————————————————————————————————————————————————

G:—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11—11
D:————————————————————————————————————————————————
A:————————————————————————————————————————————————
E:————————————————————————————————————————————————

Once you have mastered that you have mastered this chapter of
my bass beginners guide.
Good luck and have fun learning, I will be making a third chapter
soon.
And remember, You were just taught bass by a 14 year old. :)
Tablature player for this song:
Misc - Beginners Bass Guide Part 2 Bass Tab

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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