CONTACT
Artist: Phish
Album: Junta (1988)
Bassist: Mike Gordon

by John

Intro
G——————21—21—21—/—19—19—/—17—17—/—16—16—/—10—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————15—14—12————12————————————————17—17—17—/—16—16—/—15—15—/—14—————
A—17—/—19—19—19—/—17—17—/—15—15—/—14—14—/—12——————————12——15——————————15————14—————10—/—14—14—14—14—/—13—13—/—12—12—/—11—————
E——————————————————————————————————————————————————15————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
   
G—————————14——12—12———
D—12—/—15—————————————
A—————————————10—10———
E—————————————————————

Guitar comes in...
G——————21—21—21—/—19—19—/—17—17—/—16—16—/—10—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————17—17—17—/—16—16—/—15—15—/—14—————
A—17—/—19—19—19—/—17—17—/—15—15—/—14—14—/—12———————————————————————12——10——————————10—/—14—14—14—14—/—13—13—/—12—12—/—11—————
E————————————————————————————————————————————————————7—/—10——12—13———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
   
G—————————14——12—12———
D—12—/—15—————————————
A—————————————10—10———
E—————————————————————

Piano comes in..
G——————21—21—21—/—19—19—/—17—17—/—16—16—/—10——18/19—17h19p17—16h17p16—14h16p14—12h14p12—10——12——12/10—10—10/9—9/7—9—7—7h9p7——
D——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————10
A—17—/—19—19—19—/—17—17—/—15—15—/—14—14—/—12—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
 

Verse
"The tires are the things on your car that make contact with the road..."
G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D————————5——5——————————5——5———————————7——7———————7——7——7————————————————————————————————————5——5—————————————————————————————
A——3———————————————3———————————4———5——————————5—————————————————5——5——————5————————2—————3———————————————————————————————————
E———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————3———————————3—————3——5———————————————————————————————————————————

NOTE: The verse stays more or less the same until the funk jam part of 
the song...Mike adds lots of extra fills and licks to 
spice up the bass part.  It moves up a step after a while:

G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D————————7——7——————————7——7———————————9——9———————9——9——9————————————————————————————————————7——7—————————————————————————————
A——5———————————————5———————————6———7——————————7—————————————————7——7——————7————————4—————5———————————————————————————————————
E———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————5———————————5—————5——7———————————————————————————————————————————
Again, improvise as much as possible here

Funk Jam
There is a little lead—in after Trey sings "Bummed is what you are when you go 
out to your car and it's been towed..."
G——————————————————————
D—————————/11—11—9—7———
A——5——x————————————————     (T=Slap, P=Pop)
E——————————————————————
   T  T    P  P  P P
 
And then the funk jam!...
G——————————————————————————————————————————————
D———————9———————7——————4———————2——————3—————4——
A——————————————————————————————————————————————
E——7—x—————x—5——————2——————0—x———0—1—————2—————
   T T  P  T T  P   T  P   T T P T T  P  T  P

An easy slap riff...improvise as much as possible

After the funk jam, the bass cuts out while just the guitar plays, and the band 
returns to the chorus...

Well, that just about finishes my first tab...enjoy!

About Phish

Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, exploration of music across genres and devoted fan base. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983, the band's four members performed together for over 20 years until an official breakup in August 2004. The band reunited in 2009 for three shows at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, and have resumed their former activities with a full summer, a fall tour, a new album titled Joy, their eighth festival in Indio, California, and four shows in Miami, Florida, culminating on New Year's Eve.

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! 🎸

Forum

Phish — Contact bass tabs