Porcupine Tree
 — Blackest Eyes


Tab symbols:
x = dead note
/ = slide up
 = slide down
h = hammer on


NOTE: Don't trust the timings blindly and rate this tab please.

Drop D tune



Intro
|———————————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————5—————4—————3————3—5—|——————————————————5—————4—————3———————|
|—3—2—0—3—2—0—3—0—————0—————0—————0—————|—3—2—0—3—2—0—3—0—————0—————0—————0—3——| x2

|———————————————|
|———————————————|
|———————————————|
|—3—2—0—3—2—0—3—| straight to the next box, you know what I mean

|—————————————————————————————————————|———————|
|:———————————————————————————————————:|———————|
|:——————————————————————5—3—0———3————:|——5————|
|—0——0—3——3—5——5—6——6—0———————5———5—3—|0——————|


Verse
||—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
||—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
||—8———r—8——8————7———r—7——7————5———r—5——5————5———r—5——5————
||—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————————————————————————————————————x—4h5————5——5———7———
|—3————3——3————2————2——2————0————0——0——————————————————————

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|—8———r—8——8————7———r—7——7————5———r—5——5————5———r—5——5——————
|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————7——

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————7——————||
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————r—7——||
|———————————————————————————————(5——5)—/75————5——5——x————————||
|—3————3——3————2————2——2————0————0——0—————————————————————————||


Chorus — 1:36
||————————————————————————————8/9—————
||————————————————————————————————————
||——————————————7———6h7——7——r——————7——
||—7————7——7——————————————————————————

|———————————————————————————————9———————
|——————————————————————————————————9————
|——————————————4/5—r—7————7——7———————7——
|—7————7——7——r——————————————————————————

|———————————————————————————————————————————
|————7~~5h7~~~~5————————————————————————————
|————————————————8—5——7————7——6h7——7————————
|—7—————————————————————————————————————7——

|—————————————————3———————————————————————————————
|—————————————————————————————————————————10——9——
|—1————1————1——1—————1——3————3————1h3——3——————————
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————

|————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|—5——5——5————x—8———x—x—8————5——5——5————x—7————7h8p7——
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————

|————————————————————————————————————————————————————||
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————||
|—5——5——5————x—8———x—x—8————5——5——5————x—7————7h8p7——||
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————||


Verse 2
||—————————————————10—————————————————————————————————————————————7—————————————————————————
||————————————————————10————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
||—8————8——7h8——8————————8—r——7————7——6h7——7————75————5————5——5—————3——5————5——5—5——5——————
||——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————7——

|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————||
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————||
|————————————————————————————————————————————5————5——5———5————x—3h5————5———5——5———5/7——5——||
|—3————3————3——3————3——2————2————2——2——5——6———————————————————————————————————————————————||


Chorus 2:26
||——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
||——————————————————————————————————————2———————————————————————————————————————————————————
||———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————5——7————7————6h7——7————————
||—7————7————7——7————7——2————2————2——2—————2——7————7————7——7——9———————————————————————7————

|—————————————————————————————————————————————
|————7~~5h7~~~~5——————————————————————————————
|————————————————8—5——7————7————5—7——7————————
|—7—————————————————————————————————————7————

|—————————————————3———————————————————————————————||
|—————————————————————————————————————————10——9——||
|—1————1————1——1—————1——3————3————1h3——3——————————||
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————||


Intro riff x1

continues w. this
|————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————————————5—5————————5—————————5—5—|
|—3—2—0—3—2—0—3—0————0———————0—0—0————0—0——0—————|

|——————————————|
|——————————————|
|——————————————|
|—0——1——2—3————|


REST


3:33
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|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————7———————————————————————————————————7——————7——1————————3————————|
|—7—————————————————7————————9————————7—————————————————————————————————————|

The End/
Intro riff
|———————————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————————————————————————————|——————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————5—————4—————3————3—5—|——————————————————5—————4—————3———————|
|—3—2—0—3—2—0—3—0—————0—————0—————0—————|—3—2—0—3—2—0—3—0—————0—————0—————0—3——|

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

|—————————————————————————————————————|———————|
|:———————————————————————————————————:|———————|
|:——————————————————————5—3—0———3————:|——5————|
|—0——0—3——3—5——5—6——6—0———————5———5—3—|0——————|


Thanks

About Porcupine Tree

Porcupine Tree are a progressive rock band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987 in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Their music is difficult to categorize, being associated with both psychedelic rock and progressive rock, yet having been influenced by trance, krautrock and ambient due to Steven Wilson and Richard Barbieri's liking for the Kosmische Musik scene of the early '70s, led by bands such as Tangerine Dream, Neu! and Can. Since the early 2000s, their music has been leaning towards progressive metal.

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! 🎸

Comments

HenkeHakan

8 years, 10 months ago
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You're not alone getting the first intro riff NOT right. The 6th fret should be played 4 times (add a 16th) the first time around, at the end of the riff. The one that says “goes straight into this box you know what I mean”. The following box isn't right. That riff AIN'T repeated 3 times the same. As well as the ending riff. This isn't a fluke note by Steven Wilson/COlin Edwin, it's repeated in the ending riff. First time around the 6th fret is played 4 times (adds a 16th note) and the 2 remaining repeats it is 6th fret 3 times only. If you play along to it and speed it down you'll hear that you're off if you follow the tab. It IS very hard to detect. You don't detect it until you play it along.

Also, it should be 3rd fret on the bottom string at the very first bar ending. It says 3 - 5 right before the first bar line, on the same string (A), but that 3 should be at the bottom string (drop D so it's an F really) the 5 is right though.

Try copy it into a computer with a DAW that can speed down without altering pitch and you'll hear it.

HenkeHakan

8 years, 10 months ago
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In a mitigating circumstance, ALL bass tabs or guitar tabs I've seen on this so far, misses out on this. But in the end, it will throw you off completely playing along to the tune. One thinks it goes the same all the way through the repeats.

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Porcupine Tree — Blackest Eyes bass tabs