
Bass Tab
Queens of the Stone Age
Better Living Through Chemistry

Tune to C F Bb Eb

Note: 
There are lots of subtlties to the playing of this song. 
This tab isn't perfect, so mess around and do what sounds best 
to you. 
Hammer—ons and pull—offs where I have slides often work nicely.

Verse
|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10——————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7/9————————————
|—————————————10——————(0)h12\——————————————————————————————————
|—5—5——————————————————————————5—5——————————————————5—5/7——————

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10——————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7—9—10—9—7~————
|—————————————10——————(0)h12/——————————————————————————————————
|—5—5——————————————————————————5—5—————————————————————————————

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10———————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7/9———————————
|—————————————10——————(0)h12/————————————————————————5/7~——————
|—5—5———————————————————————————5—5————————————————————————————

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10——————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——9/10—5/7———————
|—————————————10——————(0)h12/——————————————————————————————————
|—5—5——————————————————————————5—5—————————————————————————————

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10——————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7—9—10—9—7~————
|—————————————10——————(0)h12/——————————————————————————————————
|—5—5——————————————————————————5—5—————————————————————————————

|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10——————————————7/9\7—5/7\5—————————————————
|—————————————10——————(0)h12/——————————————————————————————————
|—5—5——————————————————————————5—5——————————————5—7—8—7—5~—————

Chorus
3x
|———————4—5—4—————————
|—7—5—7———————7—5—————
|—————————————————————
|—————————————————————

1x
|—5—4———————————4—————
|—————7—5———5—7———————
|—————————7———————————
|—————————————————————

3x
|———————4—5—4—————————
|—7—5—7———————7—5—————
|—————————————————————
|—————————————————————

1x 
|—5—4———————————4—————
|—————7—5———5—7———————
|—————————7———————0———
|—————————————————————

Instrumental Section

intro
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|—————————————————————————9/10~—7—5———————————————————————————
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|—5—let—ring——5—let—ring——————————————————————————————————————

|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|—————7————————5————7~—————————————————————————————————————————
|————————5/7~————7—————————————————————————————————————————————
|—5—5——————————————————5~——————————————————————————————————————

main part 
This part is just improv off this basic idea. I'm just showing
the common riffs used.
|——————————————————————————————————7h9——————————
|————7/9/10\9\7—————————7/9/10\9\7——————————————
|—0—————————————5h7——0——————————————————————————
|———————————————————————————————————————————————

|———————————————7h9———————————————————————7h9———
|————7/9/10\9\7—————7h9————7/9/10\9\7—7h9———————
|—0——————————————————————0——————————————————————
|———————————————————————————————————————————————

Chorus
3x
|———————4—5—4—————————
|—7—5—7———————7—5—————
|—————————————————————
|—————————————————————

1x
|—5—4———————————4—————
|—————7—5———5—7———————
|—————————7———————————
|—————————————————————

Verse

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10————————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7/9———————————
|—————————————10———————12p0h12\—————————————————————————————————
|—5—5————————————————————————————5—5——————————————————5—5/7—————

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10—10—9————————7/9\7—5/7\5——9/10~—5/7\5——————
|—————————————10———————————10———————————————————————————————————
|—5—5—————————————————————————5—5———————————————————————————————

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10———————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7/9————————————
|—————————————10——————12p0h12\——————————————————————————————————
|—5—5———————————————————————————5—5———————————————————5—5/7—————

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10———————————————7/9\7—5/7\5—————————————————
|—————————————10——————12p0h12\———————————————————5/7~———————————
|—5—5———————————————————————————5—5———————————————————5/8~——————

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10————————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7/9———————————
|—————————————10———————12p0h12\—————————————————————————————————
|—5—5————————————————————————————5—5———————————————————5/7——————

|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
|——————7/9\7—————9—10————————————————7/9\7—5/7\5——7/9———————————
|—————————————10———————12p0h12\—————————————————————————————————
|—5—5————————————————————————————5—5——————————————————5—7—8—7—5—

Chorus:
7x
|———————4—5—4—————————
|—7—5—7———————7—5—————
|—————————————————————
|—————————————————————

1x
|—5—4———————————4—————
|—————7—5———5—7———————
|—————————7———————————
|—————————————————————

4x
|———————4—5—4—————————
|—7—5—7———————7—5—————
|—————————————————————
|—————————————————————

Ending
|—————————————————————
|—————————————————————
|—0—let—ring——————————
|—————————————————————

About Queens Of The Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. Originally formed under the name Gamma Ray by guitarist Josh Homme, following the breakup of his previous band, Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music which has been described by Homme as 'robot rock,' saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, and just pound it into your head." Their sound has since evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences.

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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Queens Of The Stone Age — Better Living Through Chemistry (ver 2) bass tabs