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Radiohead — Morning Bell (ver 2) bass tabs

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MORNING BELL
Radiohead
Bassist: Colin Greenwood

CORRECTED TABLATURE as of March 18th, 2002!
A correction of an earlier tab by Jason
Lapointe ([email protected])
Tabbed by Shor Bowman ([email protected])
*MEMBER OF THE BASS TAB ARCHIVE TABBING ARMY*

*As far as correcting myself is concerned, I missed one thing
on the closing riffs, and have now shifted the "Release me"
portion of the song up an octave, the way it should be played.
*You really need to have a firm grasp of how this song goes to
play it correctly. For amateur players, the time signature may
prove to be challenging (I think it's in 10/8 or something
miserable like that). It's not too hard once you know what's
going on, but I think it's hard to learn how to play this pro—
perly without hearing the recording.
*NOTE* Technically, there is no bass during the "Cut the kids
in half" riff below until the last part——but if you don't
have the luxury of playing with someone who has a Fender
Rhodes piano, you might want to stick that in :)

This is played most of the time and repeated; not too hard:
G————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E—x—x—x—5——5—5—5—x—x—x—5——5—5—5—x—x—x—5——5—x—x—x—|
"The mornin' bell, mornin' bell..."

G—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D—————————19——16——14——12——————————————19—19—19—16—16—14—14—12/|
A——————17———————————————————————17—17—————————————————————————|
E——/15————————————————————15—15———————————————————————————————|
"Release me, release me..."

G————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E—x—x—x—5——5—5—5—x—x—7—5—x—5——5—5—5—x—x—x————————|
"Where'd you park the car?" variation

G—————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D—————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A—————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E—0—0———0—/—4——4——4—/—0————0—/—4——10—10—10/—5—5—5—|
"Cut the kids in half..."

*Until the next section, it is best to continuously strum an
open A string...these are NOT harmonics! On this last part I
originally insisted on playing on both the A and E strings,
but I realize that Colin prefers to stay on one string even
if he has to go to the 105,678th fret, so I remained faithful to
his preferences :)

G————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E——5—5—5——5—5——8—7——7——7—7—8—5——5——5—5—x—x—x—5—5—|
The beginning of the "I'm walking, walking..." part

G————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E——5—x—x—5—x—x—0—x—x—0—x—x—5—x—x—5—x—x——/12—12—12|
Toward the end of the "I'm walking" part...

And there's on part toward the end where Colin does a neat
little fill that's barely distinguishable above Thom's vocals,
although I'm sure that many of you know what I'm speaking of.
And here it is:

G————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E——5—x—5—5—x—x—x—0—x—7h8h7—5—0—3—5—x—5—x—5—5—x—x—|

G————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E—2—0—7—5——5——5——x—x—x—0——0——0—x—x—2—0—7—5——5——5—|
The very end. Make this groovy as hell. Let the A—note
ring at the very end to finish the song. Insert your
own pattern of muted notes if you like.

That's it! Have fun! If you have any questions or
comments, please be sure to e—mail me!

x=muted note
/=slide
h=hammer on (and/or ghost note)

SHORESWORTH'S PSYCHEDELIC BREAKFAST (my webpage):
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~abowman


Tablature player for this song:
Radiohead - Morning Bell (ver 2) Bass Tab

About Radiohead

Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, beats), Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboard, other instruments), Ed O'Brien (guitar, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass guitar, synthesizers) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion).

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! 🎸

Other versions of Morning Bell

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