From: "Dale S." 
Subject: radiohead — paranoid android

here's the bass tab to the song paranoid android by radiohead, from the
album ok computer.
Radiohead OParanoid AndroidO bassline from the album OK Computer
tabbed out by Dale Stromberg 

Intro / First Verse:
|——————————8————————————————9———9————————————9———9———|
|—10———8———————7—8——————7—8——————————————7—8—————————|
|——————————————————10———————————————10———————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————|

|——————————8————————————————9———9————————————9———9———|
|—10———8———————7—8——————7—8——————————————7—8—————————|
|——————————————————10———————————————10———————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   please can you...

|——————————8————————————————9———9——————|
|—10———8———————7—8——————7—8————————————|
|——————————————————10——————————————0—1—|
|——————————————————————————————————————|
  from all the...

Chorus (strumming is only approximate):
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————0—1———————————————0—1—————————————1—0—————|
|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—————1—1—1—1—1—1—1—————0—0—0—0—0—0—————1—2—|
                 What's that?

|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————0—1———————————————0—1———————————1—0——————————————|
|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—————1—1—1—1—1—1—1—————0—0—0—0—0—————3—1—0—0—10—9—|
                What's...(play these notes many times ^ ^)

2nd verse:
|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————————————7———7—————————————7———7—————————|
|——8———6—8s1———5—6—3———5—6———0———0———3———5—6———0———0——10—9—|
   When I am king...

|———————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————————————7———7————0—1—|
|——8———6—8s1———5—6—3———5—6———0———0——————|
   With your...

Chorus again (strumming is only approximate):
|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————0—1———————————————0—1—————————————1—0———————|
|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—————1—1—1—1—1—1—1—————0—0—0—0—0—0—————1—2—3—|
                 What's that?

|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————0—1———————————————0—1———————————1—0———————————7s|
|—3—3—3—3—3—3—3—————1—1—1—1—1—1—1—————0—0—0—0—0—————3—1—0—0—0————|
                What's that...

Riff:
|———————————————————————————————| play
|———————————————————————————————| this
|—0———0—0—3—0———————————3———5———| three
|———————————————4——4——4—————————| times

|———————————————————————9—10—————|
|————————————————————————————8—9—|
|—0———0—0—3—0————————————————————|
|———————————————4——4——4——————————|

7/8 part (plusses are the 16 notes)
|———————————————————————————8—9—10———|
|—10———10—10———————————————————————9—|
|————————————8—10———11———11——————————|
|————————————————————————————————————|
  1  + 2  +  3 +  4 +  5 +  6 + 7  +

|——————————————————————10—8—7————————|
|—10———10—10——————————————————10—8—9—|
|————————————8—10———11———————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————|
  1  + 2  +  3 +  4 +  5  + 6 +  7 +

|———————————————————————————9———10———|
|—10———10—10—————————————————————————|
|————————————8—10———11———11——————————|
|————————————————————————————————————|
  1  + 2  +  3 +  4 +  5 +  6 + 7  +

|——————————————————————————————————————|
|—10———10—10——————————10—9———8s———————|
|————————————8—10——————————————————————|
|——————————————————————————————————————|
  1  + 2  +  3 +  4 + 5  + 6 + 7 + 8 +

riff again, this time 4 times without the different ending, then the 7/8 part again, 
then it gets loud.

fill/riff
|————————————|—————————————————————————————| play 
|————————————|—————————————————————————————| this
|—9s—————9s|—0———0—0—3—0—————————3———5———| twice
|————————————|—————————————4——4——4—————————| 

loud 7/8 part
|—————————————————————————————| play
|—————————————————————2———3———| this
|—3———3—3—————————————————————| three
|—————————1—3———4———4—————————| times
  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 +
|—————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————|
|—3———3—3—————————3—2———1———0—————|
|—————————1—3—————————————————————|
  1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 +

the long chord (A minor)
|———|
|———|
|—0—|
|———|

moaning part
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|—3———2———1———0———5———0———5———3———1———0———————————————————0———0——|
|—————————————————————————————————————————3———1———0———0——————————|

play the above three times, then play this:
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|—3———2———1———0———5———0———5———3———1———0——————————————————————————|
|—————————————————————————————————————————3———1———0———0———0———0——|

and the last note is:
|———|
|———|
|—0—|
|———|
as the guitar goes back into the riff.

riff part 3 times, 7/8 part four, riff four, 7/8 four. the end.
all through these heavy sections he skips certain notes (rests) for different effects. 
There doesnOt seem to be any sort of pattern, so I didnOt bother to figure it out.

If you find any mistakes ... good for you!

Dale

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! 🎸

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Radiohead — Paranoid Android bass tabs