Sonic Youth — Theresa's sound world
Standard tuning. Numbers in curly braces mean you should play them when you 
feel like it or when it sounds right. Kim does this I am sure but I don't know 
exactly where. I'll leave you to figure it out. It is not 100% correct but best 
to my ear. Feel free to improvise. 

Intro — slow, quarter notes    x7
G——{7}——————————————————————————|
D*———————9——9——9——9——9——9——9———*|
A*—————————————————————————————*|
E———————————————————————————————|

Verse — a tad quicker than intro
part a                               part b 
G——11——{7}{7}{7}{7}{7}—{9}{9}{9}{9}—|—11—11—11—11————————————————|
D———————9——9——9——9——9———9——9——9——9——|—————————————13—13—13—13—13—|
A———————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————|
E———————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————|

verse part a then
part c
G———————————————————————————————————|
D——13—13—13—13—13—11—11—11/13—13—13—|
A———————————————————————————————————|
E———————————————————————————————————|

verse part a then
part d
G——11—11—11—11/—14————————————|
D——————————————————13—13—13—13—|
A——————————————————————————————|
E——————————————————————————————|

verse part a then
part e
G————————————————————————————|
D——13—13—13—13—13—119—9—9—9—|
A————————————————————————————|
E————————————————————————————|

Interlude — eighth notes
G————————————————————————————————————|
D——9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9———————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————|
E———————————————————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7——|

verse part a then part e

Before chorus
G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D*——9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—————————————————————————————————*|
A*——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————*|
E———————————————————————————————————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7——|

Chorus — quite fast relentless sixteenths
G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—|

now stomp on the compulsory distortion                               2x
G——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D*————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————*|
A*————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————*|
E——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7/9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—12—12—12—12—12—12—12—14h16—16——|

G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A———————————————————————————————————/19—19—19———————————————————————|
E——12—12—12—12—12—12—12—1210—10—10————————————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—|

G————————————————————————————Mute these chords, and Kim bumps the 12 on the D 
D——————————————————————————————————————14—14—14—14—14—14—14—14—14—14—12—|
A——————————————————————————————————————14—14—14—14—14—14—14—14—14—14————|
E——12—12—12—12—12—12/x—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—12—12—12—12—12—12—12—12—12—12————|

Turn off your distortion, go back to intro then skip interlude and go to before
chorus. Then play the riff where you stomp on distortion. 
Then — still on sixteenths
G———————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D———————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E——12—12—12—12—12—12—12—1210—10—10—10——7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—|

G——————————————————————————————————————————|
D——————————————————————————————————————————|
A——————————————————————————————————————————|
E——12—12—12—12—12—12—12—12—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—9—|

G————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E——12—12—12—12—12—12—12—12—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—|

Intro — back to quarters x10 then the 11th time
G—————————————————————|
D——9—9—9—9—9—9—9—————|
A—————————————————2———|
E—————————————————————|

There ye go. Was that the most complete SY bass tab ever posted or what? 
Any comments/suggestions/corrections? Mail me.
—————————— 
Benjamin

"Kinda like a cloud I was up, was up, way up in the sky and I was feeling 
some feelings you wouldn't believe, sometimes I don't believe it myself and 
i decided i was never coming down 
Just then a tiny little dot caught my eye it was just about too small to see 
but i watched it way too long, it was pulling me down...."
         
E—mail: [email protected]
URL: http://ironbark.bendigo.latrobe.edu.au/~j6872839/westy.html
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

About Sonic Youth

Sonic Youth is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore (vocals and guitar), Kim Gordon (vocals, bass, guitar), Lee Ranaldo (vocals and guitar), Steve Shelley (drums), and Mark Ibold (bass).

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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Sonic Youth — Theresas Sound World bass tabs