Song: Mirror in the Bathroom
Artist: The Beat
Album: I Just Can't Stop It (1980)
Bassist: David Steele 
Tabbed by LoudLon for Big BassTabs.com

Eb tuning (1/2 step down)

NOTE: The entire song consists of a single riff, with the exception of the 
second half of Interlude 1; it also consists entirely of 16th notes, with
the exception of a pair of 8th notes also in the second half of Interlude 1. 
So rather than notate every 16th note as I normally do, instead I opted to
notate only the two 8th notes (indicated by an "e" above the bar).


INTRO:
    2/4               4/4                              (  x3  )
Gb |—————————————————||————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————————————||—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—————————————————||—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |—r———————————————||————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2   &      1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


VERSE 1 (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


PRE—VERSE (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


VERSE 2 (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


INTERLUDE 1:
                                    (  x2  )
Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &

                                 (  x2  )
                          e                                 e
Gb |—————————————————5—5—5—8———8—8—8—|———————————————————————6———6—6—6—|
Db |—————————6—6—6—6—————————————————|—————————6—6—6—6—8—8—8———————————|
Ab |—8—8—8—8—————————————————————————|—8—8—8—8—————————————————————————|
Eb |—————————————————————————————————|—————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &     1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &


PRE—CHORUS (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


CHORUS 1 (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


VERSE 4 (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


INTERLUDE 2 (x4):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


VERSE 4 (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


LEAD—IN TO OUTRO (x2):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &


OUTRO (Repeat to fade—out):

Gb |————————————————————————————8—8—8—8—|————————————————————————————————————|
Db |—————————10—10—10—0—5—6—5—6—————————|—————————10—10—10—0—5—5—5—0—8—8—8—8—|
Ab |—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|—7—8—7—8————————————————————————————|
Eb |————————————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————|
     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &     1   &   2     &    3   &   4   &

Follow along with the song:

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

2nick3

5 years, 6 months ago
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Love this riff!

Mac10

3 years, 4 months ago
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Great Tab, do you have one for hands off she's mine

Mac10

3 years, 4 months ago
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Great Tab, do you have one for hands off she's mine

rankingroger69

2 years, 4 months ago
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i had to make an account just to comment on how completely wrong this is. idk what song you're listening to but this is just COMPLETELY wrong. why bother uploading this trash?

rankingroger69

2 years, 4 months ago
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i had to make an account just to comment on how completely wrong this is. idk what song you're listening to but this is just COMPLETELY wrong. why bother uploading this trash?

LoudLon [author]

2 years, 4 months ago
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I see what I did wrong. I didn't indicate the tuning is Eb, not standard. My mistake. I'll fix it.

Incidentally, a simple “you have it in the wrong tuning” would have sufficed. You say you “had” to make an account just to comment on how wrong it is, when what you really did was “choose” to make an account to show how big a dick you are. Why bother with THAT?

Forum

The Beat — Mirror in the Bathroom bass tabs

How to Read Bass Tabs

1. The Basics

2. Common Techniques

3. Advanced Techniques

4. Rhythm and Timing

5. Slap and Pop

Practice Makes Perfect

Comments

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