What Do You Want Me To Say? Bass Tabs - The Dismemberment Plan @ BigBassTabs.com

as well as the recording on 'emergency & i' i based this around the stems that the band uploaded for the remix compo a few years ago

you can hear them here https://soundcloud.com/the—dismemberment—plan/sets

the rhythm of the bassline doesn't bear much resemblance to the spacing of the numbers on this tab
figure it out by listening
there are probably minor errors but nothing that is detectable without listening hard

verse 1 and 2

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|—6—————————————33—————————————————————————10br—————————————————————————————|
A|——3——————————x———4—3—44—55—66—7b8——————————————————————————————————————————|
E|————x6—x2222——————————————————————7h8h9—————————9\—————————————————————————|

the 7b8 (hold 7 and bend up a semitone) you can hear on the stems they uploaded but i'm not 100% he
actually does this on every verse on the song. sometimes it sounds like just '7h8'

every second time the last bit goes

G|———————————————————————|
D|—10br————10br——————————|
A|———————————————————————|
E|——————9br——————9br\————|

chorus 1

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————————————————————2—2—4—4—————————————————|
E|—5—5—5—5—5—5—5p0—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—————————————————————————|  x2

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—5—5—5—5—5—5—5p0—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—1—1—————————————————————————————————————————|

chorus 2 & 3

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————————————————————2—2—4—4—————————————————|
E|—5—5—5—5—5—5—5p0—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—0—————————————————————————|  x2

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————7—7—7—7—7—7—7—7—4—4—2—2—————————————————|
E|—5—5—5—5—5—5—5p0—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—————————————————————————————————————————| 

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—5—5—5—5—5—5—5p0—2—2—2—2—2—2—2—1—1—————————————————————————————————————————|


post—chorus

i normally play it

G|—x—x—|
D|—x—x—|
A|—x—7—|
E|—x—0—| x4

but on the stems it sounds more like
G|—x—0—|
D|—x—x—|
A|—x—7—|
E|—x—0—| x4

or maybe even

G|—x—0—|
D|—x—0—|
A|—x—0—|
E|—x—0—| x4

verse 3 and outro

it goes a bit nutty here and it's hard to figure out what's going on
when you slide up to the 17/A don't actually play it with your plucking/picking hand

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|—6———————————————3—333————————————————————————————10b———10b————————————————|
A|——3———————————————————4p0—3—44—55—66—7b8h0—————————————————————————————————|
E|———0—6/17\——2121———————————————————————————7h8h9—————9b————9b\—————————————|

this second version is messy


G|——————————————1515—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|—6———————————————————————3—333————————————————————————————10b———10b————————|
A|——3———————13——————————————————4p0—3p0—44—55—66—7———————————————————————————|
E|———0—6/—————————————2121———————————————————————————7h8h9—————9b————9b\—————|

bridge

G|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
D|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
A|———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
E|—22—22—22—22—2—2———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|



************************************

| x   Dead note
| g   Grace note
| (n) Ghost note
| h   Hammer—on
| p   Pull—off
| r   Release
| >   Accented note
| t   Tapping
| b   Bend
| br  Bend release
| pb  Pre—bend
| pbr Pre—bend release
| /   Slide up
| \   Slide down
| ~   Vibrato
| s   Slap
| P   Pop
| PM  Palm mute
| TR  Trill
| N   Tremolo

************************************

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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The Dismemberment Plan — What Do You Want Me To Say? bass tabs