CLASSICAL THUMP
BY: V.L. WOOTEN

The techniques used in this song are a great way to teach yourself difficult techniques
used in many other funk styles. This song is also a great warm—up song for both the
left and right hand.  

Some of the techniques used have been seen in many other songs, but one technique
stands out over all. That is the THUMB—HAMMER—THUMB UP (starting in measure 9). This
is all about timing. At first, try this technique slowly to hear each note clearly.
You should start by pushing downward with your thumb, hammering with your left hand,
then finishing with pulling your thumb upwards to get three notes. Eventually, you'll
be able to play it faster and faster. Once you feel that you get to a plateau of
achievement, then try to stiffen your right thumb in the shape of a pick and strum
the string. Again, this is all about timing. When strumming your right thumb, try
to squeeze the hammer—on in between the plucks. If you notice the number of notes
in each measure, you'll see that most of the music is broken into six—lets (6
notes = 1 beat and 24 notes per bar).          

If you have a metronome, START SLOW, but use it to keep time. A lot of the passages
don't sound coherent when played slow, but as you speed up, you'll notice that
the running bass line and melodies will come out.  

Finally, for all levels of bass players...This song is note—for—note. If played correctly,
you will have both a great exercise and a cool song to impress your friends.  

If allowed by the web—master of this site, I will keep adding to this TAB to make
it more complete. 

GOOD LUCK!!!  

T = THUMB
T= THUMB UP
H = HAMMER
P1= PLUCK INDEX FINGER
P2= PLUCK MIDDLE FINGER

1 QUARTER NOTE = 132

1                  2                  3                  4 
|———————4———4——————|—————5—4—5—4—2————|—————5———5———5————|———————4———4———————|
|—————5———5———5————|———5———————————5——|———5———4———4———4——|—————5———5———5—————|
|———5———————————5——|—3————————————————|—5————————————————|———5———————————5———|
|—3————————————————|——————————————————|——————————————————|—3—————————————————|
  T T T T T T T T    T T T T T T T T    T T T T T T T T    T T T T T T T T 

5                                   6
|—————————————(0)4————(0)4——————————|—————————(0)5—(0)4—(0)5—(0)4—(0)2———————|
|—————————(0)5————(0)5————(0)5——————|—————(0)5————————————————————————(0)5———|
|—————(0)5————————————————————(0)5——|—(0)3———————————————————————————————————|
|—(0)3——————————————————————————————|————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H T H T H T H T H T H T H T H     T H T H T H  T H  T H  T H  T H T H

7                                   8
|—————————(0)5————(0)5————(0)5——————|—————————————(0)4————(0)4———————————————|
|—————(0)5————(0)4————(0)4————(0)4——|—————————(0)5————(0)5————(0)5———————————|
|—(0)5——————————————————————————————|—————(0)5————————————————————(0)5———————|
|———————————————————————————————————|—(0)3———————————————————————————————————|
   T H T H T H T H T H T H T H T H     T H T H T H T H T H T H T H T H 

9
|———————————————————(0)4—4——————(0)4—4———————————————————|
|—————————————(0)5—5——————(0)5—5——————(0)5—5—————————————|
|———————(0)5—5——————————————————————————————(0)5—5———————|
|—(0)3—3—————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H TT H TT H TT H TT H TT H TT H TT H T     

10
|—————————————(0)5—5—(0)4—4—(0)5—5—(0)4—4—(0)2—2—————————|
|———————(0)5—5——————————————————————————————————(0)5—5———|
|—(0)3—3—————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H TT H TT H T T H T T H T T H T T H TT H T

11
|—————————————(0)5—5——————(0)5—5——————(0)5—5—————————————|
|———————(0)5—5——————(0)4—4——————(0)4—4——————(0)4—4———————|
|—(0)5—5—————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H TT H TT H TT H TT H TT H TT H TT H T

12
|—(0)12—12—(0)11—11—(0)9—9—(0)7—7—(0)5—5—(0)4—4—(0)2—2—0—|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T  H T  T  H T  T H T T H T T H T T H T T H TT 

13
|—(0)12—12————————————————(0)12—12—(0)11—11————————————————(0)11—11——|
|—————————(0)14—14—————————————————————————(0)12—12——————————————————|
|—————————————————(0)14—14—————————————————————————(0)12—12——————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H  T T H  T T H  T T H  T  T H  T T H  T T H  T T H  T

14
|—(0)9—9————————————————(0)9—9—(0)7—7——————————————(0)7—7————————————|
|———————(0)10—10—————————————————————(0)9—9——————————————————————————|
|———————————————(0)10—10———————————————————(0)12—12——————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H TT H  T T H  T T H T T H TT H TT H  T T H T

15
|—(0)5—5————————————(0)5—5—(0)4—4————————————(0)4—4——————————————————|
|———————(0)7—7———————————————————(0)5—5——————————————————————————————|
|—————————————(0)7—7———————————————————(0)5—5————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H TT H TT H TT H T T H TT H TT H TT H T

16
|—(0)2—2—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————(0)4—4——————(0)4—4—(0)2—2————————————————————————————————————|
|—————————————(0)3—3—————————————(0)2—2——————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————————————————————————(0)3—3—0——————————————————————|
   T H TT H TT H TT H T T H TT H TT H TT

17
|——————12—————12—————12—————12—————11—————11—————11—————11———————————|
|————————(0)14—————————(0)14——(0)12—————————(0)12————————————————————|
|—(0)14—————————(0)14————————————————(0)12—————————(0)12—————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H P  T H P  T H P  T H P  T H P  T H P  T H P  T H P 

18
|——————9—————9—————9—————9—————7—————7—————7—————7———————————————————|
|———————(0)10———————(0)10—(0)9————————(0)9———————————————————————————|
|—(0)10———————(0)10—————————————(0)9————————(0)9—————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P 

19
|——————5—————5—————5—————5—————4—————4—————4—————4———————————————————|
|———————(0)7————————(0)7——(0)5————————(0)5———————————————————————————|
|—(0)7————————(0)7——————————————(0)5————————(0)5—————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P T H P 

20
|——————2—————2—————2—————2———————————————————————————————————————————|
|———————(0)4————————(0)4———2—————————————————————————————————————————|
|—(0)3————————(0)3———————————2———————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————————————————————3—0———————————————————————————————————|
   T H P T H P T H P T H P T T T T  

21
|—————————12——12————————16——12—————————11——11————————14——11——————————|
|———————————————(0)14—14——14—————————————————(0)12—12——12————————————|
|—(0)14—14——14—————————————————(0)12—12——12——————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H  T P T P  T H  T P H P   T H  T P T P  T H  T P T P

22
|—————————9———9————————12——9——————————7———7————————11——7—————————————|
|——————————————(0)10—10——10—————————————————(0)9—9———9———————————————|
|—(0)10—10——10—————————————————(0)9—9———9————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H  T P T P T H  T P H P    T H T P T P  T H T P T P

23
|————————5———5————————9———5————————4———4————————7———4————————————————|
|——————————————(0)7—7———7————————————————(0)5—5———5——————————————————|
|—(0)7—7——7—————————————————(0)5—5———5———————————————————————————————|
|————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————|
   T H T P T P  T H T P H P  T H T P T P  T H T P T P

24
|————————2———2————————5———2—————0————————————————————————————————————|
|——————————————(0)4—4———4———0—2——————————————————————————————————————|
|—(0)3—3——3———————————————————————2——————————————————————————————————|
|———————————————————————————————————3—0——————————————————————————————|
   T H T P T P  T H T P H P T H P T T T

|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|
|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|
|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|
|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|————————————————————|

About Victor Wooten

Victor Lemonte Wooten (born September 11, 1964) is an American solo bassist, composer and author.

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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Victor Wooten — Classical Thump bass tabs