Bass Tablatures

[funky_numba]

Hi all,

I've just recently taken up bass... about a week ago!! Bought a second hand bass guitar and amp in pretty good nick, instruction video etc, etc. Upgraded the strings.

I'm looking for some help on finding free tablatures for songs but there are too many dodgy sites on the net. To save time, can any of you guys point me to some decent sites to get free A-Z list of songs for bass tablature?

I was on youtube last night and watched a guy playing an amazing bass cover of Far from Over.. an instrumental by Frank Stallone. Do you any of you know where I could get a tablature for that particular song?

All help and advice much appreciated to a total newbie. A big thanks to all you ppl at this fantastic site!!!!!!

[funky_numba]

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1015932' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:19 AM']Hi all,

I've just recently taken up bass... about a week ago!! Bought a second hand bass guitar and amp in pretty good nick, instruction video etc, etc. Upgraded the strings.

I'm looking for some help on finding free tablatures for songs but there are too many dodgy sites on the net. To save time, can any of you guys point me to some decent sites to get free A-Z list of songs for bass tablature?

I was on youtube last night and watched a guy playing an amazing bass cover of Far from Over.. an instrumental by Frank Stallone. Do you any of you know where I could get a tablature for that particular song?

All help and advice much appreciated to a total newbie. A big thanks to all you ppl at this fantastic site!!!!!! [/quote]


Hi again,

I meant to add a further question to this post..

Now that my bass is tuned correctly as per my electronic tuner.. if I want to play along to online videos on Youtube and the likes, will I need to retune my bass each time to get the correct pitch to each song?

Thanks again!

[Bloodaxe]

Greetings, what did you end up with? Yammy or something else?

Not all online tabs are dodgy, some of them are just plain wrong. Nevertheless there's more than a few that are pretty close/spot on, it's just a question of trial & error.
To decide which is what you need two things... a tab reader & a pair of ears. A couple of good free tab progs are [url="http://tuxguitar.herac.com.ar/"]Tux Guitar[/url] and [url="http://www.power-tab.net/guitar.php"]Powertab[/url] (of the two I reckon Tux is the better one). If you want to splash out, then [url="http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php"]GuitarPro[/url] isn't bank-breakingly expensive.

For downloading tabs, I tend to use [url="http://www.911tabs.com/"]911 Tabs[/url] as that site searches loads of others as well. Generally if it ain't there, it don't exist.

So... what do you do if you can't find a tab? Well... you could post up a request in the Theory & Technique part of Basschat. If anyone has it, there's a sporting chance they'll post it up or provide a link for it. Talkbass has a similar forum (called "Tablature" oddly enough) & is another good resource.

That's one option. Another one (& in my opinion the better one) is to use your ears & figure it out for yourself. I suspect I'm right in believing that the vast majority of players here started out playing using exactly that method & many (me included) continue to do so. It works. Alright, it doesn't give the 'instant' result that having the tab (or the sheet music) does, but it's better for you in the long run... trust me.

Arm yourself with a few scales (Major, Minor & Pentatonic), get used to playing them all over the neck & you'll be astonished at how things will start to click into place. Learn the names of the notes - don't say/think "1st fret on the second-thickest string", say "B-flat". If you have to transpose a tune into a different key, that'll help. Knowing the note names and your basic scales also unlocks a whole shedload of tunes.

It's not a 5-minute job though. In fact, learning [i]never[/i] stops. It can become rather addictive tbh.

To answer your other question, YES. It's always a good idea to check your tuning before each practice session as it can & will drift - especially with new strings. You'll also find that recorded music isn't always tuned to the standard (A = 440Hz), it can often be a semitone down (Bon Scott era AC/DC, early Black Sabbath, & Thin Lizzy to name a few), or even a quarter-tone off (try The Small Faces for this). Then there's the Death/Grind/Sludge/Math/Nu-core metal lot who'll tune to all sorts of weird & wonderful "standards". Probably best not to go [i]there[/i] just yet.

If you can afford it, seek out a decent teacher in your area (preferably one that specialises in Bass) - that 'forced' regime can work wonders. If you can't, or don't have time, have a nose around [url="http://www.studybass.com/"]StudyBass.com[/url], & investigate the stickied posts in the aforementioned Theory & Technique bit of Basschat and also over on TalkBass (two sub-forums there - 'Technique' and 'General Instruction')

That Frank Stallone number... '80s or what?

Anyway... it seems to be in the key of Cm and the little run is a partial Cm downscale (but starting on the F)*. Over to you, you should be able to get this without resorting to tabs. Seriously, it's not that hard (but it's a good one to kick off with for a number of reasons).

Pete.

[size=1]*Theory is my weakest suit, so I fully expect to get pulled up on this [/size]

Edited November 8, 2010 by Bloodaxe

[Musky]

On the subject of learning by ear, [url="http://www.xs4all.nl/~mp2004/bp/"]Best Practice[/url] is invaluable for slowing things down to hear exactly what is being played. I use The Amazing Slow Downer, which does the same job only with the addition of a useful graphic eq to help dial out some of the other instruments. That one's not free though.

Edited November 8, 2010 by Musky

[Tinman]

[url="http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/"]http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/[/url] are who I use along with the Guitar Pro software

[spinynorman]

If you go the Tux or GuitarPro route then you can get tabs that the software will play - [url="http://www.gprotab.net/index.php"]http://www.gprotab.net/index.php[/url]

Also if you're playing along with Youtube, or mp3s, or anything on a PC, I find the pitch is slightly off, probably something to do with the soundcard. It's not a lot, but enough sometimes to throw you out if you're trying to pick something up by ear. If I tune to the tuner built into Guitar Pro (there's probably one in Tux, or there's other guitar tuner programmes) it sounds a lot better.

[Gust0o]

I'll vote +1 for Guitar Pro - it does a good job if you're looking to work on new and existing tabs; it's certainly been useful for me in helping explain riffs to the band, or ensuring we're all playing to the same song. Displays both tab and music, so a boon in helping to learn your way around the notes.

[toneknob]

Have a look at www.songsterr.com for tabs as well.

[LiamPodmore]

I use guitar pro for almost everything. Some things i have worked out by ear but im not very profficient at that yet, i should really learn to be honest.

Liam

[Cat Burrito]

I don't use tab so much these days but I always liked [url="http://www.bassmasta.net/"]http://www.bassmasta.net/[/url] as it has few pop ups & a bit more going on there. Do check it out

[Doddy]

Being as though you've only been playing for a week,can I suggest that now is the ideal time to start associating the notes on the 'board with their position on the stave. Basically,learn to read. Also try to develop your ear by trying to learn the tunes without resorting to tablature. If you deviote just 10-20 minutes a day on each,it will come together pretty quickly.It may seem like more work now,but trust me,it will be so much more beneficial for you.

[lojo]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1016649' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:10 PM']Being as though you've only been playing for a week,can I suggest that now is the ideal time to start associating the notes on the 'board with their position on the stave. Basically,learn to read. Also try to develop your ear by trying to learn the tunes without resorting to tablature. If you deviote just 10-20 minutes a day on each,it will come together pretty quickly.It may seem like more work now,but trust me,it will be so much more beneficial for you.[/quote]


If i was starting out again now, id do this, I spent ages teaching myself to play from books and records, even those floppy 45rpm instruction things, but never thought to include learning to read and no one guided me to do it either

[Pete Academy]

Use the tab as a guide only.

[funky_numba]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1015962' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:16 AM']Greetings, what did you end up with? Yammy or something else?

Not all online tabs are dodgy, some of them are just plain wrong. Nevertheless there's more than a few that are pretty close/spot on, it's just a question of trial & error.
To decide which is what you need two things... a tab reader & a pair of ears. A couple of good free tab progs are [url="http://tuxguitar.herac.com.ar/"]Tux Guitar[/url] and [url="http://www.power-tab.net/guitar.php"]Powertab[/url] (of the two I reckon Tux is the better one). If you want to splash out, then [url="http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php"]GuitarPro[/url] isn't bank-breakingly expensive.

For downloading tabs, I tend to use [url="http://www.911tabs.com/"]911 Tabs[/url] as that site searches loads of others as well. Generally if it ain't there, it don't exist.

So... what do you do if you can't find a tab? Well... you could post up a request in the Theory & Technique part of Basschat. If anyone has it, there's a sporting chance they'll post it up or provide a link for it. Talkbass has a similar forum (called "Tablature" oddly enough) & is another good resource.

That's one option. Another one (& in my opinion the better one) is to use your ears & figure it out for yourself. I suspect I'm right in believing that the vast majority of players here started out playing using exactly that method & many (me included) continue to do so. It works. Alright, it doesn't give the 'instant' result that having the tab (or the sheet music) does, but it's better for you in the long run... trust me.

Arm yourself with a few scales (Major, Minor & Pentatonic), get used to playing them all over the neck & you'll be astonished at how things will start to click into place. Learn the names of the notes - don't say/think "1st fret on the second-thickest string", say "B-flat". If you have to transpose a tune into a different key, that'll help. Knowing the note names and your basic scales also unlocks a whole shedload of tunes.

It's not a 5-minute job though. In fact, learning [i]never[/i] stops. It can become rather addictive tbh.

To answer your other question, YES. It's always a good idea to check your tuning before each practice session as it can & will drift - especially with new strings. You'll also find that recorded music isn't always tuned to the standard (A = 440Hz), it can often be a semitone down (Bon Scott era AC/DC, early Black Sabbath, & Thin Lizzy to name a few), or even a quarter-tone off (try The Small Faces for this). Then there's the Death/Grind/Sludge/Math/Nu-core metal lot who'll tune to all sorts of weird & wonderful "standards". Probably best not to go [i]there[/i] just yet.

If you can afford it, seek out a decent teacher in your area (preferably one that specialises in Bass) - that 'forced' regime can work wonders. If you can't, or don't have time, have a nose around [url="http://www.studybass.com/"]StudyBass.com[/url], & investigate the stickied posts in the aforementioned Theory & Technique bit of Basschat and also over on TalkBass (two sub-forums there - 'Technique' and 'General Instruction')

That Frank Stallone number... '80s or what?

Anyway... it seems to be in the key of Cm and the little run is a partial Cm downscale (but starting on the F)*. Over to you, you should be able to get this without resorting to tabs. Seriously, it's not that hard (but it's a good one to kick off with for a number of reasons).

Pete.

[size=1]*Theory is my weakest suit, so I fully expect to get pulled up on this [/size][/quote]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for you massive contribution!! You have given me plenty food for thought. Yes it's becoming addictive.. trying to learn all the jargon, forever googling for information. Find it much more enjoyable than when I was trying to learn piano or even acoustic guitar.

I have a good ear for picking up music lines but the problem is trying to get my fingers to walk the frets and pluck the correct strings.

Scales... ooh scary stuff!! I got a book from my local library.. Serious Electric Bass by Joel Di Bartolo. It's FULL of different kind of scales.. Mixolydian, Locrian, Dorian, Ionian... yuk!!! Seems a bit too heavy for a beginner like me. Think I will need to get a tutor to help with the basics first!!!

The bass I got is a Wesley, don't know the model.

That song, Far From Over.. is very fast on the original cd. Need to find some way to slow the song down while keeping the same pitch so I can try and pick up the notes.

Lots of work to do...

Oh I checked out that 911tabs site. Love it!!

Thanks again, Pete.

[Doddy]

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']Scales... ooh scary stuff!! I got a book from my local library.. Serious Electric Bass by Joel Di Bartolo. It's FULL of different kind of scales.. Mixolydian, Locrian, Dorian, Ionian... yuk!!! Seems a bit too heavy for a beginner like me. Think I will need to get a tutor to help with the basics first!!![/quote]

That's a great book,but I think it is too much for you right now.
Check out something like the Hal Leonard Bass Method (Complete Edition) by Ed Friedland. It'll give you a good grounding without
being too overwhelming.

[Bloodaxe]

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']I have a good ear for picking up music lines but the problem is trying to get my fingers to walk the frets and pluck the correct strings.[/quote]
You're only a week or two in... don't panic, it'll come.

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']Scales... ooh scary stuff!! I got a book from my local library.. Serious Electric Bass by Joel Di Bartolo. It's FULL of different kind of scales.. Mixolydian, Locrian, Dorian, Ionian... yuk!!! Seems a bit too heavy for a beginner like me. Think I will need to get a tutor to help with the basics first!!![/quote]
That'd scare anybody! Seriously, copy out just the Major, Minor & Pentatonic for the moment & get to work with those. Modes are a fair way off (& it's quite possible you'll never need them), so leave them until required. Isn't Mixolydiwotsit that disease rabbits get?

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']The bass I got is a Wesley, don't know the model.[/quote]
Provided it's straight, can hold tuning, & can accept a reasonable setup it'll do for now. When you know more (and I mean 'know' - not "read about"), then you can make an informed decision as to the next step. The quality of "starter" basses has never been higher, so I dare say it's absolutely fine.

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']That song, Far From Over.. is very fast on the original cd. Need to find some way to slow the song down while keeping the same pitch so I can try and pick up the notes.[/quote]
Have a Google for Audacity, it's a freeware sound recording prog that I believe can do just that.

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']Lots of work to do...

Oh I checked out that 911tabs site. Love it!![/quote]
The work never ends. As PeteAcademy said, try not to become dependent on tabs, if you can slow it down & have a fair ear you'll learn so much more by writing your own - plus you'll know they're right Tabs are best viewed as a "get out of jail card" for when you're really stuck or in a tearing hurry for a dep gig. You've got the time... take it, it's not a race.

Not seen the book Doddy mentioned, but Ed Friedland is very prolific & highly thought of. For some slower/easier (but still good) stuff, get yourself some good compilations that cover Motown, Stax/Atlantic, & Chess records. The bass is often quite prominent & you can't go wrong with James Jamerson, 'Duck' Dunn & Willie Dixon.
If Rock is your thing, early AC/DC & Status Quo will get you sorted on 8th-note lockdowns - Cliff Williams & Alan Lancaster are much overlooked IMO.
If Jump Blues/R & R is your bag, I've done a few 'transcriptions' that live here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=97180"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=97180[/url]

Blisters away

Pete.

[Musky]

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1017091' date='Nov 9 2010, 12:40 AM']That song, Far From Over.. is very fast on the original cd. Need to find some way to slow the song down while keeping the same pitch so I can try and pick up the notes.
Thanks again, Pete.[/quote]

Like Pete says, Audacity can do that for you as can Windows Media Player (I'm reliably informed - I wouldn't know as I use a Mac). The downside to using Audacity is that you have to select the speed you require, which it then converts. It takes a little while and you have to repeat the process if you want it a bit faster or slower. The Best Practice software can do it on the fly, as well as changing pitch if you find the track you're listening to is tuned differently.

Like Audacity it's freeware. They're both worth having IMHO.

[Faithless]

Can I second Doddy on learning to read?

Dots and numbers probably doesn't make any difference for you now, but, 'knowing' the dots (learning to read) will unlock you lots and lots of tuition books (most of serious stuff is written in notes, no tabs..), and you can get a gig [i]just [/i]because you can read.

Isn't that convincing enough?
Get a good tutor and start working. All in all, reading is one of a lot other important things to practice and learn.


cheers
Faith

[Gust0o]

I absolutely buy the need to read; the only word of caution I would raise, thinking back to my early days of learning, is that it can be incredibly boring to work through the mechanics of the instrument and the music. Especially in any concerted manner, and I think back to my own frustrations on occasion and wonder how I persevered

I think there's a happy medium in there, between utilising tab and understanding the notation - possibly why I recommended Guitar Pro, which will demonstrate both to you. But, in the early days, there's a great sense of achievement to learning a favourite track, which will go a long to maintaining commitment to the instrument in the long-run.

[funky_numba]

I will be making a concerted effort to learn some of the scales so I can get my damn fingers to stretch further across the frets and want to try and commit to memory so I know what the fret is to the notes shown on the music. Think I will be hunting down a tutor very soon if I can find a good one in Glasgow/ East Kilbride that won't charge me a small fortune. Any recommendations out there??

I agree with you GustOo. I've had a practice at playing along to a couple of bars on some fav songs. It's hard work but made a bit easier with that Best Practice 'slowing down' app that Musky so kindly pointed out to me.


Discovered something else new. Quite often, the open strings vibrate after I pluck a closed string and I don't get such a clean sound. When I listen to music, I never hear any of that. Does that mean that if I'm playing a song, I always have to mute the open strings so that I only hear the string being plucked.. if you know what I mean??

Thanks

Paul.

[Doddy]

[quote name='funky_numba' post='1020914' date='Nov 12 2010, 02:26 AM']Discovered something else new. Quite often, the open strings vibrate after I pluck a closed string and I don't get such a clean sound. When I listen to music, I never hear any of that. Does that mean that if I'm playing a song, I always have to mute the open strings so that I only hear the string being plucked.. if you know what I mean??

Thanks

Paul.[/quote]

Basically,yes. You want to develop your muting so that the open stings aren't ringing

[daz]

If you find yourself relying on tabs for certain songs that you cannot find sheet music for, then try doing what i do. Use 'Alpha Tab' I change the tab fret numbers for the notes themselves. So you are at least learning somthing whilst you play to it.

Here is regular bass tab:

G ----------------------------------------------------
D --------------------5--------------------------17--
A --------2----5-----------------14-----17----------
E ---3----------------------15-----------------------


Translated into Alpha Tab:

G --------------------------------------------------
D --------------------G-------------------------g--
A --------B----D-----------------b-----d----------
E ---G----------------------g----------------------



Alpha Tab works the same way as regular bass tab. All that is changed is the fret number becomes the note name. To distinguish between the same note name above the 12th fret, you simply use lower case.



As for the vibration of open strings. Sympathetic vibtation depends on how hard you pluck or pick the strings. But whether or not you can hear it depends on several things, such as are playing solo or with a band, or whether or not your sound is clean or being altered by something before coming out the speakers.

As for muting most people develop some sort of system whereby they dont even realize they are doing it. It is often done completely automatically without any thinking about it. also it is done in many differrent ways. Side of hand, finger, left hand, right hand. I wouldnt even worry about it too much.

[Doddy]

[quote name='daz' post='1020925' date='Nov 12 2010, 03:39 AM']If you find yourself relying on tabs for certain songs that you cannot find sheet music for, then try doing what i do. Use 'Alpha Tab' I change the tab fret numbers for the notes themselves. So you are at least learning somthing whilst you play to it.

Here is regular bass tab:

G ----------------------------------------------------
D --------------------5--------------------------17--
A --------2----5-----------------14-----17----------
E ---3----------------------15-----------------------


Translated into Alpha Tab:

G --------------------------------------------------
D --------------------G-------------------------g--
A --------B----D-----------------b-----d----------
E ---G----------------------g----------------------



Alpha Tab works the same way as regular bass tab. All that is changed is the fret number becomes the note name. To distinguish between the same note name above the 12th fret, you simply use lower case.[/quote]

Oh dear

I guess people will come up with all sorts of things to avoid reading.

[lojo]

[quote name='Doddy' post='1021258' date='Nov 12 2010, 12:18 PM']Oh dear

I guess people will come up with all sorts of things to avoid reading.[/quote]


All it needs now is a way to communicate timing

[daz]

Oh what a surprize the Tab snobs are out again, what a surprize (Yawn) There is nothing wrong in using Tabs to learn songs whilst starting out, especially to learn some favourite songs quickly to give ones sleft a little confidence, and its a waste of time starting another divisive thread about it.