Bass TAB (or Bass Tablature) is a simple way of reading music for bass that uses numbers and symbols instead of notes on a staff.
In this guide, I’ll explain how to read Bass TAB so you can start learning songs from TAB from websites such as Ultimate Guitar (check out the best TAB websites here). Most sites that offer Guitar TAB also include Bass TAB.

There are a few different types of Bass TAB you may find online. While the types of Bass TAB may look slightly different from each other, they all follow the same basic ideas.
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This is the oldest type of Bass TAB that was first shared online. Some sites still cling on to text-based TAB instead of using a modern version, so it’s useful to know how to read it.
This type of TAB can tell you where to play each note and any techniques used, but it usually doesn’t include any rhythm notation.
Sometimes you will see TAB with numbers underneath (eg: 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +) to help explain the rhythm. But if you want TAB with decent rhythm notation, check out the other TAB formats.
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The font Courier New is the most popular font for writing this type of TAB. Notepad in Windows has quite a few other fonts that work well with TAB.
Websites like Songsterr use an interactive type of TAB that not only packs in far more information such as proper rhythm notation, but you can play along with the TAB.
As you can see, the above TAB looks similar to the text-based Bass TAB from earlier, but is easier to read and uses different symbols.
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Most interactive TAB will include all instruments for a song, so you can play along to the TAB while listening to the drums, guitar, and any other instruments in the background.
If you buy a TAB book, you will likely see this format. The basic idea here is that you get both the TAB version as well as the Standard Notation version at the same time.
It’s important to keep in mind that you don’t need to know how to read Standard Notation to use this format. Simply ignore the top staff and read the TAB as normal.
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Guitar Pro 8 gives you everything you need to edit and create your own TAB as well as download and playback/edit TAB for other songs. A nice advantage of this software is the range of tools you can use such as:
Bass TAB has four horizontal lines to represent the four strings on bass. Bass TAB written for 5-string bass will use five horizontal lines.
The number of lines always matches the number of strings. This means if you see a part with six lines, it may be meant for guitar.
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As you can see in the diagram below, the four lines match up to the four bass strings from lowest pitch to highest pitch:
Looking at Bass TAB is like looking down at your bass in your hands. The bottom line in Bass TAB matches the lowest pitch string (eg: E for 4-string bass and B for 5-string bass in Standard Tuning) on your bass.
This is handy when a song uses an alternate tuning. If you don’t see the string names next to each line, look elsewhere to make sure the tuning is in Standard.
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Each line on Bass TAB represents a string on your bass. Whenever you see a number on a line in Bass TAB, that number is telling you to play a specific note on that string.
The numbers on Bass TAB represent the fret numbers on a string. 5 would mean the fifth fret on your bass. 12 would mean the twelfth fret. 0 would mean the open string (zero fret).
Take a look at the below diagram for examples of different TAB numbers and how each number matches a note on the bass fingerboard:
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As an example, the ‘5’ on the highest line in the above TAB means to play the fifth fret on the G string (the highest pitch string matches the highest line in TAB).

Take a minute to study the above diagram to make sure you can easily figure out how the numbers on each line match the correct fret positions on the bass.
When numbers on Bass TAB are stacked on top of each other, it is telling you to play those numbers at the same time.
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This is very common on Guitar TAB as guitarists often play chords, but you may see it on occasion in some bass parts.
In the above example, the 0-7 part is telling you to play the open E string and the 7th fret on the A string both at the same time.
The second example is telling you to play the 7th fret on the D string and the 9th fret on the G string at the same time.
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Depending on the style of music you play, you may never come across notes stacked in TAB, but the main point to remember is that when the numbers are stacked on top of each other, it means to play those notes at the same time.
When numbers are written side by side (on the same string or different strings), the Bass TAB is telling you to play the notes one after the other from left to right.
In the below Bass TAB, you start by playing the 1st fret note, then play the 2nd fret note, then the 3rd fret note, and finally the 4th fret note because they are all written one after the other.
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Symbols on Bass TAB represent different techniques such as slides, bends, hammer-ons, or slapping. When you see a symbol in TAB, it is telling you to perform a specific type of technique.
There are two sets of symbols to learn for Bass TAB. Text-based Bass TAB uses one set of symbols and formal TAB uses a different set of symbols.

In text-based TAB this is shown as ‘h’ in between two notes. In formal Bass TAB, this is shown as a curved line over the two notes as shown below and an H above the staff:
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2h4 means play the 2nd fret, then hammer-on to the 4th fret. 4h5h7 means to do two hammer-ons in a row (you only pick the first note).
The same curved line is used in formal Bass TAB as is used for hammer-ons, so you simply need to look at whether the number is higher or lower to know which technique to use.
This can sometimes look confusing (especially the text version), so take it one note at a time to figure out what technique you need to use.
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The type of slash used tells you whether you need to slide up to a note ‘/’ or slide down to a note ‘’.
To know which slash symbol is which, think of the slash symbol as a slide you walk up to from the left.
If the slash slopes downwards like , you slide down on your bass. If the slash slopes upwards like /, you slide up on bass.
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The same symbols are used in text-based and formal TAB so it’s easy to identify slides. Some old text-based TAB may show sinstead of a slash as shown in the above example (eg: 7s9 is the same as 7/9).
In formal TAB, you may also notice a curved line over the top of the slide, this is a reminder that you only pick the first note of the slide. If there isn’t a curved line, it means to pick both notes.
The above example also shows how hammer-ons and pull-offs can be combined with slides. The curved line tells you to pluck the very first note, but none of the notes that follow under the curve. This is called legato and can use a variety of techniques.

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‘b‘ in Bass TAB is the symbol for a bend. In formal TAB, a curved line with an arrow or number is used.
In text-based TAB, sometimes a number is given after the ‘b’ to tell us what pitch to bend up to. So 7b9 means to bend the 7th fret note up until it sounds like the 9th fret pitch.
In formal TAB, a number or text (eg: 1/2, full) is given at the top of the curved arrow to tell us what type of bend to play.
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‘r‘ in Bass TAB means to release a bend. Sometimes this is shown if a bend needs to be held for a long time, so you know when to lower it again.
‘pb’in Bass TAB means to pre-bend a note before you pick it. You push the string up to the correct pitch, then pick the note before releasing it or holding it.
‘x‘ in Bass TAB is the symbol for a muted hit. This can be across multiple strings or on a single string.
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A muted hit is when you pluck the string while dampening it with your fretting hand. This produces a percussive sound rather than a note ringing out.
When a note is in parentheses () in Bass TAB, it can mean two things. It either means to play a ghost note or that
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