Bass guitar tab is an extremely popular way of writing bass guitar music. If you are interested in becoming a bass guitarist you need to get familiar with bass guitar music by playing the bass lines of some of your favorite songs before you let your inner bass player off the chain. Utilising this handy tool you can learn how to be the bass player in a band quickly without getting too much into boring theory.

Nothing could be easier . . . Until you try to do it. So what is actually involved? The bass guitar player keeps time by playing a 'bassline' which is usually a rhythmic' sequence of notes. The bass player brings together the rhythmic playing of the drummer with the melodies and chords played by the lead guitarist. Do you need to be a talented musician to do this? Yes you do. The bass guitar player is the guy who switches off his brain and becomes one with the flow of the music. He then switches his brain back on and become the designated driver for the rest of the band.

A novice bass guitarist may not immediately be able to follow (or lead) the rest of the band right from the start. You might need some material to work with while you ease into the job. Bass guitar tab gives the guitar player written directions on what to play to give the bass line to a song. Tablature is a written representation of the strings of the guitar using numbers to show the frets. If you want to learn the bass guitar quickly tab will help you. It is easy to pick up and to remember, and it enables you to learn the riffs and phrases you need to give structure to your band's music.

A bass guitar tab is a picture of the fretboard which can be drawn using Notepad on your computer or, if you like, by hand. The frets are numbered on lines representing the guitar strings. If you have a four string bass, the upper string is the G string, next the D string, the A string, and the E string. The numbers below the lines are the frets where the notes are played. If there is zero below the line it means the open string is played. A chord is represented in bass guitar tabs by two numbers, one above the other. Most bass guitar tabs contain a legend which explains any unfamiliar terms.

With the history of rock music going back for generations tabs are available for any song you can think of. The internet is by far the best source for bass guitar tabs. Just do a Google search and you will have more material than you will ever need. All you have to do is learn and practice. Learn and practice your favorite songs first. Bass guitar is not a musical instrument you can approach without passion. Bass guitar riffs can be learnt from tab books but should be played from the heart.

Thanks to Ricky Sharples at playaguitarforfree.com for research and support!

I found a handy article by Gyorgy Huba on buying your first bass guitar:

Buying a bass guitar is an exciting time. The scent of new experiences and realized dreams is in the air, so a little discipline is called for.

So have you set your price range? You might be looking at somewhere between two and five hundred dollars for a decent bass bought new at a guitar shop. The price of a secondhand bass guitar could start at one hundred and shoot up to over a thousand dollars.

Where to look when buying a bass guitar? The local guitar shop is a logical, but not necessarily the best, choice. Pawn shops usually have a bass guitar or two hanging from the rack, anxious to tell its story. And Craigslist, US Free Ads and your local classifieds will have more choices for you.

How to Buy Your First Bass Guitar on a Budget