And you did a great job of Paranoid 
Toby @T_dub,
Cheers Brian
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Thanks for all the advice guys!
I’ll try that - I actually bought the Jon Liebman Bass Aerobics book which I abandoned as although I could replicate the tab accurately enough using the demos I couldn’t count the rhythms and play (syncopation from the first page).
I think I’ll try mixing up my practice more to do 50/50 sightreading vs tab.
I did a while back but was having issues with it on my tablet - I’ve got a new device now so will definitely have another go. Great mix of songs.
That’s the funny thing. 90% of music for bass is exclusively written in tab and I’m sure 99% of the people playing bass covers (hell, most in bands) have learned from tab, at least to start with. I honestly think its just a combo past teachers treating tab as though its demonic verse and feeling I need “know what I’m doing” thats made me paranoid!
I was actually noodling around yesterday and did have a bit of a revalation - I have small hands and anything spanning more than three frets always tripped me up and I kind of felt pressured to play EITHER simandl or OFPF going off suggested fingerings. I realised that I’m able to play OFPF descending fine even at the lower frets, but need simandl to do the reverse (must be to do with the angles of the hand). It’s weird and definitely not taught in textbooks but it works a treat!
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Tablature (and/or chord charts) are arguably superior to music notation for guitar, which is presumably why it became popular for bass over sheet music. Bass is pretty well served by sheet music though, there just seems to be little of it on the internet compared to tabs.
Tabs don’t tell you the timing, that is the only downside. So if you are playing a song you have never heard, notation is better (I can’t sight read). But if you know the song or can listen to it, you will figure out the rhythm of the notes.
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Lots of tabs have timing now. Just not the pure ASCII text ones 
Sheet music can also be problematic for bass, unless you find actual bass guitar sheet music, which seems rare for most genres and nonexistent for some. Piano scores are the most common, but the bass in a piano score is often a different arrangement, and is also an octave off of bass guitar notation, because the bass is a transposing instrument - it’s notated an octave higher than the actual notes as you would see on a piano score.
So while learning to sight read is a worthy goal on bass, I wouldn’t call it exactly critical. Unless your goal is to become a session or otherwise professional bassist, or to go to music school.
Understanding (not sight reading, just reading) tablature, on the other hand, is extremely useful to know, from a practical standpoint, since there’s a huge number of songs tabbed out. Luckily it takes like five minutes to learn.
And reading music and its related concepts (not sight reading necessarily, just reading) is another skill I think everyone should develop, for the same reason, and for communicating with other musicians.
Just don’t get caught up on needing to sight read at speed. Because it’s very unlikely you actually do need that, and I think it is harmful and unfortunate that any teacher would say that you did.
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exactly. Actually, when I started the Simple Steps To Sight Reading Beginner Module at TalkingBass.com, the first 7-10 lessons each had one, if not two or more AH-HA moments, that had to do with timing, scales, arpeggios, 7 chords, everything.
None of it was expected from a sight reading course, but it was some of the most helpful things I learned on bass, and at the time, it was something that helped me get un stuck with my learning. I was starting to get in a little rut with my practice and learning.
I was 1/2 way thru the Cord tone essential course, and had completed the Scales essentials course. I was feelilng a little bit of a rut, and so I started the simple steps for sight reading, just figuring out I would do something different.
I had been working on timing with Josh thru private lessons, and he gave me some other sites to work on timing with, and of course it is all sheet, not tabs. Tabs do not have a way to write out timing well at all. or rests, unless they use clef rests.
Anyway, i would never say you must learn clef to be a good player, but I will say, it can help your playing, especially when you are trying to learn other songs.
I could never get the timing right when doing tabs, and would need to hear the song over and over to get the rhythm and timing down, but with sheet, I can count out the rhythm and figure out the timing without hearing the music (if I have to, it is always helpful to hear it when learning it, but if you only have the sheet, (or tab) and don’t have anything to listen to the song, then you can still play around with leaning it.
anyway, it has done wonders for me, and I think if you give it a chance (at the right time in your development as a musician) you will find value in it.
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Better tabs have timing and rests. It’s only the pure text ones that don’t.
For example,
Basically all the Songsterr tabs have the same timing info sheet music does, across all instruments.
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Hi, during the year or so since I first picked up the bass I’ve tried to learn several songs (sweet leaf by Black Sabbath, day Tripper, etc), but the first one I’ve really tried to nail and have concentrated on every aspect of its playing that I’m aware of this far (attack, muting, syncopation, analyzing the chords and scales involved, even soloing a bit and trying out new things like tapping) is Chameleon by Herbie Hancock, so I was really happy to see it pop up in Josh’s list!
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look at bar 4 on the first example. Now, I am assuming things here, based on how it is written, and the little lines and L’s they have under the E string, but that bar should have 4/4 timing, so 1 hole note, or 2 half notes or 4 1/4 notes, etc…
it goes
1/4 note 1/4 note 1/8note to 1/4 note to 1/2 note that carrys over to the next bar?? that is still 1 and 1/8 of time, unless it is not 1/4 and 1/8 note in the 3rd beat. it would be two 1/8 notes or 1/8 note, 1/16 note and 1/16 rest? it does not spell it out exactly.
it does not appear to be written correctly, or exactly what it would need to be written to be able to play the right timing without hearing it.
At least that is the way I perceive it, and it appears not exact to me, but I could be wrong.
that is just a quick glance.
I will admit, it is much better than many or most tabs, but the best tabs are those that come with the clef above it, so you have both, and then you can read the proper timing from the clef. IMHO.
Again, that is pretty darn good TAB.
And I am not a Sheet nazi, I use alot of tabs. I have a membership to ultimate guitar which is mostly if not all tabs, and I learn from it.
I am not trying to say tab is horrible, and nobody should use it.
I am saying, however, it does not appear to be the same and does not appear to show proper timing from what I can tell,
When it is accompanied with the sheet on the bar above. Like my RATM music book that has both, I can read alot of the tab, but refer to the clef above for timing.
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That measure is written exactly like it would be in sheet music:
quarter, quarter, eighth, quarter, eighth, with a tie to the next measure. A staff with one “flag” there is an eighth note, regardless of which way the flag points, just like with sheet music.
Four beats. Cross measure ties are a thing in sheet music too
Hit play, you can hear it!
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Conversely…notation can sometimes be confusing on where exactly on the fretboard things are occurring, explaining slides, hammer ons, pull offs, tapping etc…both have their advantages and disadvantages
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The note would be written on the other side of the bar as well. It just would not be played, it would be held.
But, yes, tabs are better than before, and I like tabs too, I am not gonna argue this point that they are not EXACT.
Which is… exactly how it is written in the tab 
Held across the bar, showing an eighth note on the other side, just no additional number in the tab, to make it clear it’s held.
That tab is essentially exactly like the sheet music would be.
The number would be shown, if it were written properly.
look at some sheet music and see how cross bars are written, the note is written immediately on the other side of the bar.
At least that is the way it is in all my material from TalkingBass for my Sight reading course, but maybe that is wrong??
Disagree, more useful to just show it held to the timed note, I think.
I mean, they made this tab notation up, so “proper” is kind of subjective. The important point is it conveyes exactly the same timing info that sheet music would.
Moving On
Update, walking on the moon now complete, at .90 speed. Snap, crackle poppin on Emergency on Planet Earth (again thanks @JoshFossgreen), this one’s gonna take some time though.
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For anyone trying to learn these riffs, I threw together a Noteflight with all the tabs and sheet music! (added to original post)
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