You have to remember that most tabs are someone’s interpretation of the bass line and are not necessarily “correct” in an absolute sense. I’d suggest play what works for you. I tend to experiment when learning a new song in terms of where / how to play the line.
Equally, unless you particularly want to be faithful to the original bass line, there is no reason why you shouldn’t simplify it. Most of the time, no one will actually know. I’m currently working on a song that is pretty complex (well, I think it is ) and rather than try to learn it note-by-note, I’m focusing on getting the essence of it.
Regarding speed, I get the basics down at a slower bpm, then gradually increase the bpm, say 5 bpm at a time. When doing this, I’ll tend to use a drum machine, rather than the actual track, as it means I can focus. That said, you can alter the bpm in something like Moises.
If you want to play the open string, do it! Sometimes they sound better. Sometimes they sound much better. Sometimes fretted sounds better. It depends on a lot of factors.
As long as you play the right notes I suppose it doesn’t matter where you play them, but the pitch of the note will be slightly different. In this specific case I would keep the D on the 5th fret of the A string. It keeps the whole run on the A, and it doesn’t require jumping from open D to E3, which could give you some issues with muting.
It’s all about fluidity. Sometimes I will use an open string if it makes sense, sometimes that one open string gives you time to adjust your fretting hand to get into position. As an example, I’m currently finishing Bullet in the Head by RATM. At the end of the song you play this repeated riff for almost 2 minutes, and it’s tabbed like this everywhere:
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to hit the 5-6-5 on the E, it’s difficult to fret it that way coming from the 5th fret of the A string so I just play the open A instead of E5. Much more fluid that way and a lot easier to play. Experiment with both methods and choose whichever one makes the most sense!
Thank you @Ant
Appreciate your thoughtful example and suggestions. I’ll keep playing around with it.
The difficulty for me is largely the speed of the song so I’ll keep working it slowly with incremental increases.
Cheers.
) and rather than try to learn it note-by-note, I’m focusing on getting the essence of it.
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