Victor Wooten - Me & My Bass Guitar bass tab
Victor Wooten's awesome slapping skills are put into full effect
on this track from his
1996 debut album, "A Show of Hands". "Me & My Bass Guitar" is a
complex sounding song
that is actually pretty accesible once broken down. As with
many of Victor's jams, lots
of ghost notes (written "x" on the tab) fill up space and give
it that funky, complex
groove. Also, check out Victor's website to get familiar with
his "hammer, slap, pluck"
technique. It is in full gear here.
Victor also has a secret to keeping his strings from vibrating
too much: he puts a fuzzy
hair tie on the neck, dampening the strings enough to keep them
under control. You can
see this in any of his videos or pictures of him playing. Use a
small hair tie to play
this song -- it is essential to reaching his distinctive sound.
This tab makes an attempt at all sections of the recorded version
of the song, and tells
you how to string them together at the end. Though Victor may
play it differently, the
overall effect is achieved! Happy tabbing.
* * * * * * * * *
SLAMMIN' INTRO GROOVE
The song begins with a percussive INTRO GROOVE. This should
be easy to figure out. Aside
from the chords he "strums", the other notes are just percussive
experiments he does with
his palms higher up on the neck.
Play along with the CD and be sure to "strum" those notes with
all the fingers of your
right hand. He ends the intro with a quick tap on the G-string's
23rd fret before
launching into the MAIN GROOVE. For that tap, use either you
right hand thumb or index
finger.
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G--------------------------x--x-----x-----x-----x--x--|
D--------------------------x--x-----x-----x-----x--x--|
A-------START==>-----------x--x-----x-----x-----x--x--|
E--------------------------x--x-----x-----x-----x--x--|
"ah" "uh"
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
D-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
A-----9-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----10----|
E-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
S S
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
D-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
A-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
E-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----x-----|
D-----x-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----x-----|
A-----9-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----10----|
E-----x-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----x-----|
S S
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----------x-----x-----x-----x-----x-----x-----|
D-----x-----------x------x----x-----x-----x-----x-----|
A-----x-----------x-------x---x-----x-----x-----x-----|
E-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----x-----|
D-----x-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----x-----|
A-----9-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----10----|
E-----x-----------x--------x--x-----------x-----x-----|
S S
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
D-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
A-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----11----|
E-----x-----------x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
S
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----x-----x-----x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
D-----x-----x-----x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
A-----x-----x-----x--------x--x-----x-----x-----12~~~~|
E-----x-----x-----x--------x--x-----x-----x-----x-----|
S~~~~~~
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------x-----x-----x-----------x-----x----t23----|
D-----------x-----x-----x-----------x-----x-----------|
A~~~~~~-----x-----x-----13~~~~~-----x-----x-----------| To MAIN GROOVE
E-----------x-----x-----x-----------x-----x-----------|
~~~~~~~ S~~~~~~ R
* * * * * * * * *
MAIN GROOVE / VERSE
Essentially, the main groove is based on triplets. The first
method of playing this
groove involves tapping the note with your left hand (marked
L; the "h" by the number
stands for 'hammer-on'), slapping the second ghost note with
your thumb (marked R),
and then finishing off the triplet with a mute pluck (marked
P) on the G string.
Mute the G string with the 'fat' of your playing fingers.
MAIN GROOVE, without tapping
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------x--------x--------------x-----------------||
D-------------h6--x----h7--x--------------------------||
A----------------------------h7--x--------x-h5--------||
E----h7--x----------------------------h5-------h6~~~--||
L R P L R P L R L R P L R L L
If this strikes you as a little difficult, here is an easier way
to do it. There is
no plucking involved. You just tap the note with your left hand
(marked L), and slap
the remainder of the muted ghost notes with your right thumb
(marked R):
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------------------------------------------------||
D-------------h6--x--x-h7--x--------------------------||
A----------------------------h7--x--x-----x-h5--------||
E----h7--x--x-------------------------h5-------h6~~~--||
L R R L R R L R L R R L R L L
Either way works. Practice them slowly at first and build speed.
When you have the
'bass' of it, let's add the right hand chord tapping.
MAIN GROOVE, added tapping with right hand - index & middle
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G---(t19)------------x--------------x-----------------|
D---(t19)-----h6--x----h7--x--------------------------|
A----------------------------h7--x--------x-h5--------|
E----h7-------------------------------h5-------h6~~~--|
G---(t16)------------x--------------x-----------------||
D---(t16)-----h6--x----h7--x--------------------------||
A----------------------------h7--x--------x-h5--------||
E----h7-------------------------------h5-------h6~~~--||
Note that both measures of the groove are the same, except for
the tapping with the
right hand (written in parenthesis) which goes from 19 to 16.
Listen carefully to
the CD to get Victor's experimentations with the tapped chords.
He sometimes will
repeat the hit on beat 2 of the measure, and also sometimes slides
the chords up
on the release. There's a method to his madness, but I'll leave
that for you to find
out. Now on to the chorus. . .
* * * * * * * * *
BREAKDOWN/VAMP and CHORUS
This is a toughie. Practice this slowly and the speed will come.
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G---(t16)------------x--------------x--------x--------|
D---(t16)-----h6--x----h7--x--------------------------|
A----------------------------h7--x--------------------| <--- VAMP
E----h7-------------------------------h5--x----h4-----|
L R P L R L R P L R P L
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------4-h7-----4--------------2-----------------|
D-------------------------------------h4--x-----------|
A-------------------------------------------h4-----x--|
E----h3--x--------x----h3--x-h2--x-------------h2-----|
L R P L R P L R L R P L R L L R
"And if you ever looking for me . . . ."
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G--------------4--------------------4-----------------|
D-----------5-----------------------------4/5\4-------|
A-----------------x-h5-------------------------h5~~~--|
E----h3--x-------------h3--x-h2-----------------------|
L R P P R L L R L P R L L L
"Don't go too far . . . . "
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------4-h7-----4--------------2-----------------|
D-------------------------------------h4--x-----------|
A-------------------------------------------h4--------|
E----h3--x--------x----h3--x-h2--x-------------h2~~~~~|
L R P L R P L R L R P L R L L
"'Cuz if you really wanna find me . . . ."
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------------------------5/6~~~~~~~~~x-----------|
D-----------------7-----------6/7~~~~~~~~~x-----------|
A--------7/h8/h9----h9\h7\h5--0~~~~~~~~~~~x-----5-----|
E~~~~~x-----------------------------------x-----------|
R L L L R L L R STRUM~~~~~~~ P
"You know where I are. . . ." "With. .
(As a variation, Victor also takes the strummed 6/7 chord up
to 7/8 on the 4th beat
on the 2nd time round)
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------7--------------------------------------x--|
D-----------7--------------------7-h9-h9--7-h9~~~-----| To MODIFIED
A-----------------x-----6-h7--------------------------| MAIN GROOVE:
E-----7-----------------------------------------------|
R P R R L R L L R L P
. . . Me and My Bass Guitar!"
* * * * * * * * *
MODIFIED MAIN GROOVE
The main groove is slightly different after the chorus. It's
a combination of the
original MAIN GROOVE and the end of the CHORUS:
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------x--------x--------------x-----------------|
D-------------h6--x----h7--x--------------------------|
A----------------------------h7--x--------x-h5--------|
E----h7--x----------------------------h5-------h6~~~--|
L R P L R P L R L R P L R L L
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------6/h7--------------------------------------||
D-----------6/h7--x-------------h7-h9--9--7--9~~~-----||
A-------------------h6--6-h7--7--------------------9--|| REPEAT 4X
E----h7-----------------------------------------------||
R P R L R L R L L R L R P
* * * * * * * * *
"TOO FUNKY" VAMP
This is the intro to the OFFA DAT FUNK GROOVE. Of course, I can't
be sure what Victor
is actually doing when he plays this, however I believe that
he is utilizing his "picking
thumb" technique in which he slaps with both sides of his thumb
in an up-down motion -
like the motion of a guitar pick. Try and do this whenever there
is a string of Rs
together. He varies the riff, but it basically looks like this:
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------------------x-------------------------h4--||
D--------------7-----------------------------7--------||
A-----------------------------------------------------|| REPEAT 7X
E-----5--5--5-----x-----------x--x--5--5--7-----------||
R R R P R P R R R R R P L
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------------------x-----x-h20-------------------|
D--------------7--------x-----x----h19---h19----------| To "OFFADAT"
A-----------------------x-----x-------------h18-------| FUNK GROOVE:
E-----5--5--5-----------x-----x-------h5--------------|
R R R P R R R R L R R
* * * * * * * * *
"OFFADAT" FUNK GROOVE
This little groove in the middle of the song is 100% tapping,
so I've nixed the "h" and
"t" symbols in the composite -- it's also pretty complicated
and tricky to get down, but
luckily just a one measure loop. Repeat it eight times before
going into the reprise of
the SLAMMIN' INTRO GROOVE.
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G--------------7--19----------------------19-7--------||
D--------------7-----------------------------7--------||
A-----21-19-21----------21-19-21-19-21----------21----|| REPEAT 8X
E-----7-----------------5-----------5-----------------||
L L L L L L L L L L
R R L R R R
If that is just too hard to read, I've broken it down into what
each of your hands should
be doing:
"BASS" (left hand) tapping chords (h)
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G--------------7-----------------------------7--------||
D--------------7-----------------------------7--------||
A-----------------------------------------------------||
E-----7-----------------5-----------5-----------------||
"TREBLE" (right hand) tapping chords (t)
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------------19----------------------19----------||
D-----------------------------------------------------||
A-----21-19-21----------21-19-21-19-21----------21----||
E-----------------------------------------------------||
* * * * * * * * *
SUPERFAST RIFF
"Yo Vic, do that. . uh. . Do that. . .Yeah!". The SUPERFAST RIFF
sounds amazing on
the record, and when you break it down you understand why it does.
Essentially, Victor
is adding one extra ghost note to the regular groove take it from
a triplet feel to a
16th note double-time quad feel. I believe he does it like this:
The technique now
shifts from "hammer, slap, pluck" to "hammer, slap, pluck,
pluck". Try it out, and
try to find something that feels comfortable. My tablature
time might not be quite
right, but throughout this tab, try and concentrate on getting
the feel by yourself
by listening to the CD.
1 + e + & + a + 2 + e + & + a + 3 + e + & + a + 4 + e + & + a +
G-------------x---------x-x--------x-x--------x-----------x---------x-|
D-----------x----h6---x------h7--x----------x-----------x---------x---|
A------------------------------------h7---x---------------------------|
E----h7---x--------------------------------------h5---x------h6-x-----|
L R P P L R P P L R P PL R P P L R P P L R P P
1 + e + & + a + 2 + e + & + a + 3 + e + & + a + 4 + e + & + a +
G-------------x---------x-x--------x-x----------------x---------------|
D-----------x----h6---x------h7--x--------------------x---------------|
A------------------------------------h7~~slide~down~~\x---------------|
E----h7---x-------------------------------------------x---------------|
L R P P L R P P L R P PR R
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------6/h7--------------------------------------||
D-----------6/h7--x-------------h7-h9--9--7--9~~~-----|| Back to
A-------------------h6--6-h7--7--------------------9--|| MODIFIED
E----h7-----------------------------------------------|| MAIN GROOVE
R P R L R L R L L R L R P
* * * * * * * * *
"JIGGABUTT" GROOVE and ENDING
There are many ways to play the "Jiggabutt" groove that Victor
fades back in with,
but here are two ways that work:
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------6/h7~~------------------------7-----------||
D-----------6/h7~~------------------------7-----------||
A-----------------------h7-h5-------------------------||
E-----7-----------x-----------x-h7-h5-----------5-----||
R P R L L L L P R
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------x--------x--------------------7-----------||
D-------------h6--x-----------------------7-----------||
A-----------------------h7-h5-------------------------|| REPEAT w/adlib
E----h7--x--------------------x-h7-h5-----------5-----|| until end
L R P L R P L L L L P R
Variations: Listen out for some of Victor's variations throughout
the last part
of the song. Sometimes he doesn't hit the 7/7 chord at all. Also,
he sometimes
hits "off" notes (followed by a "What?" on the record) that are
worth checking out.
And finally, the last two measures of the song:
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----------6\h7~~------------------------------------|
D-----------6\h7~~------------------------------------|
A-----------------------7-h5--------------------------|
E-----7-----------x-----------x--5--4-----5-----6-----|
R P R L L L L
1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a
G-----7~~~~~~~~~~\x-----------------------------------||
D-----9~~~~~~~~~~\x-----------------------------------||
A-----x~~~~~~~~~~\x-----------------------------------||
E-----7~~~~~~~~~~\x-----------------------------------||
STRUM~~~~~~~"Ack! Don't mighty know."
* * * * * * * * *
PUTTIN' IT ALL TOGETHER
Now, follow the chart, put the pieces together, follow the instructions,
and you're
set to perform the CD version of the song! You may want to add a
touch of reverb,
which is what it sounds like Victor's doing. It also helps the
dynamic. And be
creative! Add your own parts, and make the way you perform it
your very own!
Me & My Bass Guitar Chart:
SLAMMIN' INTRO GROOVE (as written)
MAIN GROOVE, without tapping (4X; end on the 3rd beat's note
on the 4th measure)
MAIN GROOVE, with tapping (4X; vamp into the chorus)
CHORUS (as written)
MODIFIED MAIN GROOVE (4X; end on the 3rd beat's note on the 7th
measure)
MAIN GROOVE, with tapping (4X; vamp into the chorus)
CHORUS (as written)
MODIFIED MAIN GROOVE (4X; end on the 3rd beat's note on the 7th
measure)
TOO FUNKY VAMP (as written)
OFFADAT FUNK GROOVE (as written)
SLAMMIN' INTRO GROOVE (as written)
MAIN GROOVE, without tapping (2X)
SUPERFAST RIFF (1X)
MODIFIED MAIN GROOVE (till "fade out")
JIGGABUTT GROOVE and ENDING ("fade in", play until ending.)
* * * * * * * * *
END NOTES
Victor Lemonte Wooten is a fabulous musician -- a true bass virtuoso.
Exploring his
song "Me and My Bass Guitar" is intended to teach you some of his
trademark techniques
in a way that is fun and challenging (and so you can show off to
your friends!) Teaching
myself this song has opened up whole new worlds of technical
ability that I apply to my
playing and compositions. As Victor would put it, learning
the song is a means of giving
you new tools to build up your own work. There's no point in parroting
Victor's voice,
so use his gifts to help you strengthen your own voice. Lastly,
know that my fingerings
on the tab are for me - it's likely you'll find easier ways to play
what I've written,
so explore that. I hope that this complete version is accurate
and easy to understand --
feel free to email me at daranjo@hotmail.com if you have any
questions. I'm an 18 year
old bassist in NYC looking for a gig! Gimme a gig man! Happy playing.
