Artist: Coldplay
Song: Square One
Album: X&Y
Guitar and Bass tab
Tabbed by Arjun Pulijal
email : app227@nyu.edu
Easily the best track off of X&Y, though I have only listened to the album twice, and not all the way through either time.
Tabbed June 10, 2005
*Please credit me if you are going to copy or post this tab somewhere, though its a relatively simple song, doing this did take a decent amount of
time, and even though i have no life its nice to see my name on the internet. if you like this tab send me excessive amounts of money and praise... if
not, send me excessive amounts of money and praise. Hope this helps someone out.
Standard Tuning, *notice the low (thick) E string of the guitar is on the top and the high (thin) string is on the bottom of my tabs.
Guitar/Amp Setup- That sweet hollowbody telecaster with the fender amps that are by no means affordable, you could probably fake it with a strat,
or a bc rich warlock, but only if it's one of those clear flourescent ones.
Intro-
synthesizer stuff based on some sort of C chord (maybe min7 or sus2 ?)
guitar with swell effect (ebow perhaps?)
E
A
D
G---5--------------------
B--------8--------------
e------------8-----------
main riff (chorus)
E---8-8-8---------------------------
A------------8-8-8--10-10---- repeat 3 times
D
G
B
e
E----8-8-8------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------
D-------------8-8-8-10-10------- fourth time
G
B
e
Under this the bass plays E-------8--11--4--8--11--1--- play 8 1/8 notes for each one except when u hit the 4th and 1st frets play 16 1/8
notes
guitar panned right during main riff (more clearly heard with headphones on)-
E
A
D
G----8-8-------8----8---
B--8--------8-----8------ repeated over and over
e
lick during post chorus (listen closely, changes a little during "it doesnt matter who you are")
B ------9----8---6-------- variation: B---------10---8---6--------
G---------------------8---- G------------------------8----
repeat many times (mixed with another guitar playing 1 octave higher than written, or using some octave pedal, or im just dumb)
the bass plays under this: E-----6---4---1 play the 6 and 4 for 16 1/8 notes, play the 1 for 32 1/8 notes (underneath "it doesnt matter who you
are"), the variation on the above lick is played over the F bass note(1), he does this because the chord implied is an F Maj/Min7 and keeping the Aflat
as part of the lick would create a minor 2nd dissonance with the major 3rd of the chord and a tritone with the minor 7th of the FMaj/min7 chord, so
he changes it to an A, which is the major 3rd above F (a little tidbit for you theory nuts)
Verse-
There are many layers going on here, so i will try to tab/describe them as i hear it, things might get confusing here so please forgive me
throughout the verse there is a guitar that scratches and plays a c:
E---x---x------x this repeats, play around with the rythym to figure out how it exactly goes, towards the end of the verse this guitar begins
A---x---x------x to actually play some chords, but its so quiet its tough for me to hear (maybe based around Eflat and C power chords?)
D---x---x------x
G---x---x------x
B---x---x------x
e---x---x---8--x
main lick during verse:
when the singing comes in there is a swelled guitar playing:
B------11----10-- (hold each note for a while) then it plays G------------7b8r7b8r7b8r7----- (bend/release)
B-----11----------------------------
E----8-8-8------------- this is repeated twice in a question/answer
A-------------6---6-6-6 x2 fashion with the vocals, then there are other parts played with vocals:
E------------------------------3-3-3--6-6-6--3/---- (slide down)
A-----6-6-6---------6-6-----------------------------
D-------------5-5-5----------------------------------
Then this high part comes in:
E-------------------------------------------------------------
A----------------------------------------------------17------
D------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------15--15-15p14h15-17------------
B----------16-16----16---------------------------------------
e-18-18------------------------------------------------------- repeat twice (rythym is hard to notate but its correct)
Bass during the verse (once again, rythym is hard to notate)-
E-----------------8-8-----8-8-----8-8--------------
A----------8-6---------6--------6-------6----------- x2
D----8-8----------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------
then "Under the Surface trying to break through..."
E--------3----
A-----6-----3--- 8 1/8 notes each, but 3rd fret on A string for 16 1/8 notes, then:
"Im on the top i cant get back..."
E-------------------------------------------
A----6----8---------------------------6-----8 play notes on the A string for 8 1/8 notes each
D----------------------------------------------
G----------------5---5---5---5--------------
"ohhhhh ohhhhh ohhhh"
E----------------------------------------------------
A---3-3----3------3----3-----3----3------3----3 repeat
D--------1------------1-----------1------------1--
G-----------------------------------------------------
Ending on acoustic guitar- ("Is there anybody out there who...")
E---4-------1-------x-------6-------
A---6-------3-------3-------8-----
D-- 6-------3-------5-------8-----
G-- 5-------1-------5-------7------
B---4-------1-------4-------6-------
e---4-------1-------3-------6----- -listen for rythym, ends abruptly on G#M chord
G#M fm cm BflatM
I like to include bass line and explanations to maybe give some insight into what they were thinking when they wrote it and how voices interact, and
not just so people would blindly play the fret numbers, i hope this helps someone out, if its annoying then im sorry. this was my first tab ever
(though im fairly confident most of it is correct), if you liked it, give it a high rating and maybe ill feel loved and do more.
