Bassist: Victor Wooten
Song: Me and my Bass guitar
Tabbed by: Paul (pauldbassist32)
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-----------------------------4/54-------|
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----h9h7h5--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-----------6h7~~------------------------------------|
D-----------6h7~~------------------------------------|
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.)
For any quires or bass Q?s e-mail me @ pclonghill@aol.com
