When it comes to music, every instrument plays its part, but the bass does the heavy lifting. The bass is usually the lowest instrument, and in most recorded music, it serves as the heartbeat. In most genres of music, the bass guitar is the instrument used to produce the notes.

This versatile instrument has four to six strings that are plucked or strummed to produce a sound. If you’re considering learning the bass guitar, it’s critical that you know how to read music, which involves reading tabs and/or notes.

Reading Tabs

Tabs are a popular way for bass guitarists to read music. They are relatively easy to learn and can be used for nearly every genre of music. Short for tablature, tabs use numbers to represent the frets on the bass guitar. Bass tabs feature a diagram of four lines that correspond to the strings on the guitar.  The top line represents the E string, the lowest string on a standard bass. The bottom line represents the highest string, the G string.

To read a tab, you begin from the left side of the diagram and follow the numbers up the neck of the bass. The number 0 indicates an open string. For example, if you see a 0 on the top line of the tab that means you should play the open E string. A 3 on the second line, indicates that you should play the third fret on the A string.

Guitarists often have to employ other playing techniques in music, including slides, bends, and hammer-ons. Tabs usually include other symbols placed next to the numbers to indicate a specific technique. As you learn the bass, you’ll become familiar with these symbols and how to modify your technique accordingly. 

Reading Notes

Bass guitar music is often presented as notes on a clef made up of five lines and four spaces. Clefs look similar to tabs, but the clef isn’t a representation of the bass, but a series of pitches that cycle from A through G. Notes may be more challenging to learn, but they provide a more accurate representation of the music. 

To read notes, you must know the line or space that each note corresponds to. Bass guitar music is usually written on the bass clef, where the second line from the top is the note F. The top space corresponds to the note G, and the top line would be A. Write out the corresponding note to each line and space to help learn notes.

Comparing Notes and Tabs

When it comes to reading bass guitar music, both tabs and notes are valid. Tabs are a great place to start for a budding bass guitarist. They are easy to learn and provide a visual connection between the instrument’s string layout and the music.

If you have aspirations of becoming a serious bass guitarist, you’ll want to learn to read notes. Most sheet music for the bass will have notes instead of tabs. Notes are a better representation of the music because they indicate the pitches to be played as well as their durations. It’s okay to have a preference between bass tabs and notes, but the only way to master each is through constant practice.