Brian Wilson - Barenaked Ladies - Theory or Tab

[m0ranwad]

I gotta cover "Brian Wilson" by the Barenaked Ladies (great upright bass action).

All of the tabs are wrong (iffy at best), and spread me all over the fretboard unnecessarily.

Sometimes when I can make sense of the theory behind the song, I can pick up on it better.



Can anyone help put this in perspective?

This guy did a great job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHbho4HZbe8

[funnyfingers]

What I have done with just about every bass tab is rewrite them so I don't have to move around much or at all per stanza. I think once you rewrite them, if they are off a little, it still may help you figure it out a bit easier than when they are all over the place.

Also some songs I go for the guitar chords and improvise off of that, such as: http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/ba...n_ver2_crd.htm That page is rated 5 stars with 51 ratings... You'll have to keep in mind that this one is written with the capo at the 3rd fret and transcribe it to the proper notes...

[m0ranwad]

Thanks for the tip Funny.

I do exactly the same thing as you. I generally start out with the guitar chord's on UG, that way I understand the structure of the song. I rarely look to tabs unless I'm having a hard time figuring out the fills.

Boggles my mind how many people transcribe tabs without a good understanding of positioning. It's almost as if they finally find the right note, and don't think twice about which octave or position it's in.

[funnyfingers]

I couldn't imagine playing it like I see it written. I doubt I would have learned 40 songs in the past 6 weeks if I didn't really make sense of it and put them all in positions where I barely have to look at the fretboard. Also I sometimes bring the printouts to practice to read in case I forget.