tab question

[bassmonkey144]

ok,
is there a software that creates bass tabulature out of guitar tablature or chords?
just curious, becuase i am seeing all these tablature programs and they can do all kinds of cool stuff

[Matt Till]

hmmmm. Are you talking about a program that writes basslines for you? If so... laaaaaaaaazy. If you are talking about simple basslines following guitar... well uhh here.



|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-2-2-2|
|-5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-2-2-2|
|-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-0-0-0|



Wow, what a tricky guitar riff. However shall I write a bassline as complicated as that facinating guitar wizardry


|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-0-0-0|



Tada... point is, uh well... I don't know my real point... you don't need a program to write your basslines for you.

[bassmonkey144]

well of course im lazy.

i meant like if someone gives me some guitar chords, is there some really fasy way for me to turn that into bass tab?
guess i should have been more specific

[wulf]

No - because you can't assume that playing the lowest guitar note will give you a decent bassline... and it almost certainly won't be the bassline to the song.

Maybe you should learn a bit about how chords are built so that you can play off chord sheets?

Wulf

[Matt Till]

Also, play with a guitarist... hopefully he will know what chord he is playing. If not, play something and try to match him. You learn the most thru playing with others IMO.

[wulf]

Originally posted by StupidMatt
Also, play with a guitarist... hopefully he will know what chord he is playing.

Watch out Matt - flying pigs!

Some guitarists are very clever and will be able to name the chords they are playing but a lot are just playing by ear. The best thing to do in that situation is fall in line - ask them to play the line slowly a few times and try a few different notes to see what works.

If you're not working with a guitarist, you could try recording the line yourself and playing along with it - speed and rhythm are not so important as the harmonic progression of the piece (in the the context of trying to figure out a bass part to fit).... although, if you're learning cover songs, you'd be better off trying to pick out what the bass player is doing on the recording than making something up based on the guitar part.

The most dangerous type of guitarists are the ones who throw out a few chord names but don't really know what they're doing (the ones who'll shout G F# E when they mean G, D/F# and Em)...

Wulf

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally posted by StupidMatt
hmmmm. Are you talking about a program that writes basslines for you? If so... laaaaaaaaazy. If you are talking about simple basslines following guitar... well uhh here.

Well - if you are only going to do this - then what is to stop the guitarist going through an octaver and dispensing with your services completely?

[Matt Till]

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield


Well - if you are only going to do this - then what is to stop the guitarist going through an octaver and dispensing with your services completely?

meh... I dunno. It works for punkers.

[Grahamdubya]

Actually, there's an excellent computer program that one can use to write guitar and bass tablature, and then play it back in MIDI, print, give you the notation well, it's actually SUPER-amazing. Anyways, it's available at www.power-tab.net And there are also links to there to sites that carry the .ptb format. Enjoy!

[jani_bjorklund]

Originally posted by scoobydum244
ok,
is there a software that creates bass tabulature out of guitar tablature or chords?
just curious, becuase i am seeing all these tablature programs and they can do all kinds of cool stuff

As a matter of fact there is a prog that makes basslines i various styles from just a chord sequence. The prog is called Band In A Box.
http://www.pgmusic.com/