Transcribing: Is this a bass playing?

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Is the guitar that opens this song a bass guitar?

I just started Grade 3 of the beginner course and I thought it would be a simple song to start with transcribing, and it’d get to be one of my own personal songs. But after an hour of fiddling it just doesn’t seem like there’s a note low enough on my guitar to match that first note. I finally caved and googled it for a hint and found one person that had transcribed the song here, claiming the first note is a D. Definitely there is no D low enough, I think. The first F on the thickest string isn’t quite there nor is the open E. Also the tuning indicated at the top of the linked transcription seems to be consistent with bass tuning (according to a little googling)? So I’m left to assume it’s either a bass guitar playing or they’re working with alternative tuning.

Any thoughts would be appreciated – I just always conceptualized Bass guitars sounding lower than this

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sound like a bass playing power chords. It also sounds like it’s tuned down.

Just checked you second link and it says it’s tuned to B E A D G B. don’t know if that’s correct or not

1 Like
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In the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRrS5XftkRY the bass player is miming that part, but on a four-string bass.

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There’s also a video of them playing this song live on KEXP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wf25ACl1sn4

It’s definitely a bass. I’m not 100% sure, but when the guitars do come in, I think they might be tuned to Drop-D.

Maybe the tab was meant for a 7-string guitar? I think a common tuning for 7-string is BEADGBE, so could be that the tab just leaves off the high E string?

Cool song, hadn’t heard that before.

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Yeah, could be. It’s not a baritone tuning, is it - that would be B E A D Gb B, right?