For bass players looking to learn new songs, the quest for accurate tabs is a familiar journey. Like many musicians, I’ve spent time exploring different platforms to find the perfect resources for practice and performance. My goal was to discover tools that not only provide tabs but also enhance the learning experience, especially when tackling songs that might be a bit more obscure, or, shall we say, “not like us” in terms of mainstream popularity. After a week of testing and comparing various options, I’ve landed on a workflow that I believe hits the sweet spot for functionality and flexibility.
Initially, like many, I turned to Ultimate Guitar. The promise of official tabs with backing tracks was enticing. It seems their official tabs are intended to include full backing tracks, and the current absence of vocals is reportedly a bug they are addressing. They appear to source their backing tracks from services like Guitar Backing Tracks – Instrumental MP3 without Guitar, which suggests a commitment to quality, stem-separated covers. These do seem a cut above some other platforms in terms of audio fidelity. However, a significant limitation quickly became apparent: official tabs are not editable or downloadable. This lack of customization is a deal-breaker for me. Being confined to a fixed arrangement, no matter how well-produced, restricts the learning and adaptation process.
Finding the right bass guitar tabs online can be challenging, but several platforms offer extensive libraries.
Next, I explored Songsterr, which offers a solid platform with a vast library of user-created tabs. The quality here is more variable; some tabs are excellent, while others are less accurate. Discerning the “best” tab often requires some trial and error. Songsterr shines with its integrated tab editor, allowing users to make personal edits and save them privately. However, for collaborative practice, Songsterr has a crucial gap: it doesn’t allow for simultaneous display of multiple instrument scores or synchronized playback across devices. For solo practice, Songsterr is a strong contender, but for band rehearsals or duets, this limitation is significant.
Songsterr’s built-in editor allows for personalizing tabs, enhancing the learning process for bass guitar.
Ultimately, I settled on Go PlayAlong (https://goplayalong.com/). This application is purpose-built for importing tabs and backing tracks, synchronizing them (largely automatically), and facilitating practice. Go PlayAlong excels in displaying multiple instrument parts on a single screen with customizable layouts. Even better, it can synchronize playback across multiple devices, ideal for band practice scenarios!
My refined workflow now looks like this: 1) Find tabs from various sources (Songsterr, Ultimate Guitar’s user-submitted tabs, etc.). 2) Refine tabs in Songsterr’s editor and export as Guitar Pro files (Go PlayAlong lacks editing features). 3) Obtain backing tracks – options include YouTube ripping, purchasing professional covers, or using AI splitting tools like Moises. 4) Combine everything in Go PlayAlong, manually syncing if needed, and start playing. While it takes about 30 minutes of prep per song, this investment is worthwhile for weeks of focused practice.
Go PlayAlong simplifies practice by syncing tabs and backing tracks, ideal for learning “not like us” bass lines.
This approach provides a flexible and powerful way to learn bass guitar parts, even for songs that are “not like us” in terms of being readily available or easily tabbed. It combines the strengths of different platforms to overcome their individual weaknesses, resulting in a streamlined practice experience. If you’re seeking a robust method for learning bass tabs with backing tracks, especially for more niche or challenging songs, this combination of tools offers a promising solution.
