THE JEAN GENIE (Bassline)
As recorded by David Bowie
(From the 1973 Album ALADDIN SANE)
Words and Music by David Bowie
Transcribed by Slowhand
Gtr I (E A D G) - 'Trevor Bolder - Bass '
Intro
Q=130(8=s8)
E
4/4
Gtr I
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
W E E E E E E E E E E E E q E E E E E E q q q E q E
|----------|-9-9-9-7-7-7-6-6-6-------|----------------|------------------||
|----------|-------------------9-7-6-|----------6-7-6-|----------6--7--6-||
|----------|-------------------------|-7--7-7-7-------|-7--7--7----------||
|----------|-------------------------|----------------|------------------||
1st & 2nd Verses
q q E E E E E E q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|----------------||----------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|----------------||o---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7-7-7--7-------||o-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|----------5-6-7-||----------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
Chorus
q q E E E E Q Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
|---------------||---------------|-----------------|------------------|
|---------------||---------------|-----4-2-2-2-----|------------------|
|----2--2-0-2-0-||-2--2--2-0---0-|-2-2---------0-1-|-2-2-2-2-2-0---2--|
|-2-------------||-----------2---|-----------------|-------------2----|
+E E E E E E E E Q Q E E E E +E E Q E E E E Q Q E E E E
|-------4-4-4-2-----|---------------|-----------4-------|----------------|
|-----4---------4-2-|---------------|-----0-/4----0-1-4-|----------------|
|-(2)---------------|-2--2--2-0---2-|-(2)---------------|-2--2--2-0---2--|
|-------------------|-----------2---|-------------------|-----------2----|
+E E E Q E E E Q Q E E E E E E E E +Q Q Q Q E E E E
|-------4----------|---------------|-----------------|----------------------|
|-----4------------|----7--7---7---|-7---7-----------|----------------------|
|-(2)-----1--2-1-2-|-0-------5---5-|---5---5-(5)--5--|-12--12--12-12-14-12--|
|------------------|---------------|-----------------|----------------------|
Interlude
E E E E +Q Q q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|------------------------||---------------|---------------|----------------|
|-------14-12-(12)-------||---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-14-12-------------14\--||-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|------------------------||---------------|---------------|----------------|
3rd Verse
E E Q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|-----------------||---------------||---------------|----------------|
|----------------o||---------6-7-6-||---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7-7-7--7-------o||-7--7--7-------||-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|----------5-6-7--||---------------||---------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
Guitar Solo
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------||---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-||---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------||-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------||---------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
q q E E E E q q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
|---------------|---------------|-------------------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|-----------------------5S|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7---|
|---------------|---------------|-------------------------|
|--3--| |--3--| |--3--|
E E E E E E E E E E E
|------------------------------------||
|-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14\--||
|------------------------------------||
|------------------------------------||
Chorus
|-3-| |-3-|
Q Q E E E E +E E E E E E E E Q Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E
||----------------|-------------------|---------------|-----4-4-4-4-4-------|
||o---------------|-------4-2-2-2-----|---------------|---4-----------4-3-2-|
||o-2--2--2-0---2-|-(2)-2---------2-2-|-2--2--2-0---2-|---------------------|
||------------2---|-------------------|-----------2---|---------------------|
Q Q E E E E +E E E Q E E E Q Q E E E E +E E Q E E E E
|---------------|---------4--------|---------------|-------------------|
|---------------|-----2s4----0-1-4-|---------------|-----4-------------|
|-2--2--2-0---2-|-(2)--------------|-2--2--2-0---2-|-(2)---2--1-2-1-1--|
|-----------2---|------------------|-----------2---|-------------------|
1.
Q Q E E E E E E E E +Q Q Q Q E E E E E E E E +Q Q
|---------------|-----------------|---------------|--------------------||
|----7--7-----7-|-7---7-----------|-7--7--7---7-7-|-7---7-------------o||
|-0-------5-5---|---5---5-(5)--5--|---------5-----|---5---5-(5)--5\---o||
|---------------|-----------------|---------------|--------------------||
2.
Q Q E E E E E E E E +Q Q Q Q E E E E E E E E +Q Q
|---------------|-----------------|---------------|---7-9-7-(7)-------||
|----7--7-----7-|-7---7-----------|-7--7--7---7-7-|-9------------7\---||
|-0-------5-5---|---5---5-(5)--5--|---------5-----|-------------------||
|---------------|-----------------|---------------|-------------------||
Interlude
|-3-| |-3-|
q q E E E E E q q E E E E E E q E E E E E q q E E E E
|-----------------|---------------|------------------|----------------|
|---------7-7-5h7-|---------6-7-6-|----------7-7-5h7-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7---------|-7--7--7-------|-7-7-7--7---------|-7--7--7--------|
|-----------------|---------------|------------------|----------------|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7--------|
|---------------|---------------|---------------|----------------|
Outro
|-3-|
q q E E E E q q E E E E q q E E E E q q Q E E E
|---------------|---------------|---------------||-----------------|
|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-|---------6-7-6-||----------5h7----|
|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------|-7--7--7-------||-7--7---------5h=|
|---------------|---------------|---------------||-----------------|
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |--3--| |--3--| |--3--| |--3--|
Q Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E
|---------------|----------------------|--------------------------------------|
|---------6-7-6-|-------------------5S=|=14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14--|
|-7--7--7-------|-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7----|--------------------------------------|
|---------------|----------------------|--------------------------------------|
|--3--| |--3--| |--3--| |--3--|
E E E E E E E E E E E E
|-------------------------------------|
|-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-|
|-------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------|
|--3--| |--3--| |--3--| |--3--|
E E E E E E E E E E E E e E Q H
|-------------------------------------|--------------*|
|-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-14-|-14-----------*|
|-------------------------------------|--------------*|
|-------------------------------------|--------------*|
Duration Legend
---------------
W - whole; H - half; Q - quarter; E - 8th; S - 16th; T - 32nd; X - 64th; a - acciaccatura
+ - note tied to previous; . - note dotted; .. - note double dotted
Uncapitalized letters represent notes that are staccato (1/2 duration)
Irregular groupings are notated above the duration line
Duration letters will always appear directly above the note/fret number it represents the
duration for. Duration letters with no fret number below them represent rests. Multi-
bar rests are notated in the form Wxn, where n is the number of bars to rest for. Low
melody durations appear below the staff
Tablature Legend
----------------
h - hammer-on
p - pull-off
b - bend
pb - pre-bend
r - bend release (if no number after the r, then release immediately)
/\ - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
s - legato slide
S - shift slide
- natural harmonic
[n] - artificial harmonic
n(n) - tapped harmonic
~ - vibrato
tr - trill
T - tap
TP - trem. picking
PM - palm muting
\n/ - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
\n - tremolo bar down
n/ - tremolo bar up
/n\ - tremolo bar inverted dip
= - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
<> - volume swell (louder/softer)
x - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
o - on rhythm slash represents single note slash
Misc Legend
-----------
| - bar
|| - double bar
||o - repeat start
o|| - repeat end
*| - double bar (ending)
: - bar (freetime)
$ - Segno
& - Coda
Tempo markers - = BPM(8/16=s8/s16), where s8 = swing 8ths, s16 = swing 16ths
Bass Tabs |
|
Title |
The Jean Genie |
Artist |
David Bowie |
Tablature Type |
ASCII Tab |
YouTube ID |
kMYg_Ra4cr8 |
Interactive Bass Tab Guide
Interactive bass tabs provide a better experience than ASCII tabs. With playback, loop, print features and a responsive display that follows the screen of your device.
Use these buttons to control the digital tab player.
Symbol | Function |
| Move cursor to the first bar |
| Play interactive tabs |
| Pause playback |
| Loop |
| Print the tab |
| Zoom |
Page | Switch between page and horizontal view mode |
How to Read Bass Tab: A Beginner's Guide
1. Understanding the Basics
a. Strings:
Bass tab consists of horizontal lines representing the strings of the bass guitar.
The lowest-pitched string (usually the E string) is at the bottom, and the highest-pitched string
(usually the G string) is at the top.
b. Numbers:
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to play on a specific string.
For example, if you see "3" on the E string, it means you should press down the third fret on the lowest string.
2. Reading Bass Tab Example
In this tab:
- Play the note on the 1st fret of the E string.
- Play the open E string.
- Play the 3rd fret on the A string.
- Play the 1st fret on the A string.
G|-----------------|
D|-----------------|
A|---------3-------|
E|---1-1---1---3---|
3. Playing Techniques
a. Hammer-ons and Pull-offs:
Hammer-ons are represented by an "h" (e.g., 5h7 means play the 5th fret and hammer onto the 7th fret).
Pull-offs are represented by a "p" (e.g., 7p5 means play the 7th fret and pull off to the 5th fret).
b. Slides:
Slides are often indicated by an "/" or "\\" between two numbers (e.g., 5/7 means slide from the 5th fret to the 7th fret).