Artist: Herbie Hancock
Title: Watermelon Man
Album: HeadHunter
Tabber: Brandon ([email protected])

This is a great song, its 6 minutes long, this'll teach you some endurance
I'm not gonna get into the theory of this song, cause it would be like a 2 
megabyte text.  Anywho.. here we go

ATTENTION!!!
Before you give this tab a bad rating remember, THIS IS FOR THE JAZZ FUSION VERSION!!
not the classic jazz version, if the one your listening to DOES NOT start with funky whistles
its the wrong one..
ATTENTION!!!


Intro

(first bass hit is around 0:45)

G—————————12——13——14————————————————————————————————————
D———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E—0h1—————11——12——13————————————————————————————————————

Main Riff

(starts at about 0:55, right before drums come in)


G——————————————12——13——14————————————————————————————————
D————————3———————————————————————————————————————————————
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E—0h1——————————11——12——13————————————————————————————————

Pre—Chorus Type Thing

(starts at 1:44)

G——————7——8—————————————5——6————————————————————————————
D————————————————————————————————————10—————————————————
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E—8————6——7————8—7—6————4——5————6—8—————————————————————

Pre—Chorus Thing Continued

(starts at 2:02)

G——3/43——1—————————————————————————————————————————————
D————————————3——1———————————————————————————————————————
A——————————————————3————————————————————————————————————
E—————————————————————4—————————————————————————————————

Chorus

(at 2:05)
[ATTN: this is just a change between Ab and F#, this may get boring, just improv if you'd 
like]

G———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
D———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E——44444————22222———————————————————————————————————————

Bridge

(around 2:28)

G—————————————————————12——13——14————————————————————————
D——7——6——5——————————————————————————————————————————————
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E—————————————————————11——12——13————————————————————————

Modified Main Riff

(at 2:33)

G—————————12——13——14————————————————————————————————————
D———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A——————————————————————————————————————————————————————— PLAY 3 TIMES
E—0h1—————11——12——13————————————————————————————————————

Modified Main Riff part 2

(at 2:42)

G—————————5—6—7—————————————————————————————————————————
D———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A—0h1——————————————————————————————————————————————————— PLAY 2 TIMES
E—————————4—5—6—————————————————————————————————————————

Modified Pre—Chorus

(starts at 2:56)

G—————7——8——9——10——————————————5——6——7——8———————————————
D———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
A———————————————————————————————————————————————————————
E—8———6——7——8——9————9——8——6————4——5——6——7————7——8———————

Modified Pre—Chorus cont'd

(starts at 3:13)

G——3/43——1—————————————————————————————————————————————
D————————————3—PAUSE—1——————————————————————————————————
A———————————————————————3——1————————————————————————————
E—————————————————————————————4—————————————————————————

[Attn: im not sure what goes on during the next 10 seconds, its very hard to hear, if anyone 
figures it out 
send me an email, id really like to be able to play that part through]

repeat riffs when necessary.  good luck

About Herbie Hancock

Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American pianist and composer. He is regarded not only as one of the greatest living jazz musicians, but also as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century. His music embraces elements of funk and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. In his jazz improvisation, he possesses a unique creative blend of jazz, blues, and modern classical music, with harmonic stylings much like the styles of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.

How to Read Bass Tabs

Bass tablature (tabs) is an easy way to learn songs without needing to read traditional sheet music. Here’s a quick guide to understanding the symbols and techniques commonly found in tabs:

1. The Basics

Strings and Frets:
Each line in a tab represents a string on your bass:
- The top line is the highest-pitched string (G on a 4-string bass).
- The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (E on a 4-string bass).
Numbers on the lines indicate which fret to press. For example:
```
G|-------------------|

D|-------------------|

A|---3---------------|

E|-------------------|

            
```
This means you play the 3rd fret on the A string.

2. Common Techniques

Hammer-On (h):
Play the first note by picking it, then press down on a higher fret with another finger without picking again.
```
G|-------------------|

D|-------5h7---------|

            
```
Pull-Off (p):
Pluck a note and then "pull off" your finger to let a lower fret ring.
```
G|-------------------|

D|-------7p5---------|

            
```
Slide (/ or \):
Move your finger up (/) or down (\) the fretboard while maintaining pressure.
```
G|-------------------|

D|-------5/7---------|

            
```

3. Advanced Techniques

Bend (b): Push the string up or down to raise the pitch. Example: G|-------7b9---------|
Vibrato (~): Shake the string slightly after playing a note to create a vibrating sound. Example: G|-------7~----------|
Muted Notes (x): Rest your finger lightly on the string without pressing a fret and pluck for a percussive "click" sound.

4. Rhythm and Timing

Tabs don’t always indicate timing, so listen to the song while reading the tab. Wider spaces between numbers mean longer pauses, while closer numbers indicate quicker notes.

5. Slap and Pop

Slap (s): Strike the string with the side of your thumb for a percussive sound.
Pop (p): Pull the string away from the fretboard and let it snap back.

Practice Makes Perfect

Tabs are a great tool to learn songs, but mastering the techniques takes practice. Listen carefully to the original track and play along to lock in the rhythm. Don’t rush — smooth, accurate playing is more important than speed. Happy jamming! 🎸

Comments

candela

4 years, 1 month ago
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THANK YOU I LOVE YOU

plong

4 years ago
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Here's the missing “next 10 seconds.” It starts at 3:13.8 and ends at 3:24.0, but I included the preceding measure for context, which is different than the original tab. Just to be clear, my 10-86 corresponds to the original's 3/43–1.

Tabs:

G|--------|--------------|-------------------------------------|
D|--------|8--10-86------|-----------------66-4---6------------|
A|--------|--------68---6|-----------------------6-6-----------|
E|-67-8886|----------68--|4--4-44--4-444444--4--4----44-44-3/16|

I used splitter.ai and Audacity to figure it out. It's three measures of 4/4 plus some weird fractional measure. I marked the measure where it begins, the start of the second measure, and the end of the passage. I didn't take the time to figure out where the intervening two measure end.

I didn't hear it, but I really feel an 8h10 hammer-on in place of that 10 on the D string. See what you think. The 3/16 slide at the end starts slow and then speeds up a bit. I first heard that part as the following:

Tabs:

G|--------------------------------------|
D|------------------------------------46|
A|----------------------------------46--|
E|-----------------------------3--46----|

But I'm pretty sure it's a slide.

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Herbie Hancock — Watermelon Man bass tabs