tabbed by Doug Cartwright
Main
Riff
E---------------------------------------
B---------------------------------------
G-------10~~~~-/14~~-15~~-13~~~~~~~~~---
D---------------------------------------
A---------------------------------------
E---------------------------------------
Play with plenty of vibro!
Solo:
Main Riff x4,
then:
E-------------------------------------------
B--10~~~/14p13h14p13~~~~--------------------
G----------------------------\3/~~~~~~~-----
D-------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------------
The rest of the solo is
untabbable, for two reasons:
1. It is impossibly difficult ten-finger tapping
up random scales
2. Buckethead plays it a different way each time he does
it
The solo is, therefore, better to improvise. With that in mind, here are all the different tapping techniques I use to create the various sounds. Please remember that most of them can be played anywhere on the neck, and are just examples. You will need to mix them up to make a good solo. Also, try to think of them as a skeleton - it is just a base for you to improvise and construct on!
For the first part, right after the tabbed bit, I do something like this:
Play everything as fast as you
can:
E----------t--------t--------t-------------------------------
B----------15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11~~~~--t--------------------
G---------------------------------------12~~~~~~~------------
D-------------(hold
the 12 for a second before the next
bit!)
A------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------
t
t
t
E----------15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11~~~~--t--------------------
B---------------------------------------12~~~~~~~------------
G--------(again,
hold the 12 for a second before the next
bit!)
D------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------
Play the last 2 bits
twice, then, at the same tempo, add
this:
t
t
t
t
t t
E----------15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13--
B-----------------------------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------
continuing...
E----t--------t--------t--------t--------t-------------------
B----15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13-15-11h13------------
G---------------------------------------------------12\\\5~~-
D----------(the
last 2 notes need a lot of vibro very
quickly)
A------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------
He now goes into 10 finger
tapping. I, like a lot of people, don't have the skill to do that, so here's the
things I do to make that robotic sound!
The first '10 finger' tap, how
I do it, is using a technique similar to Van Halens 'Mean Street.' Where I have
marked (x2), play the last little phrase twice. This is not intended to sound
like the original, just a replacement for less skilled players. I think it
sounds good,
I hope everyone else does.
Part One: (Play
Once)
t
E-------------------------------t-----7-0h5-(x2)-------------
B-------------------------t-----7-0h5-(x2)-------------------
G-------------------t-----7-0h5-(x2)-------------------------
D--------t----------7-0h5-(x2)-------------------------------
A--t-----7-0h5-(x2)------------------------------------------
E--7-0h5-----------------------------------------------------
Part Two:(Play
Once)
t
E-----------------t-------7-0h5-(x2)---
B-----------t-----7-0h5-(x2)-----------
G--t--------7-0h5-(x2)-----------------
D--7-0h5-(x2)--------------------------
A--------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------
Part Three: (Play
Once)
Play Part two again, than add this bit to the end of it.
t t
t t t
t t
t t
E----7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5---------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G----------(Play
as fast as you
can!!)-----------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------
continued...
t
t t t
t t t
t t
t
E----8-5h6-8-5h6-9-5h7-9-5h7-10-5h8-10-5h8-9-5h7-9-5h7-8-5h6-8-5h6-
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G------------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------
continued...
t t
B--------------7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5-7-0h5--t-------------------------------
G---------------------------------------7-0h5-t-------------------------
D---------------------------------------------7-0h5-t-------------------
A---------------------------------------------------7-0h5-t-----t-------
E---------------------------------------------------------7-0h5-7-0h5---
continued...
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G---------------(Slow
tempo a lot for last 3
notes)----------------
D--t-----t------7~~7~~7~~~~~~~~~-----------------------------------
A--7-0h5-7-0h5-----------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------
At this point the rhythm of
the song changes, and Buckethead does a more complex tap. For this, I use the
most complex tap that I am capable of: A 6 finger tap! It is possible to tap all
the notes with just your index finger, however.
Part Four:
B-------------------t----t----t--------11-7-10-6-9-5--t----t----t---11-7-10-6-9-5---
G----t----t----t----11-7-10-6-9-5---------------------11-7-10-6-9-5-----------------
D----11-7-10-6-9-5------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
continued...
t
t t t
t t
B---11-7-10-6-9-5------------------------------11-7-10-6-9-5--t----t----t--------
G-------------------------------------------------------------11-7-10-6-9-5------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
continued...
E--------------------------------------------------
B--------------------------------------------------
G---t----t----t------------------------------------
D---11-7-10-6-9-5--t----t----t---------------------
A------------------11-7-10-6-9-5--t----t----t------
E---------------------------------11-7-10-6-9-5----
Part
Five:
t
t
t
E------------------------------------t----t----t----11-7-10-6-9-5--
B---------------------t----t----t----11-7-10-6-9-5-----------------
G---t----t----t-------11-7-10-6-9-5--------------------------------
D---11-7-10-6-9-5--------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------
Part Six:
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G----10/14~~~~~~\0-------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------
Play the last part with
the different rythm like this:
Part Four x1
Part Five
x2
Part Four x1
Part Six x1
The four notes played as a kinda bridge between solo and third verse are:
E------------------------------------------------------------------
B------------------------------------------------------------------
G--------9~~~~~----8~~~~~----7~~~~~----5~~~~~----------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------
A------------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------
Play with plenty of vibro!
Right, the tapped tab for
the solo is not right, nor is it meant to be right. It is a guide for
improvising your own solos to sound good in the song. However, the tabs in there
are meant to sound roughly similar to the song, half to make it easy to follow
and half because what I put makes a good solo. Here are a few other techniques
that I use sometimes to replace parts of the solo:
Robot Tap Example 1:
E-----------------------t-----------------------------
B---------------t-------17-12---t---------------------
G-------t-------16-13-----------16-13---t-------------
D-------15-12---------------------------15-12---------
A-----------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------
This can be repeated on any string, on any frets. Play it as fast as you can. You may find it easier to tap the 15th fret each time with your index and then the 16th with your middle finger. The 17th fret is more difficult, as it must be tapped with your ring finger. This can be tricky, but with practice, it works, trust me.
This technique can be heard in the first solo Buckethead played at Rock In Rio 3 2001, with Guns N' Roses. He plays it very fast before he goes into Big Sur Moon. I'm 99.9% sure this is right, I've watched the vid a thousand times, and it sounds right to me. Remember, he plays the pattern all over the neck, not just in the place indicated.
Robot Tap Example
2:
E--------------------
B--------------------
G--------------------
D--------------------
A--t-----t-----t-----
E--16-12-15-11-14-10-
This is the basic robot
tap, it can be played with 4 or 6 fingers, down to personal preference, and can
be repeated anywhere on the neck, making endless patterns available! I use this
technique in the tabbed solo, but it's great for use anywhere in the solo, at
any time!
Right, that's me done! I hope this tab is easy to follow, and that whoever tries it gets on fine with it. Remember, Ballad of Buckethead is an improvisation song, so never play it the same twice! Good luck....
Any comments, queries or problems, contact me at:
E-mail: assassin252@kidrock.com
MSN Instant Messanger: hashislegalised@hotmail.com