Back in the Saddle - Aerosmith Tabbed by: Bryan Chim E-mail: bryanchim88@gmail.com Tuning: Standard If you want to follow along, here is a link to my bass cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvXrDvn_uzI This has always been a confusing song for guitarists/bass players alike -- That delicious chorus riff has the personality of a guitar, but also the depth and growl of a bass. What could it be? A Baritone Guitar? 6-String Bass? Carrot on a Stick? Human Hair tied to a Goat Skull? Most reputable sources say it's Joe Perry on his Fender VI Bass (if you're referring to that particular riff), but there is of course Tom Hamilton's 4-string to back it up. In my interpretation, I chose to blend together (what I thought were the coolest) bits of both Joe Perry's and Tom Hamilton's parts, particularly in the verses and the breakdown. * Thus, this tab is not 100% one part or the other. Without further ado, let us go forth and rock! (And don't forget the chorus pedal!) INTRO (without chorus pedal): G|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| D|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| A|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| E|4-------------x-|4-------------x-|4-------------x-|4-------------x-| (x2) G|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| D|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| A|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------| E|4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|9-9-9-9-9-9-9-9-|9-9-9-9-9-9-9\--| CHORUS RIFF (always with chorus pedal) (for the purposes of timing, treat each "-" as 1/16 of a bar, assuming each repetition of the riff were to cover 2 bars): G|---------------------6--665-----| D|------4--------4-----------6----| A|4-6-6---6---------678-----------| E|------------456-----------------| (x4) You can try introducing some muted or extra notes here and there; have fun with it! | || | | | G|---------------------6--665-------| D|------4--------4-----------6-x(6)-| A|4-6-x---6--------x678-------------| E|----------xx456-------------------| NOTE: With overdrive, chorus and heavy picking technique, you may not distinctly hear the notes when playing the "456" or "678" triplets, which is perfectly fine! VERSE 1 (without chorus pedal): G|--------------------------------| D|--------------------------------| A|----x456------4---4-----4-4-2---| E|2-4-------4-4---4---4-4---------| (x4) (slight variation here in the last half of the verse -- follows the rhythm guitar) G|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| D|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| A|-----x456------4-----4---4-4---4|-----x456------4-----4---4---4-4| E|-2-4-------4-4---4-4---4-----4--|-2-4-------4-4---4-4---4---4----| G|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| D|--------------------------------|--------------------------------| A|-----x456------4-----4---4-4---4|-----x456------4-----4---4---4--| E|-2-4-------4-4---4-4---4-----4--|-2-4-------4-4---4-4---x---x----| CHORUS RIFF (x4) VERSE 2 (without chorus pedal): G|--------------------------------| D|--------------------------------| A|----x456------4---4-----4-4-2---| E|2-4-------4-4---4---4-4---------| (x4) (on the 4th repeat, I do a slide up from F# for the key change) VERSE 2 Key Change: G|--------------8-----8---8-8---8-| D|--------------8-----8---8-8---8-| A|----x678------------------------| E|4-6-------6-6---6-6---6-----6---| (x4) (dig in for those last few power chords, it's a wicked cool part of the song) CHORUS RIFF (x4) BREAKDOWN 1 (with chorus pedal **just leave it on for the rest of the song): G|----------------|----------------|-------------------|--------------------| D|----------------|----------------|/8-11-10-8-6-------|--------------------| A|----------------|----------------|-------------8-----|--------------------| E|4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|---------------7-6-|4-4-4-4/16-16-16\---| (x4) (this is another fun place to play around with muted strums and/or 5th-octave chords) CHORUS RIFF (x4) BREAKDOWN 2 -- for the finish! (I chose to follow Perry's little melody in the 1st half of the 4-bar pattern): G|----------------|----------------|-------------------|--------------------| D|----------------|----------------|/8-11-10-8-6-------|--------------------| A|4---3-----------|6\4-------------|-------------8-----|--------------------| E|--4---4-4-4-4-4-|----7\6-6-6-6-6-|---------------7-6-|4-4-4-4/16-16-16\---| (x5) ENDING: G|----------------|-------------------|--------------------| D|----------------|/8-11-10-8-6-------|------------------6-| A|----------------|-------------8-----|------------------6-| E|4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-|---------------7-6-|--4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-4-| The original song stretches out that last breakdown part for at least twice as long, but I decided to end it earlier in my cover. Enjoy, have fun and good luck! | / slide up | \ slide down | h hammer-on | p pull-off | ~ vibrato | + harmonic | x Mute note ===============================================================================