HOLD THE LINE (Bassline)
As recorded by Toto
(From the 1978 Album TOTO)
Words and Music by David Paich
Transcribed by mario001
Gtr I (E A D G) - 'David Hungate - Bass'
Intro
Moderate Rock Q=104
4/4
Gtr I
|-3-| |-3-|
Wx4 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q H Q Q Q Q Q
|------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|
|------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|
|------------|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\----------|-9\-----4-5-5-|
|------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|
1st - 3rd Verse
$
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q Q Q Q Q Q E E E Q E E E Q E E E Q Q Q
|--------------||---------------------|----------------|
|--------------||o--------------------|----------------|
|-7\-----7-----||o------------------7-|-9------7-9-----|
|----------9-8-||--7\----7-8-9----9---|------9-----9-8-|
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q E E E Q E E E Q E E E Q Q Q Q E E E Q E E E
|-------------------|----------------|--------------------|
|-------------------|----------------|--------------------|
|-----------------7-|-9------7-9-----|--------------------|
|-7----7-8-9----9---|------9-----9-8-|-7----7-7-9----9-9--|
|--3--| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |--3--| |-3-|
Q E E E Q Q Q Q E E E Q E E E Q E E E Q Q Q
|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|-------------------|-------------------|-------------------|
|-------------7-----|-------------------|-------------7-----|
|-10----10-10---9-8-|-7----7-7-9----9-9-|-10----10-10---9-8-|
Chorus
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q E E E Q E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q Q Q Q Q Q H
|-------------------|-------------------------||--------------|-------------|
|-------------------|-------------------------||--------------|-------------|
|-------------------|-5-5-5-5-5-5-7-7-7-7---7-||-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\----------|
|-7----7-7-9----9-9-|---------------------9---||--------------|-------------|
To Coda
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q E E E Q Q Q Q Q Q Q H
|--------------|-----------------|--------------|-------------|
|--------------|-----------------|--------------|-------------|
|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\------------7-|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\----------|
|--------------|-------------9---|--------------|-------------|
Guitar Solo
1. 2.
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q E E E Q Q Q Q Q
|--------------|---------------||-----------------||---------------|
|--------------|--------------o||-----------------||---------------|
|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\-----7-----o||-7\------------7-||-9\-----4-5-5--|
|--------------|----------9-8--||-------------9---||---------------|
|-3-|
Q Q H Q Q Q Q Q
|-------------|--------------|
|-------------|--------------|
|-7\----------|-9\-----4-5-5-|
|-------------|--------------|
|-3-|
Q Q H Q Q Q Q Q Q Q H
|-------------|--------------|-------------|
|-------------|--------------|-------------|
|-7\----------|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\----------|
|-------------|--------------|-------------|
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q Q Q Q Q Q E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q Q Q
|--------------|----------------------|-----------------|
|--------------|----------------------|-----------------|
|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7--7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|-9-9-9-9\--4-5-5-|
|--------------|----------------------|-----------------|
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
E E E E E E E E E E E E E E E Q Q Q Q 3x
||--------------------------|------------------||
||o-------------------------|-----------------o||
||o-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-|-9-9-9-9\--4-5-5-o||
||--------------------------|------------------||
3rd Verse
D.S. al Coda
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
E E Q Q Q Q Q E E E Q E E E
|--------------||--------------------||
|--------------||--------------------||
|-7-7-7--7-----||------------------7-||
|----------9-8-||-7\----7-8-9----9---||
&
|-3-| |-3-| |-3-|
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q E E E Q Q Q Q Q Q Q H
||---------------|-----------------|--------------|--------------||
||o--------------|-----------------|--------------|-------------o||
||o-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\------------7-|-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\----------o||
||---------------|-------------9---|--------------|--------------||
1.,2.,3.,4. 5.
|-3-|
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q H 5x W +W
||---------------|--------------||----------|--------*|
||o--------------|-------------o||----------|--------*|
||o-9\-----4-5-5-|-7\----------o||----------|--------*|
||---------------|--------------||-0--------|-(0)----*|
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 | Hold The Line |
Artist | Toto |
Tablature Type | ASCII Tab |
YouTube ID | htgr3pvBr-I |
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).