Basic Slap
Okay, well here we are again. Today, class we're going to be talking about slapping the bass guitar....hehe. Seriously though, I've seen and talked to alot of people that have been playing bass for awhile that refuse to slap, either because they think it doesn't suit their style or because they're intimidated by it. Well as far as the first reason goes I haven't seen a style yet that couldn't use some slap (tastefully done) in my opinion, and as for the second, well, it's a little difficult at first, but it's like anything else. Practice makes perfect. Although in truth, that's actually utter bullshit, because no one is ever gonna be perfect. But you can learn to slap. So on we go.....
The first thing to remember about slap is that you must take it in moderation to begin with. Just starting out, you'll wear a hole in your thumb if you aren't careful. I've done it and it's very painful. So keep your practices short and gradually work your way up. Before you know it you'll be playing six hour gigs with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Well maybe not, but hey....
Okay, so how exactly do you slap? Well there are several methods but I'm going to talk about the one that I use. I'm not trying to send the message that this is the best or most practical way, but it's the one I'm familiar with so it's the best one for me to use as an example. Like I've said I wouldn't try to teach anything I'm nto sure I know. Anyway.....
I hold my hand perpendicular to the direction of the strings with my thumb pointing down and towards the headstock. Much like the picture you see below (which is not me, It's Alex Katunich, Incubus' bassist, I wish it were me....)
WHEW! That was alot to take in at once. Go take a break and eat some ice cream or something. We don't want to burn you out before you even get to the slap part. Anyway....I prefer this method because The strap on my bass is long and my bass tends to hang low. It's more comfortable for me to be able to hang my arm this way, as opposed to having my strap high like most funk players and having my arm at an angle. And as far as any method goes, comfortability is the main thing. You must be comfortable in whatever style you choose, otherwise you will not progress. Experiment with both and see which feels better.
Okay, so no finally we're actually going to slap. What you want to do is rotate your wrist away from the strings (and just your wrist, you'll wear yourself out trying to rotate your whole arm), then let you hand come back down hitting the string with the knuckle of your thumb, and bouncing back off, so that the string hits the fretboard and vibrates (which causes the sound). Also, You want to hit the string just below the neck. You can move your hand back towards the pickups for a warmer tone, but for now we want a tight punchy sound out of it. So try that a few times, how does it feel? You need to practice hitting the open "E" and open "A" strings until you can get a nice consistent sound out of each, without hitting the other strings (we'll get into muting techniques later). Got that now? If you don't, then don't move on. Practice it until you can get the same sound at the same volume every time. But if you have than let's try a few exercises. Remember to practice each of these until you can do them without thought, before moving on to the next one. I know you won't though, cause I know you're anxious to get slappin'
G---------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------
A---------7----------7---------5--------
E----5----------5---------5---------8---
There we go.....not too difficult, eh? practice that until you can do it perfectly. One of the hardest things to learn when slapping is to hit the string precisely without causing the other strings to sound. Keep going, I know it's hard now, but in my opinion slapping is an invaluable technique and if nothing else it broadens your abilities.
Now let's try something a little more difficult....
G---------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------
A---------5/7---5------7----------------
E----5---------------5-----8----5-------
There now we have a slide and a bit of a different rythym. Nothing too hard I hope. Let's go for one more and then I'll leave off there. this one shouldn't be too difficult but it's harder than the others
G---------------------------------------
D---------------------------------------
A--------5h6h7------5-5/7---------------
E----5----------8-----------8---5-------
There you go guys. You've got two hammer-ons and a slide. No problem for you I know. Just keep up the practice until the next lesson, in which I will take on the dreaded POP.
Later for now everyone.
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