Slap Bass - part 1 basics -...
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Transcript of Slap Bass - part 1 basics -...
Slap bass – Part 1 By Steven Swift
As most bass players are aware, you can play the bass guitar by using your fingers, a plectrum or what is known as slapping. There are three finger techniques and double thumbing but they are variations on the basic finger and slapping methods. In most cases, bass lines for commercial and popular songs are played with these three methods. In my opinion the main influences in my slap bass technique is Marcus Miller, Larry Graham (creator of the slap bass style), Anthony wellington and Victor Wooten. This series is designed to take you through the necessary steps to be able to play slap bass. This series also highlights the use of using slap bass for fills or phrases in an otherwise finger or plectrum style song. This will give you the ability to switch mid song and not stay rooted in one or the other for the entire track. Slapping technique The actual technique is achieved by striking the string with the hard part of the side of your thumb (see image below).
There are two different approaches to this technique. One is to keep your hand in the same position as you would when playing with your fingers. This causes your hand to stay perpendicular to the strings. To
The string is hit where my index finger touches my thumb.
achieve the slapping action, you simply rotate your wrist to achieve the strike against the string (see image below).
Due to playing a 5 string bass guitar, I found this technique extremely awkward in slapping higher strings, as I would force other strings to ring in sympathy to my wrist attack (my hand would make contact with other strings, causing them to vibrate unintentionally). To counteract this, I use the other approach. For this, you have to rotate your wrist so it’s like your hitchhiking. Your hand is diagonal to the strings (see image below) and to achieve the slapping action, you still rotate the wrist to strike the string.
As you can see from the two images above, the first method has your hand completely straight over the strings, while the second approach is curved. Having your hand curved across the strings in my opinion gives more clarity, definition and accuracy. Experiment with your hand position to see which is easiest and most accurate for your playing style. Where do you strike? Now that you’ve decided which approach you want to try with your thumb, you need to know where to strike or hit to get the best possible sound/tone. The most ideal area to hit the bass is where the neck meets the body of your bass. If you look at the two images above my thumb is touching the string directly where the neck (fingerboard) joins the body. You can slap further down the string but this is the most ideal place to practice as the tone is consistent and it’s easier to achieve the sound you’re looking for. What is Popping? The slap bass technique utilizes two separate actions. They are of course used in conjunction together to create the slap bass style of playing but their action and strike on the strings is different.
We already know slapping is caused by the thumb hitting the string but popping uses your fingers (it can be index, middle and/or ring fingers). The most common approach to popping is using your index finger but to achieve rapid movement and notes, bass players usually incorporate the middle finger as well. There’s no limit to how many fingers you can use. It’s all about practice and patience. I recommend getting to grips with using your index finger first before you experiment with more. Popping technique The technique involved for popping is similar to playing with your fingers except you bend your fingers under the strings (see image below).
To achieve the ‘popping’ sound, you simply pull up against the string. As the string bounces off the frets and fretboard, it creates that bright pop tone. When popping you can use both your middle and index fingers to give versatility and speed to your slap playing. The best way to achieve an even tone and volume between the index and middle fingers is to slowly practice with each finger individually and then together once you build confidence.
Plucking Popping is also known as plucking. Pulling up against the string with your finger creates a popping, bright sound but the action you’re performing with your finger is a plucking motion. This is why it’s known as both. Putting both together Once you can perform the accurate popping technique and one of the two thumb techniques, you can put both of them together to create an effective way to practice. For this example we will be creating a percussive rhythm of 8th notes in an octave pattern (string skipping) on the E and D strings then on the A and G strings. If you have a 5 or 6 string bass, make sure to practice on all of them (B to A string, E to D string, A to G string, D to C string). 8th note octave exercise To start this exercise you should be practising with muted strings to concentrate solely on the right hand movement. For both the notation and tab versions of this exercise, the strings are marked with X’s to show they are muted. Notation
Tab
T = Slap (Thumb) P = Pop Practice both exercises slowly with a metronome. Increase the tempo slowly to get confident with the technique quickly and properly. Cutting corners during your practice (by going fast straight away, or without a metronome) can lead to sloppy technique and inconsistent rhythm/timing. For 5 and 6 string basses (bassists) practice this exercise on all strings. In the next lesson in the Slap bass Series, we will be looking at using our left hand to add another element to our playing and applying our left and right hands to create percussive rhythms.