Slapping Tips?

[Kareir]

Hey Ray,

Sorry if you've had to answer these few questions loads of times before, but..

Okay, so.. I've been wanting to learn to slap better for ages. I'm pretty good at fingerstyle/picking, but slapping is just something i'm not great at. When i use my thumb, it doesnt sound.. all that percussive? it nearly sounds like i'm just plucking the note. Similarly with double thumb - my upstroke is fine, but my downstroke is more like i'm just fingerpicking on a guitar.

so, basically,

1) Any tips on improving slap technique?
2) any good songs/excersises that'd be good to learn to slap with?

and finally, 3) is the "slapping" noise with the thumb just a matter of practice? Eg. will it sound better over time, or is it something you just need to learn from the start?

Thanks,
_kar.

[BobaFret]

With time and practice anything will sound better if practiced the right way. Check out MarloweDK on youtube and look at what he is doing. His playbassnow.com site has all kinds of tutorials and they are often played slowly so you can really see what's going on.

My suggestion is to start really slow and make sure you are accurate. It may seem like it cool to be making all these pops and slaps but being accurate is way more important.

[BigOldHarry]

I don't think I can describe they way I would teach my students to slap, so I'll not try (it seems to me to be one of those things best left to a live demostration) but I will say this:

Learn to slap, but don't go crazy with it. Nothing in the entire bass world is quite so annoying as a player who can't stop slappin'!

good luck!

[bass12]

Start out simply. Take, for example, a song like Sly & The Family Stone's "Thank You (Falettinme be mice elf agin)". I don't know what kind of stuff you're into, but it doesn't really matter. Slapping is a technique and it is best if you start with some sparse lines that encourage you to develop good control and precision. Try to avoid the Flea school of wild "popita-popita-popita" at this stage. I'm not saying don't aspire to play like Flea (if that's your thing), just don't start with that. A lot of guys get really sloppy when they slap - they go for speed and flash before precision. Keep the timing solid and your slapping will sound a lot better. Also keep in mind that you can't get a great slap sound out of any bass (despite what some people say about the sound being "in your hands"). I went through a phase of being very frustrated with my slap sound because I simply couldn't get the sound I wanted out of my bass. And yeah, MarloweDK is a great suggestion. Pay attention to the way he positions his right hand and notice that he doesn't have to hit the strings very hard to get a good, clean sound. Let the bass do some of the work. And fresh strings always help!

[j0n0j0n0]

All i would say if you are starting out to slap, start slapping in the double thump style not flea style of slapping as i started slapping flea style and now i find it really hard to pick up double thumping. It may take a bit longer to master but will be definetly worth it.

[rayriendeau]

There is some great advice here. I would add though that I find it VERY advantageous to know how to slap in the "traditional" way AND double thumbing. Both techniques yield different sounds and lines.
I would also add that the traditional method covers a huge percentage of what you hear as far as slap goes in all genres. Double thumbing is still new in terms of it being used in todays recordings. In other words my advice, traditional 1st, then double thumbing.
As with anything new take it slow, develop a vocabulary and listen to players you dig that use this style. Maybe start with "originators" like Larry Grahm, Louis Johnson, Mark King, Stanely Clarke, etc.