Can't slap/pop to save my life

[perfektspace6]

In addition to being a solid pick or finger style player I am of the opinion every player should have a trick or two up their sleeve. Slapping, tapping, chordal playing etc. Something that can break the monotony of a generic bass line or fill space when appropriate. If slap/pop is your objective then go for it but it's going to take awhile. Like tapping it involves muscle memory that is very different from standard playing technique. No easy way and no books that are going to help much.

Slapping isn't very technical in my opinion. You just do it and put your own spin on the technique. It ain't rocket science. Work hard and it will come. I would recommend picking one challenging piece and trying to perfect it. I remember doing this with a Stu Hamm tapping piece or two and it did wonders for me. Don't get wrapped up in someone telling you exactly how it should be done. Slapping is a very loose and fluid approach and rigidly following "John Jackson's guide to slap bass" will more than likely frustrate you. Sorry but all the video's that say "this is how to slap/tap are ********. It's much more interesting to go your own way and create something that is yours alone (*the one caveat is that if something physically hurts obviously don't do it!). Do Sheehan and Hamm and Manring approach tapping the same way. No. Do Graham and Flea and Claypool slap the same way. Absolutely not.

All this being said I think some players adopt a slap style to hide deficiencies in their playing. It's easy to slap root octave all night and have people think you are doing something special. That doesn't mean it is good for the song. Additionally, I feel it can detract from developing more useful skills and, in that regard, becomes a crutch of sorts. My personal bias, but keep it in mind. There are more useful skills in many contexts

[Double Agent]

The slap hate here blows my mind. The OP wants to learn to do it, so who cares about your personal opinion?

As far as job security = no slapping, couldn't be further from the truth. A true professional should be proficient, at least, in as many styles as possible...slapping included. I have been asked to do it more often in more than one band, my current bandleader and I butt heads because he wants slapping in too many songs. Admittedly, we play a lot of 70s/80s funk, but still. I know a lot of guys overdo it, but when done tastefully and in the right context, it is an awesome style.

Also, Larry Graham is cooler than anyone in this thread. So, OP, do not let the negative threads discourage you. Spend the time to get slapping right. Even if you never use it in a professional context, at least you will have the security of knowing you can do it if it's ever called for.

[Burtoneadg]

I first started to get the hang of it by keep a steady rythm with my right hand (assuming you're right handed). Just keeping your hand 'rocking' from slap to pop, thumb to pointer is how I started. I then wrote simple lines that included a bunch of muted notes, and sped up. Give the youtube lesson of the song Laquer Head by Primus, good practice. The guy's name is Mark Eshenbaugh.

[JimmyM]

boy, some of you really need to check yourselves! the dude asked a question about slapping. he didn't ask for your opinion of it. so pipe down.

anyway, the reason you're not getting it down is because you've been trying to do it for a month, and you're trying to learn it from youtube videos of varying quality.

stick to the name players on youtube...larry graham especially. and buy the book "slap it" by tony oppenheim and work through it (hope you know how to read music and not just tabs...if not, learn it...it's easy).

[Joe Nerve]

the slap hate entertains me. i believe it comes from a place along these lines:

ineveitably, a bass player will be asked if he can slap. they can answer in 2 general ways if they can't.

1. no.

2. slap bass ruined the bass world. i refuse to do it. never had any interest. etc.

A lot of people take the defensive route. I can't tap for crap, and don't like it enough to commit to learning it... but I don't go trashing threads on tapping nor judge anyone who want to do it. It's a technique and IMO anyone who's truly an artist will be open to any and every possibility of what you can do with your instrument. And not necessarily to try it or do it, but fer sure to at least respect it.

[Toastfuzz]

I'd be curious to see all the slap-pop haters sitting together in real life, I'm thinking it'd look like a bar in a VFW, and the topic of conversation why they hate slap n pop even more than immigration

[RexNFX79]

Originally Posted by Toastfuzz

I'd be curious to see all the slap-pop haters sitting together in real life, I'm thinking it'd look like a bar in a VFW, and the topic of conversation why they hate slap n pop even more than immigration

That sounds like a politically baited statement. I believe those aren't allowed.

[i hate username]

Slap and pop is fun but not that useful. It just does not work in a lot of situations, with some obvious examples(sikth springs to mind)

Took me about 3 years before i was able to get it right(ish) and the first bass i had had a big part to play in that taking me so long.(epiphone thunderbird with the ganky 3 point bridge) Once i got my next bass i found that slapping came relatively easily.

Keep at it, you'll get it eventually. Then you'll have something to impress everyone who listens to RHCP but has no idea how to play anything

EDIT= Just thought id say im not a slap hater at all in case i came across that way.

[raymondl3]

Check out "The Slap Bass" program by Alexis Sklarevski, originally on VHS. It is well put together. The Stu Hamm instructional viideo has some good patterns in it. Stick to root-octave patterns and pretend the bass is a "drum." Also, the way the bass is set up (in regards to the action and relief in the neck), the age of the strings, and to a lesser degree the type of pickup/s (I think two J pickups on full volume work best). Most importantly, the technique takes a long time to get together and requires lots of repetition.

[Subrage]

Im working through "slap it" now. Its a good book.

[LilRay]

I'm gonna jump on the "Down with Slap" bandwagon. I have a tough time tryin' it so I say pee on all of you who can !

Ain't gonna argue the relevence point 'cause that's moot, but You guys can Slap and I can't so "Up Yours!"



God Bless, Ray

[rappa29]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

boy, some of you really need to check yourselves! the dude asked a question about slapping. he didn't ask for your opinion of it. so pipe down.

anyway, the reason you're not getting it down is because you've been trying to do it for a month, and you're trying to learn it from youtube videos of varying quality.

stick to the name players on youtube...larry graham especially. and buy the book "slap it" by tony oppenheim and work through it (hope you know how to read music and not just tabs...if not, learn it...it's easy).

+1 on all comments.

I bought the Oppenheim book. It was very helpful, along with listening to many of my favorite recordings by Larry Graham. Also, consulting bassist friends who are very good at it and play regularly in the local scene.

Took me about a year to get decent enough at it to actually start to use it in the original Alt Rock trio I'm in.

I will never claim to be a proficient slapper but whatever it is I do that resembles slapping, gets me by on the 1 or 2 original songs that require it and for those 2 tunes, it fits perfectly.

YMMV.

Play what you like and like what you play.

[stuonbass]

I know and see alot of players that can slap bass and it looks so natural to them, but after more than 30 years of playing bass I cannot do it. I can pop and play hard with my fingers to kind of get a funky thing going but its not a true thumb thing like you see guys doing. I just never had the discipline or the desire to develope that skill. To each his own, right?

[WJGreer]

There is a very vocal anti-slap sentiment on this board - any thread about it ultimately becomes a hate fest. It's too bad; it's a neat technique that provides a voice for bass players that is a little different than anything else in music. While I suppose that it may be out of fashion in popular music these days, when executed with confidence it remains a legitimate playing style that fits well into many situations.

There are a few things you can do with your instrument that will help you play slap. The tone is created by the impact of the string against the frets, so, as has been mentioned, lowering your action will help you make that happen with less effort. Low action is not necessary to play slap; there are lots of legendary slap players who use high action, Stanley Clarke among them. But it helps you achieve the effect more easily.

Also, adjust your truss rod to achieve as little relief in the neck as you can get away with. A flatter neck, all else constant, again makes it easier to achieve contact between the string and the frets.

Most guys like for their strings to be new or sound fresh for slap playing. The harmonic activity of a fresh, clean string creates a more metallic or "zingy" tone. Playing slap on flatwounds or dead strings is a totally legitimate tone approach, and more and more people are doing it now - but the quintessential slap tone comes from fresh strings. If you don't want to buy new strings, take yours off and soak them in denatured alcohol (you get it at Home Depot) for a day or two, then put them back on and they will sound essentially new.

And, finally, listen to a lot of slap guys and see if you can learn what they do. If you can find a guy playing locally who uses that technique a lot and go watch him play, even better.

Best luck!

[Chapter11]

Originally Posted by GregPlaysBass

for those who are essentially saying that it doesnt appeal to you, or that i shouldnt bother: thank you for your input, but its really not helping my situation

Let's start a different thread:
"I don't like slap and I don't think anyone should learn it"

I bet that would be fun, informative, and self-reinforcing to those who don't like slap. And best of all, the posts to that thread won't interfere with reasonable questions, such as the one GregPlaysBass posted.

[kreider204]

Originally Posted by perfektspace6

I would recommend picking one challenging piece and trying to perfect it.

I laregly agree with this. Way back when, I bought a book to teach me the basic slap / pop movements (the Jonas Hellborg book), then I just focused on learning actual tunes - mostly RHCP. One song at a time, playing each as slowly as necessary to get the movements down right, and only later picking up speed. To the OP, are the any particular slap songs you were interested in learning?

[LiF]

Originally Posted by J. Crawford

Pino has made it this far.. Ill stick to my fingers.

Maybe, but Pino can slap. Listen to some Paul Young or his work with Numan(I, Assassin, in particular) to hear some amazing slap on the fretless. There are a few videos of him slapping live with Paul Young and Numan and his technique is flawless.

I agree, it isn't essential to be able to slap to be a decent player. Slapping in the wrong context can ruin a tune, but applied tastefully in the right situation it can be very effective. although there will be few situations in which it can be used, it is still a useful skill to have.

[Bassamatic]

Slapping is WAY OVERDONE - I think that this is why many people have negative feelings for it. However if used judiciously to spice up a line in a song, it definitely has it's place.

Just think of "Peg" if Chuck Rainey hadn't slapped that one line (against the instructions of Fagan and Becker).

[ethompson2]

Just dont be discouraged... Just practice and do what feels natural to you there is not really a right or wrong way to do it. That is wht there are so many different techniques out there.

[WJGreer]

Originally Posted by Gio S

Just think of "Peg" if Chuck Rainey hadn't slapped that one line (against the instructions of Fagan and Becker).

I attended a clinic he did last Sunday. If slapping is no longer appropriate, Rainey did not get the memo.