dead notes

[pandaman37]

im having a lot of trouble with these sort of dead notes, as seen in songs like tommy the cat, pow (larry graham), and the slap solo from coffee shop. its almost a note, cos i can discern some tone, but no matter how hard i listen, i cant tell what note it is or whether it is simply a dead note.
could it be something like harmonics im hearing?

[jamespopali]

Are you talking about a "x" in the tablature? If so, that symbolizes a percussive sound. Keep practicing and you'll get it! Tommy The Cat is one of the first "slap" bass songs I learned; it is still fun to play!