Help with mutes (slapping)

[dariuskawelolani]

I've been having trouble with slapping mutes, like getting in the right timing or just...hard to explain.

Any tips or help you can give? i dont see why you need to do the mute :/

http://www.bassmasta.net/r/red_hot_c...rs/156064.html

http://www.bassmasta.net/r/red_hot_c...rs/100482.html

[dariuskawelolani]

also...the quick parts like when you first play E on the A string for the verse of cant stop then play 7th fret G then going to E on the A again then going to 9th fret G.

the timing or whatever is confusing..

[BeowulfKingsley]

The muted notes in this case give the bass line that percussive effect that's so nice and funky! In terms of timing, for a line like that a good practice technique is to isolate that part of the passage and focus on whats happening. Try just playing an octave (first finger on A on the E string at the 5th fret, fourth finger on the A on the D string at the 7th fret) and get really comfortable slapping quarter notes, just alternating thumb and index finger. Then, with your left hand fingers still in that position, lift up your first finger slightly to deaden that note. It can be kind of tricky not to create a harmonic, you may have to shift the finger slightly, but after a while you'll get it. Then try the same excersize with the first finger sounding the low note and the fourth finger muting the higher one. When you're really comfortable with that, go to eighth notes, then try moving the octave up and down that string set. A huge amount of funky stuff is connected to these kinds of technique, so it's really worth practicing!

[Skygoneblue]

Once you get more comfortable with slap, you'll find that muted notes actually help you keep time better.

Also, I'm not sure if it's the same for anyone else, but I find it easier to pop if I'm just coming off a slap. I feel like I get a bit of "bounce" or momentum from doing the slap, and it helps me pop properly.

One of my favorite examples of good popping is in the song Come Original by 311. He actually hits very few open notes, but it sounds funky as hell because of all the mutes. Check it out!

[bobknowsbass]

Ah, in Can't Stop the mutes are where the funk lives! I've taught this line to a few students and they almost always get it wrong at first. Without the mutes it sounds very Vanilla, like "meh"
When you add the mutes in, you get;
1 + 2 + a 3 e + a 4 e +
You can't see the rhythm in most tabs, but go slowly and the line comes to life little by little.

[Chris K]

Practice to play slap notes dead short, like machine gun fire. It doesn't really matter what you play, scales, arpeggio's. Try to slap simple stuff you already know (that you've been plucking so far). IMHO it is more worthwile to avoid slap gimmicks and concentrate on regular slapped notes you can use in any song.

Mute them with the left hand fingertips, so no open strings for a while. After some time, start playing runs across open strings as well, also to be muted with the left hand.