How do you slap?

[jmattbassplaya]

Do you prefer a Flea approach with your thumb facing down towards the floor or a Victor Wooten approach with your thumb laying parallel to the strings? Which do you use and why?

I'm just curious because it has become apparent that I need to improve my slapping and I'm not sure which technique I should go with. As it stands, I can do both styles just as well, but I feel obligated to focus on one or the other.

[Infidelity]

IMO parallel style makes faster runs easier and the notes sounds much more focused..

There's no right or wrong but I just prefer the parallel..

[Skitch it!]

Parallel: string accuracy, lighter approach, double thumb options, better index position for close work/adjacent string/triplet options, my 2.

[john grey]

+1
Parallel: The first guy to show me Slap was Bunny Brunel. I took lessons from him in LA back in the '80's. I STILL have the notes and Xeroxs from him. He told me to work on several things. One was simply RT-hand stuff that was essentially drummer's exercises and the other was working with scales and little rifs everywhere I had used finger-style previously. He was a wonderful teacher and a pleasant man to talk with.

The Parallel agenda was to isolate that tough spot on the joint of the thumb in a natural way so the the mechanics was from the forearm forward to the thumb. After a short time the level of work was so low that you could concentrate on rhythm & tempo very effortlessly. I built a callous there & strangely, after some months that went away because I was slapping with much less violence.

[staindbass]

i point my thumb towards the ceiling, and keep up to the first knuckle flat with the back of my hand. (looks like giving the thumbs up sign). i find my wrist has more endurance, but you have to wear it high or sit while playing. its another thing to try. i saw bunny brunel play once, he was amazing. i would have been afraid to admit i was a bass player, lol.

[idoker]

I believe it's always best to start with the most proper technique. In this case it would be the "parallel" slapping technique. This way, you're not hindered by faulty technique when you move on to more advanced slapping.

However, like most intermediate and advanced slappers, you will find your "comfort zone" where your style of slapping will be what's most comfortable to you. And this will most likely incorporate a little of both of those techniques.

[bass12]

Victor Wooten style? You mean Larry Graham style, right (Let's give the man the credit he deserves!)? Sorry, but whenever I see someone slapping à la Flea I think they look awkward and, um, uneducated.

[bajocallao]

Originally Posted by bass12

Victor Wooten style? You mean Larry Graham style, right (Let's give the man the credit he deserves!)? Sorry, but whenever I see someone slapping à la Flea I think they look awkward and, um, uneducated.

that being said the new chili peppers album has some nice bass grooves on it

[CapnSev]

My thumb won't even go totally up when I try to give a thumbs up, so I ply Flea-style by default.

As a side note: There's no way on Earth I could even think about doing the double-thumb technique with my straight-as-an-arrow thumb.

[funkybass4ever]

Originally Posted by bass12

Victor Wooten style? You mean Larry Graham style, right (Let's give the man the credit he deserves!)? Sorry, but whenever I see someone slapping à la Flea I think they look awkward and, um, uneducated.

I slap thumb-wise similar to the Flea Monster and yes I agree it looks awkward. But I am self taught on bass but I am highly edumacated!

[FrettyBassGirl]

Yeah parallel works best for me, I've only just discovered the greatness of slapping, so I am still experimenting. I don't know any others though. But I was taught it as the most simple and effective.

[Zoa]

Flea would be the first person to admit that his slapping technique leaves much to be desired.

On another note, staindbass, that is ridiculous. How do you do that and pop consistently? I'm jealous.

[Toastfuzz]

I'm not so sure about my right hand technique, I try to keep a fluid motion and prefer the sound of the Flea-ish style of bouncing your thumb off the strings (mostly parallel I guess) as opposed to Wooten's double thump wanking. But I didn't pick that up from Flea, I picked it up from Claypool from before he got down on the double thump. Not that its not skillful or musical, not saying that, but tone-wise I get a more fluid motion and funkier ghost notes by slamming my thumb down at the string and allowing the string's tension to bounce it back up, before slamming back down again (in rapid succession!)

I was always mad that I couldn't slap standing up or playing with a band as good as when I was sitting on my bed practicing. Seeing as I dont have nearly the time to practice anymore and probably will never achieve "perfect slap technique", I decided to focus on LEFT hand technique to make slap sound good, properly muting all strings but the one I'm hitting at the moment. If you have your muting down then it allows for alot more sloppy playing with the right hand! And before you criticize accepting sloppy playing, I figured either I focus on the technique, stare down at the fretboard the whole song, and don't move on stage, or I keep up the stage show, jump around and funk it up, my thumb probably realistically slaps against 2 or 3 strings with every slap but everything but my target is muted.

[JimmyM]

Johnny slaps?

I've tried the Flea way and it's so very uncomfortable for me that I can't do it. I have to do it Larry Graham style (not Vic style...thousands of bassists slapped long before anyone ever heard of Vic but nobody slapped before Larry ).