How exactly do YOU slap?

[J-B'ass]

I was always told ( and by that I mean I was told once when I was first learning bass)
that to slap meant to strike the string with your thumb against the end of the fretboard so that, for a brief second, the string was squashed between your thumb and the fretboard. You should then let your thumbs bounce off the string as soon as possible.

A second technique I came across later was to strike through the string as you would with a pick, striking the string against the fret, but letting your hand follow through so that the string vibrates up and down more than in and out.

I have found good and bad aspects to both:
The first makes for faster and (for me at my current stage) more accurate slapping, but sometimes (especially when playing with a drummer) my pops are impractically louder than my slaps

The second style gives more tone and a louder, more level sound, and is better for double-thumbing but is slower and less accurate (again this is an issue for me, not a flaw in the style)

My question is who uses these styles or others alltogether and what do you think/recommend?

[BuffaloBass]

A proper thumb technique is more like #2, move your thumb "through" the string , coming to rest at the next string. Your #1 is actually a backward or "inverted" pluck, and should sound like one.

I wouldnt dwell on "proper". Each articulation has its own sound. The key is to make the string of articulations ( sounds) sound right together.

[iamlowsound]

I do it the second way, IMO it is much faster, more accurate and sounds better. Plus I like to throw in triplets a lot, so it sets me up for double thumbing.

lowsound

[olaff421]

With the back of my hand.

[The BurgerMeister]

upside the head.

[Rafael]

I use both methods, as well as two different orientations to my instrument: One is when I play mostly non-slap sets and that is with my instrument in its 'normal' position near my hip, my right [slapping] arm in a similar position as when picking and my thumb aims more towards the nut, and the second is with the instrument raised up nearly to chest level and my right arm then is held parallel to the strings, with my thumb pointing up towards my face.

When I slap in the first style, I tend to more 'strum' the strings, but when I slap with the second style, my whole forearm rotates and the thumb is used more in a bouncing motion.

Also, when I play with the second method, I tend to hold my snapping finger like a rigid hook [I learned this from my old friend John who we nicknamed 'Hooker' for the hooking style snap] but with the first style I sometimes use my first and second finger to strum the strings instead of hooking them. So the sound is slap-strum-strum etc.

[ibz]

Palm of my hand to the fleshy part of the other's cheek.




....second method

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by iamlowsound

I do it the second way, IMO it is much faster, more accurate and sounds better. Plus I like to throw in triplets a lot, so it sets me up for double thumbing.

lowsound

Looks like I am rolling in the anti-iamlowsound mode. For me I am more accurate, sounding better, and faster rolling with # 1. There is little volume issue unless I can feel I've played it poorly. Could be for your intonation issues:

A. you're not getting your thumb up fast enough after the slap.

B. you're really horking up on the pop.

C. some unfortunate combination of both.

D. something is your setup is unusually bright.

I'm not saying iamlowsound is wrong, but saying that his style doesn't work for me. I know, cause I've tried. Probably being able to go for both to get different tones, timings would be a wise decision.

But #1 works for me.

[BuffaloBass]

Dude, I learned/am learning slap from the best out there. # 2 is correct. Here's a snippet from a lesson.....

QUOTE:

"Today’s exercise will explain the down up thump. This technique isn’t as complicated as it may first seem. This is a two event technique. The initial down thump is no different than a regular thump as explained in the Level 1 and Level 2 course. You thump through the face of the string without bouncing off the string. Your thumb should land on the next string. If it does, you’re in the perfect position to come up with your thumb.

The up thump is achieved by using the left corner of your thumb nail (if you’re right handed) to make contact with the string as your thumb comes up. This technique is very similar to using a guitar pick to play guitar. You hold the guitar pick firmly and do down and up strokes using the guitar pick. Now just imagine that your thumb is the guitar pick.

This next step is very critical. You have to be sure not to move your thumb independently of your hand. You have to use your thumb like it is frozen or locked into one position with your hand. I like to refer to the hand position from just above the wrist on down to the end of the hand as the hammer. So you have to make sure you hold the ‘hammer’ steady and stiff when you are going to strike with it. There can be no flexibility with the hammer and no wavering. The sound that we are trying to achieve is a very aggressive sound so the technique has to be very aggressive also "

End quote. From a master artist. Dont take my opinion, take the man's.

[dbcandle]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBass

Dude, I learned/am learning slap from the best out there. # 2 is correct. Here's a snippet from a lesson.....

That sounds like what Bunny Brunel teaches: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CarT_98Ys8c&feature=related

I'm just starting, but from the original post here, I find #1 easiest (bounce off the string), but #2 is presumably better so that you can double-thumb.

..and of course, for the die-hards, there's a great sticky at the top of this forum: The Slap Bass Welcome Center

[sssmmike]

I usually powder my hand first.

[BuffaloBass]

Anthony Wellington actually. Thats an except from his course at www.musicdojo.com.

Victa's bass tech. Credentials enough for me.

[cheapbasslovin]

I'm not here to say anybody else is wrong about their technique, but when I hear someone say that this is 'the' way to do it, I have to roll my eyes.

If you can master both techniques, by all means, do it. But if you struggle with one and not the other and can make it work that doesn't make your style wrong, it makes it the other style. There are alot of things that I can do bouncing my thumb off of a string that I couldn't do slapping through it. Conversely, there are a lot of things I can't do that would involve me slapping through the string, but most of those I have developed techiques to work around.

I would like to qualify this by saying I would love to be great at all styles, but that is not a reasonable expectation for a guy who didn't really take his instrument seriously until he was 25. So now I play what I can well, and practice what I can improve quickest.

Learn everything you can, but don't let anyone tell you a technique is wrong if it is simply different.

[AllenBass7]

Start like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZILSRswCNdE

And get like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPGlB8PZ448

[Valerus]

Originally Posted by AllenBass7

Start like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZILSRswCNdE

And get like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPGlB8PZ448

Heh

[BuffaloBass]

Originally Posted by cheapbasslovin

I'm not here to say anybody else is wrong about their technique, but when I hear someone say that this is 'the' way to do it, I have to roll my eyes.

Learn everything you can, but don't let anyone tell you a technique is wrong if it is simply different.

Most "good technique" is based on ergonomics and economy of motion. So from a purely mechanical point of view, there IS a right and a wrong.


You can do what you want, but.....

[Andrew Jones]

I use both #2 for Real notes of any duration and #1 for faster notes and dead notes.


One thing you didn't mention was a relationship of where you strike compare to the end of the fingerboard. You may Find that tone gets bigger thumping just off of a 20 fret fingerboard as opposed to thumping over say the 17th fret.


Aj

[jgroh]

When I first started bass lessons 20 years ago, my instructor said to slap on the fretboard, etc etc...standard stuff. Well my choice of music didnt lend itself too much slapping so it was always an occasional thing. Recently, after watching Victor Wooten's videos on youtube, I tried the double thumping and wholly molely! Opened up fantastic possibilities and really "funked up" my slap technique! I suggest to anyone just learning or wanting to add to their basic slap techniques to try the double thumping style.

[BuffaloBass]

Combine double thumpin and some open hammer slaps and , well that's Vic! I love that "rusling" as Doug Johns calls it. Check out 'buzzjohns" on ut. A few good lessons out.

[cheapbasslovin]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBass

Most "good technique" is based on ergonomics and economy of motion. So from a purely mechanical point of view, there IS a right and a wrong.


You can do what you want, but.....

It's not like I'm all over the place when I slap, I just don't excel at slapping through the bass. If I use the string to push back my thumb rather than having to lift it back up that is economy. I agree that there is always 'more efficient' at whatever you're doing, but they do different things. If you plan on hammering triplets on one string the way I do, you aren't going to hammer your thumb through the string (I can do it way faster my way than yours, anyway). I agree that for going up a string and getting a serious thump your way is better, and that is a weakness in my playing. But that doesn't make my playing wrong, just incomplete. Similarly, if you only practice slapping through, you aren't going to be able to hammer down super fast on one string because you are going to have to fight your own momentum on every motion. Learning both is better, learning one isn't wrong.