New Bass, Slapping...

[bassmcgee]

Hey. Just got a Ibanez Soundgear srx300. I love it.
Im just getting into slapping, because my previous bass had a huge soapbar pickup at against the fretboard, and it was impossible. Anyways. Need some tips/techniques for slapping, though im getting it. More importantly, need some good songs that include slapping. Prefferable NOT Red hot Chili Peppers. Thanks

BTW: Heres the bass.. Not exact pic, but its the same color and all.

[jenderfazz]

Nice bass! Try searching the technique forum, slapping has been covered many times. It mostly always ends up with us saying, "learn the technique and practice till your thumb falls off". That's the only way to do it really.

[Anti_Wish]

i like ibanez basses and that looks good. for some good slap, check out a lot of primus, although if you haven't master chili peppers this will be harder. a lot of Funk music, a la Bootsy Collins, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Brian bromberg, Adam Nitti, and stanley clarke. i have left a lot of people, but this should be enough for now. trust me, if you practice slap a lot, like everyday for multiple hours, you will be playing chili peppers music by the end of the month. IMO, Fleas stuff is really simple, and it is usually in one position, it's just a lot of clicking really fast. but it sounds cool.

[Aaron Saunders]

You by no means have to "master" chili peppers to do primus slapping. Les stuff LOOKS really complex, and sounds like it, but once you start to dissect it, it becomes a lot easier.

It's by far easiest to learn slapping from someone in person. If you have any buddies, or a teacher, they'd be your best chance. If not, I guess the Technique forum is your best bet.

[bassmcgee]

I do have a teacher. Weekly. But we're working on Jaco Pastorius stuff (Portrait of Tracy, harmonics and all), improvised jazz walking lines, and still doing all that mode business, and I definitely want to stick with what im doing currently. We'll get to it, but I just want to work on it on my own time.

[danhorne]

Originally Posted by Govithoy

It's by far easiest to learn slapping from someone in person. If you have any buddies, or a teacher, they'd be your best chance. If not, I guess the Technique forum is your best bet.

+1

thats how i learned, i tried but couldn't get it. Then i got a better teacher and everything fell into place.

[Whafrodamus]

The SRX series has never failed to impress me, especially for the price tag. Great bass you go there! As far as slapping goes, check out basslobster.com or warwickbass.com for some practice slap riffs.

[Aaron Saunders]

Just get him to show you the basic method, and practice it. It's a 2 minute job. I tried for weeks to learn slap off the 'net, and in a minute my teacher laid the groundwork. Text on the internet can't look at your hand and tell you if you're pulling back too far from the strings, holding your wrist wrong, or striking the strings with the wrong part of the thumb. Suck it up, and use the BEST resources you have -- what's the point in having a teacher if you want to waste time *trying* to learn stuff from the internet that you could be learning from him?

[Anti_Wish]

im not saying primus is harder, im just saying that rhcp is easier.

[Ryan L.]

This is more of a technique question, I think. Nice bass, BTW.

[bassmcgee]

You think you could gimme some specific songs. Because it takes forever searching through all this music trying to find some slapping.

[Jazzin']

practice some marcus miller songs.

[jenderfazz]

Marcus is cool once you get comfortable with slap, he grooves like there's no tomorrow. At first try some basic exercises working around the octave, your teacher should provide some for you when he teaches you the method of slapping. Also try slapping songs you usually play fingerstyle and work different combinations of slapping and popping until you feel comfortable. It can be frustrating to tackle a slap song if you don't feel at ease with your slapping, so get the technique nice and down first.

[millard]

There's some really good slap stuff at gazzbass.com complete with video. Not quite as good as an in-person instructor, but it closes the gap pretty well. In a weird twist of synchronicity, I read about a technique there Tuesday morning and it was the same thing my teacher showed me that night.

Go here for their "slap bass mini course": http://www.gazzbass.com/Features/tec.../technique.asp.
Even though slap doesn't fit the style I play most (blues and some classic rock), it's a hoot to play. First thing I ever played that raised my wife's eyebrows.

Millard

[Mikex100]

Also for 20 bucks you can get "Slap Bass ultimate guide" DVD Hal Leonard with Ed friedland. The video is very nice and you can see his technique very well with the split screen. His tone is to be desired. He may not be a victor or Jaco but he can definitely teach well.

[Bradweiser]

Originally Posted by Govithoy

You by no means have to "master" chili peppers to do primus slapping. Les stuff LOOKS really complex, and sounds like it, but once you start to dissect it, it becomes a lot easier.

I totally agree with that.
I've been playing for 5 months now, and since I've got my strumming and slapping technique to a proficient level, most Primus is fairly easy (Hamburger Train could take some time to learn though )

[AmplifyYourBass]

Get Stu Hamm's slap bass video. That's really what got me on my feet when it came to slapping.

Also, a good beginners slap song is "Take The Power Back" by Rage Against The Machine.

[ApeIsHigh81]

Your schtick's mean looking, yet extremely easy on the eyes, very nice bass! Most of the day (might sound funny) I slap songs or a beat on my breast right next to my chest plate in a vertical fashion like Les. I've found it's really built up my wrists' stamina and speed. Or when I hear some good drumming I'll mimic the bass drum by slapping my chest, snare by slapping my left thigh with my open palm. It honestly helps speed & timing and gives a different take on bass-slapping to drumbeats sometimes. Just try not to do it in public too much