OK I can't POP

[Ace123]

I've been slapping poorly for the last two years and have never been good at it at all. I recently decided to do something about it and got Ed Friedland's slap DVD. I realize that I do not pop properly at all.

I slap horozontially at the strings and go through them, but I my popping is the problem. How far under the string am I supposed to go when I pop? Right now I am popping with about the same area of my finger that I also play on when I play finger style. I'll provide pictures later if anyone needs them. In the DVD (and on this site on some certain popping threads) it says to pop right where your nail ends on the side of your finger.

Also, I think I have been slapping wrong too. For me, it is very unnatural to slap with my index finger curled in and ready to pop on the D string. Am i supposed to? My problem is that I cannot pop immediately after I slap. I think the ultimate problem is that my finger goes too much under the string when popping. BUT it feels so unnatural to pop with just the side of the finger.

If this doesn't make sense I can post some pictures but it may not be until tomorrow. I'm just very frustrated that it seems like everyone else gets it, but i can't even POP! It's so UNNATURAL for me. THat's why I mainly play fingersytle but I realize it's important as a bassist to also know how to slap so i'm trying to learn now.

Any tips will be apprecaited, and hopefully I can post some pictures to show you all what I mean. Thanks.

[tomfouts]

you really only need to use half of the tip (the "third") of your index. Your arm should be at an angle.....here is a picture so it makes it easier



see how my arm is at an angle to the strings instead of horizontal (i dont know if that is one of your problems)
And also, you should keep your hand like mine (see how the fingers are just automatically curled? kind of like a monkey, haha. This makes it simple to pop the string quickly. You should just practice that while walking around or something. Just atleast get the motions down.
Try not to be agressive too. just slap in a "laid back" manner, instead of RIPPING at the string, you know?
All you really need is small movements so it is easier to just go right into the next thing you want to do

I hope this helped