P-Nut's Triple popping

[MusicBokonon]

I recently subscribed to The Perfect Bass podcast (excellent, might I say) and I was watching the podcast where they interview P-nut from 311. At the end of the video, he played went wild and slapped and popped like mad. One of the main things I noticed was that he uses three fingers individually to pop, and hence goes lightyears faster. Does anybody have any tips on techniques and how to practice it?

[DubBassfunk]

16th note triplets. thumb pop pop

[DubBassfunk]

check out slap bass techniques by Alexis Sklarevski on you tube. he is one of my teachers at MI right now. seriously he is ridiculous. the videos are so sick and he shows you everything you need to know. it was made in the 80's too so its kinda funny.

[mizmor]

Originally Posted by DubBassfunk

check out slap bass techniques by Alexis Sklarevski on you tube. he is one of my teachers at MI right now. seriously he is ridiculous. the videos are so sick and he shows you everything you need to know. it was made in the 80's too so its kinda funny.

+1.

[TOOL460002]

Originally Posted by DubBassfunk

16th note triplets. thumb pop pop

i respectfully disagree.

listen to 311 "what was i thinking" off of transistor. i think thats got the triple pops youre talking about.

(i kind of posted this like two threads above, but...) the way i play that is raking up and popping index middle ring. maybe you can use your thumb, but i really think the tone of it sounds like all pops, and no thumb. you just have to make sure you have definition, because it can get muted and muddy if youre just raking on the one string.

its also useful for popping three strings up, ie- index on the a, middle on the d, and ring on the g. you can get some weird rhythms with that, though its more gimmicky than useful, but, heck, thats half the fun of that kind of stuff.

[MusicBokonon]

Originally Posted by TOOL460002

i respectfully disagree.

listen to 311 "what was i thinking" off of transistor. i think thats got the triple pops youre talking about.

(i kind of posted this like two threads above, but...) the way i play that is raking up and popping index middle ring. maybe you can use your thumb, but i really think the tone of it sounds like all pops, and no thumb. you just have to make sure you have definition, because it can get muted and muddy if youre just raking on the one string.

its also useful for popping three strings up, ie- index on the a, middle on the d, and ring on the g. you can get some weird rhythms with that, though its more gimmicky than useful, but, heck, thats half the fun of that kind of stuff.

To clarify: He was using a Harris-esque technique where he went index-middle-ring all on one string. I'm a bit confused on what you're conveying (it is 1 am though) but I think that's what you mean. Any tips working on speed and (more importantly) clarity?

[TOOL460002]

Originally Posted by MusicBokonon

To clarify: He was using a Harris-esque technique where he went index-middle-ring all on one string. I'm a bit confused on what you're conveying (it is 1 am though) but I think that's what you mean. Any tips working on speed and (more importantly) clarity?

exactly correct: index-middle-ring on the g string... i think an e? i forget... "what was i thinking" is pretty much all octaves of e if i recall correctly.

as for speed and clarity, well, i only started triple popping after double popping. like (i think) i mentioned, i started popping with my middle, then threw in the index, so i could double pop. i had to go slow, otherwise the next finger just mutes the note, which can be useful, but not for that specific song.

so... thats how i got there. one finger, then two, then three. when im doing that triple pop, i normally quickly anchor my right hand against the strings. with my hand floating (which it is 99% of the time im slapping) it gets muddy.

thinking about it, the anchoring is really important. if you can only pop with one finger now, and you want to jump into three immediately, im not sure what to tell you aside from lots of slow practice. itll take a while to get that strength up. strength is key to clarity, especially with the ring, at least in my experience.

try popping with only the fingers that are weak, ie- octaves with thumb-ring, thumb-ring, etc. do that with all weak fingers you want to pop with until you can pull it off.

good luck. it may take a while.

EDIT:

also, a song that has the reverse of that is primus "nature boy." the strumming is ring-middle-index down. balancing muscles helps strength. think about it. back strength helps build ab strength. let me know if you need me to clarify anything or if im rambling or anything. im not immune to that by any means.