Simultaneously slapping and popping

[Disraeli Gears]

For quite some time now I've toyed around with the idea of playing 2 notes simultaneously--one slapped, and one popped--but have never really been able to incorporate it into a bassline.

Fast forward to today: this afternoon I was just messing around on the bass and came up with an idea for a slap line. After some playing around, I realized that this is one that can incorporate the simultaneous slap and pop and still sound decent (IMO, anyway).

The point of all this being, has anyone else experimented with this idea? I don't think I've seen it before, although I can't say I've looked very hard for it. Anyway, if you've done this before, how do you approach playing the simultaneous slap and pop? The technique I use is to "rock" my hand such that my fingers move up from the strings and my wrist (and more importantly thumb) move down towards them.

[seamus bass]

i do something similar but in incorporates tapping,hammer-ons and pull-offs the sound is "think earl scruggs with a bass". like most will tell you pulling it off in a band setting will be the challenge.

[Disraeli Gears]

Originally Posted by seamus bass

i do something similar but in incorporates tapping,hammer-ons and pull-offs the sound is "think earl scruggs with a bass". like most will tell you pulling it off in a band setting will be the challenge.

Yeah, making it fit in a band setting may be an issue--but at the same time, although it's (from a technical perspective) more challenging, it's still just slap bass. I'm fairly optimistic about playing it with a band at this point .

[easyvision]

Larry Graham did something like that in his song Hair. The last fill before the vocals kick in has him slap the high Db and pop the the high G, then slide it up a fret. Sounds amazing when he does it, not quite there though!

Definitely a fun technique to play about with!

[Disraeli Gears]

Originally Posted by easyvision

Larry Graham did something like that in his song Hair. The last fill before the vocals kick in has him slap the high Db and pop the the high G, then slide it up a fret. Sounds amazing when he does it, not quite there though!

Definitely a fun technique to play about with!

Really? I actually learned that bassline pretty recently and didn't know it was played like that- I'll have to give that a try. Thanks!

[StuntBacon]

I didn't know popping and slapping at the exact same time was actually possible, could someone give me a video example of this?

[Disraeli Gears]

Originally Posted by StuntBacon

I didn't know popping and slapping at the exact same time was actually possible, could someone give me a video example of this?

I'll see if I can get a video up- my current filming setup is a bit less than ideal at the moment though.

The basic technique that I use involves pivoting the hand such that the wrist and thumb are thrusting towards the string while at the same time pulling the rest of your hand (most notably fingers) away from the strings. Imagine there's an axel going through horizontally through your hand between your thumb and the knuckle of your index finger--pivot your hand along that axis.

[easyvision]

I only managed to find one video of a guy playing Hair that does the simultaneous slap/pop but the camera cuts away just as he does it so you can't see it at all.

I'm not 100% certain that Larry actually does it, as in I've never seen him do it. I'm just assuming that since he primarily plays slap and hits 2 notes at once, that's how he does it. That and the only way I've ever managed to come close to replicating the sound is when I slap and pop the notes at the same time.

[StuntBacon]

Originally Posted by Disraeli Gears

The basic technique that I use involves pivoting the hand such that the wrist and thumb are thrusting towards the string while at the same time pulling the rest of your hand (most notably fingers) away from the strings. Imagine there's an axel going through horizontally through your hand between your thumb and the knuckle of your index finger--pivot your hand along that axis.

Okay, if I'm doing what I think you're telling me to do, they hit within a split second of each other, not quite at the same time. Is there any instructional material on the net anyone knows of that can help me with this?