slap bass miracle?

[thunderbyrd]

maybe this post will encourage somebody to not give up - if it happened to me, it can happen to you. i've played guitar for years, started playing bass for church steady about 2-3 yrs ago. playing for church the way i do is pretty easy. i can pretty much make up my own basslines however i see fit, as long as i hit the root every now and then and don't get too "far out".

but i have been working, in fits and starts, on more disciplined playing on rock songs which require a specific line - green-eyed lady, come together, money, things like that.

one thing i've always wished i could do is get into slap bass with all that cool funky stuff. but my right hand just couldn't get it. the thumb worked, but the index finger wanted to pluck so the rythym just wasn't there. so i pretty much figured i'd never do it right, so i didn't wok at it much.

but BOOM! this past sunday i came home from church and sat down on the couch, grabbed my jazz bass and lo and behold, out of nowhere, i was playing slap bass! wasn't even thinking about it, had no plan, my hands just sort of started slapping!

so since then i've been slapping my booty off.

[conqr]

Like most techniques a lot of folks start out literally trying too hard, bashing and grabbing (both physically and hence mentally) when it's really about relaxation and an easy bouncy touch/release. Eventually you 'relax' into it and boom, there you go - the core of the technique is set in muscle memory. You can then vary force/aggression if you like. Have fun with it, it's another tool in the shed.

[phillybass101]

Epiphany is what they call it. It happens with making advancements in your playing. It means you have been working towards that goal and the work paid off.

[JLY]

Congrats!! Hope this also comes to me!