Slap is dead?

[XtromatriX]

Petebass, I agree 100%, It all depends on what music you're playing at the time and how well you know where slap will fit in the music... Slap is a tool that has it's time and palce in music. If you just start slapping when you feel like it, you'll probably just make a mess of any song... After all you wouldn't break into a tap dance if you were dancing the ballet.

[Norwegianwood]

Originally Posted by Joe Beets

A couple of decades ago I played classical double bass, you know, that music with all the violins and nobody singing, symphonic music we called it. I used one of those big tall wooden basses that you stand next to as you drag that stick with the horse hair on it back and forth over the strings. Most of the guys who played strictly electric rock bass thought that classical music sucked. It wasn't because they "can't do it". It was because they didn't like that style of bass playing. But if you are not particularly fond of slap bass, it's because you "can't do it"? Maybe, just maybe, some just plain don't like slap bass?

That's not the point. But he stated that he tried to slap in a song, and it messed the song up completely. The only thing we said is that it could have been because he didn't groove. That's a pretty valid possibility. In fact, I have found that very few slappers groove. It's harder to groove when you are slapping, it takes more control. So please, I'm not saying he doesn't like slap because he can't do it. I just tried to look at this situasion from a different angle.

Am I a slap die hard fan? No. I VERY seldom hear slap that does any credit to a song. It's way overused.

[GSPLBASSDC]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

what are you kidding????? black youth is all about hip hop and rap. which in my opinion.....most of it has no soul or funk. now i do like a lot of hip hop and rap because some of it has some nasty grooves but it's far from funk or soul.

i don't think it matters where your from. of course if your from a culture or enviornment that has those elements it's it's culture you are more prone to pick it up....but not always.

some people just have it.

i'm from the white suburbs of houston. when i picked up a bass at 14 all that old soul, motown, and funk music just came naturally to me. and i can f%*@ing dance dammit.

Man, I'm agreeing with you!!

Just like anything else, you get good @ something by loving it and immersing yourself in it. I have never said that there aren't funky white bassists and no-so-funky black ones. Now you were able to pick up some of that quickly, and that's great...when you found out you sounded pretty good, what did you do....listened to some more Motown and old school soul (immersion). Consequently you got better.

All I've ever said is that the preference for black youth (and a growing white youth population) is rap and the hip hop culture, HOWEVER, as a result of the old school soul, funk , R & B that the parents play @ home, in their cars, etc the exposure (immersion) happens a little earlier.

I'm not trying alienate anyone, but there's no denying that culture has something to do with it...most times on a subliminal level so it's imperceptible to others.

One other thing...it's been said that rap has no funk or soul.Where do a lot of today's rap artists get a TON of their grooves....right, samples of James Brown, Parliiament, Cameo, Gap Band, Ohio Players, Sly and the Family Stone, ad infinitum.

...the old school.

Oh, one final note. Hip hop is a culture, not a musical genre. Rap is the musical embodiment of hip hop...and I'm glad you can dance as well

[cgworkman]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

some people just have it.

i'm from the white suburbs of houston. when i picked up a bass at 14 all that old soul, motown, and funk music just came naturally to me. and i can f%*@ing dance dammit.

I agree. I'm from northern Ohio and the same goes for me. I love the funk. And play it well. AND I can dance too!

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by GSPLBASSDC

Man, I'm agreeing with you!!

Just like anything else, you get good @ something by loving it and immersing yourself in it. I have never said that there aren't funky white bassists and no-so-funky black ones. Now you were able to pick up some of that quickly, and that's great...when you found out you sounded pretty good, what did you do....listened to some more Motown and old school soul (immersion). Consequently you got better.

All I've ever said is that the preference for black youth (and a growing white youth population) is rap and the hip hop culture, HOWEVER, as a result of the old school soul, funk , R & B that the parents play @ home, in their cars, etc the exposure (immersion) happens a little earlier.

I'm not trying alienate anyone, but there's no denying that culture has something to do with it...most times on a subliminal level so it's imperceptible to others.

One other thing...it's been said that rap has no funk or soul.Where do a lot of today's rap artists get a TON of their grooves....right, samples of James Brown, Parliiament, Cameo, Gap Band, Ohio Players, Sly and the Family Stone, ad infinitum.

...the old school.

Oh, one final note. Hip hop is a culture, not a musical genre. Rap is the musical embodiment of hip hop...and I'm glad you can dance as well

damn! i knew that! there goes my street cred

yeah i hear a lot of that sampling going on.

like i said there are a lot of rap tunes out there with nasty grooves. a lot of times a rap tune will come on and i'll be like "yeah!" "uh!" "oooooWWW!" but then it just keeps doing the same groove and i get less excited with every measure.

yeah i agree that "culture has something to do with it...most times on a subliminal level so it's imperceptible to others." my dad was really into aretha.....maybe that helped

let's all get along....slappers, blacks, whites, albinos, double bass players, tools that use pics

one nation under a groove.

[GSPLBASSDC]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

damn! i knew that! there goes my street cred

yeah i hear a lot of that sampling going on.

like i said there are a lot of rap tunes out there with nasty grooves. a lot of times a rap tune will come on and i'll be like "yeah!" "uh!" "oooooWWW!" but then it just keeps doing the same groove and i get less excited with every measure.

yeah i agree that "culture has something to do with it...most times on a subliminal level so it's imperceptible to others." my dad was really into aretha.....maybe that helped

let's all get along....slappers, blacks, whites, albinos, double bass players, tools that use pics

one nation under a groove.

"...gettin' down just fooooor tha Funk of it!"

it's all good, Brawler...anybody that can recite Parliament lyrics is cool with me

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

what are you kidding????? black youth is all about hip hop and rap. which in my opinion.....most of it has no soul or funk. now i do like a lot of hip hop and rap because some of it has some nasty grooves but it's far from funk or soul.

How this is any less stupid than the comments about White people is beyond me.

[Doug J. Needles]

Here's my 50 cents.. Slapping at first, wasn't something to show off, it actually was used to give LIFE into the song (funk, etc.). I personally, am not a fan of Victor Wooten, and I mean.. I know that's like saying you don't like Jaco Pastorius but.. eh... The reason I don't is the fact that, all of the triplets eventually just get.. annoying to be honest. I mean yeah, he's an EXCELLENT bass player, and he is just amazing! But, I'm just not a fan of any of the big macho solo career bassists, other than Jaco. Like Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm, etc. I mean, They are all GREAT and TALENTED players, I'm just not a fan of that type of thing. Now I've gotten away from my point, which is, I don't think slap is dead.. It's just annoying when that's all you hear. HEy, look at the bright side! Tapping isn't out played!

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

How this is any less stupid than the comments about White people is beyond me.

yup there is a lot of stereotyping going on......no pun intended

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

yup there is a lot of stereotyping going on......no pun intended

Pun?

[pyrohr]

I think slapping and rap music have a parallel as far as the changes they have gone through. I was around at the start of rap music, mc'ing was all about rocking the party and having a good time. Through the years it got political, gangster then outright senseless compared to where and how it started. Yeah yeah rappers are talking about life experiences and hard times while glorifing booty shaking,drugs and violence. Now slapping and popping started out with brothers playing percussively with their thumb to a syncropated rythm(sp). It was all about locking with the drummer while the horns riffed away. Into the 80's came along groups like Kajagogo with Nick Beggs. Others started to copy the thump and pop style and thus the slapfest was born. A lot of so called slapper or wanna be slappers can't even play the style in the context of the song! Remember this is the same period that g**tar sredding took off! When we started (bassist in my neighboorhood in Jamaica Queens) this style in the early 70's we were not trying to outdo anyone (as a matter of fact most bassplayers didn't pick it up right away) we were just having fun especially just learning the style that Larry Graham along with Graham Central Station had made soo popular. By 75-76 it was a big part of my bassplaying even though disco had just hit town. I kept my thump and pop chops up even though the music had changed. When disco died only the funkiest of the funky bassplayers still thumped and popped into the 80's. Funk bands didn't make it into the 80's so the style of thump and pop went to the back burner. Now Europe alway's loved American music especially funk bands and I believe it was these bassist that started the zillion note a second slap bass sound. This sound had nothing to do with the thump and pop of the 70's funk movement but was something new altogether with only the approach being the same. I myself find this style of a million slaps and pops a second boring after the first minute and think it's a good way to break up a crowd! The thump and pop of the 70's was designed to get under your skin and make you move.
Just my .02

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Pun?

stereoTYPING

[Brad Johnson]

Originally Posted by Bayou_Brawler

stereoTYPING

Ha ha. Now back to your statement that I quoted... was that a joke too?

[JoeyZ]

slap bass is cool...although it is rarely done in the styles of music i align mysle with..(punk, metal, blues) I am more impressed when someone can riff something badass!! Idk..I like funk and all that but have no aspiration to play it.
but ny no means is slap dead. However, it is almost always played in the wrong context...

[Bayou_Brawler]

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Ha ha. Now back to your statement that I quoted... was that a joke too?

about black youth or rap having no soul? i was 60% serious and 40% joking and being small minded.

[Chili]

Originally Posted by Robear22

When I see threads like this it makes me laugh and shake my head.

Playing bass is a form of expression. Each of us can hear a word or a phrase and we will all come up with something different in our heads. There are many styles and forms of bass playing that allow us to be who we are. Some like rock. Some like country. Some prefer jazz. While others prefer blues and R&B. Each style involves a different type of bass playing. The bass player in a jazz setting may have more freedom to add some tasty fills when compared to a metal player who has to stay consistent because he has to hold the bottom. You really won't understand slap if you can't understand how it ties in with the rhythm. I personally love slap and incorporate it into a lot of my playing. But there is a time and a place for all things and trying to show off how fast I can play and how many notes I can fit in a second is not cool.

This is how I look at it. Slap is thump and sizzle. Fingerstyle is boom and thickness. Picking is bite and twang. What fits in the song is what you play.

Very well sed, i applaud you

and ust beouse u dont like a technique or even if ur one of those people who cant get there head round it so they decide to diss it, thats just petty, i love slap pop my self, louis johnson, larry graham, is the 2 i am most impressed by, they do slap pop perfectly in there music i think, and alot of people may dissagree with me but also Flea has a very good style...in my eyes

[Joe Beets]

Joe B. Mauldin played slap bass and look where it got him.....canned.

[Pacman]

Originally Posted by Joe Beets

Joe B. Mauldin played slap bass and look where it got him.....canned.

I play slap bass, and look where it got me...employed.

Marcus Miller plays slap bass and look where it got him....a Grammy.





We're done here. Bottom line, slap's not dead. Some people don't like it, though...