Slap, pop, slap, pop, pop.

[Wes]

Hey, I have been trying some slapping and popping for the past few months now; and although it isn't that great (in my opinion) it's kind of fun to play sometimes.

I was just wondering how your guys hands were while doing this. At the moment I just have my fingers open and free, however some people tell me that the rest of the fingers should be in a fist-like position. What do you guys reckon?

[morf]

I curl up my fingers in a natural position without forcing. I do not keep them straight because I have more precision curling them up when I need to quickly alternate the slap/pops.

[EADG mx]

I do it with my fingers open but curled slightly. A fist is just not comfortable for me. Let your hand do whatever it wants to, it doesn't really matter.

[Figjam]

My hand is curved , but not a fist. Just a natural position.

[vindy500]

+1 for the curl.. that way you can bang er then pull up all in on e fell swoop

[Chili]

my fingers kind of go like an arrow, like the tips bent but the rest of my hand pretty straight, picture the way louis johnson pops, thats more or less how i do it

[Wes]

Ah.. thanks guys.

I was just worried that a fist position was needed in order to get faster with good technique.

[PawnJunkie]

pretty much the same, I curl the first knuckle almost looking like a hook. thumb straight out, I pop with the side of my first finger, that way i have better transition to tapping with the other three. maybe it sounds odd but it's comfortable to me. happy slapping!!

[geoffkhan]

Originally Posted by PawnJunkie

pretty much the same, I curl the first knuckle almost looking like a hook. thumb straight out, I pop with the side of my first finger, that way i have better transition to tapping with the other three. maybe it sounds odd but it's comfortable to me. happy slapping!!

Yup, same here. If I'm doing a lot of double-popping I'll curl both my index and middle knuckles (looking like hooks).

[WJGreer]

There's absolutely no right answer to this. A lot of the answer depends on the size of your hands and the space available on the instrument you play.

As for me, I am one of those guys who slaps underhanded, with my thumb pointing relatively upward, and I slap right over the edge of the board. In order that my finger can catch the strings for pops, I have to curl it underneath my hand. So I think the result looks a little like a fist.

There's a player in LA named Vernon Porter - he's an extremely advanced thumb technique guy, and he uses his middle finger for pops. By result, his index finger points forward and his hand looks like a pistol. Odd, but anyone on this board would want to have his game on the bass.

[HELLonWheels187]

Well I play curled(more like a first than an open hand) I use my middle finger usually pops the G string when my Index does the D or A string. I have had a problem with really quick double pops because when I pop the it the first time my finger is already touching the string before it hits the fret board its its more like a quick mute pop.

[heywhatcanido]

I would think if you have your fingers in a fist position while slapping, it'd be slower to get them out to pop a note. I've never seen anyone slap like that. I also leave my fingers curled naturally while slapping.