Slap technique: Overused?

[phillybass101]

Hey guys I'm working on some material for a clinic I'm going to do for the Virginia Bass Forum. It's slapbass101. For beginners and those who don't quite get it. I am actually going to take the time and break it down. It will be a clinic, not a show of my slap chops. I thinklthe attendess are going to like it. It won't be a thing where I just play some outragous slap line and say that's how you do it. I'm going to go in real slow motion and explain it all. Not the Victor Wooten Stuff, but the basics. more Graham, Louis, and Miller oriented.

[RED J]

>>I do agree that some people use slap to "show off." I also get annoyed when a there is a video review of a bass or amp and the reviewer ONLY slaps. I'd like to see slap, finger and pick styles covered in a review.

Yes indeed. I don't slap, I'm an old school tight groover and supporter. I have a thumb injury which makes any feeble attempt at slapping, well, feeble. However I really enjoy Ed Friedland's reviews because he fingers, picks and slaps and does all three with excellent technique and perfect taste.
I have never gotten negative feedback about my style. I is what I is. I admire good slapping but it has its place.I admire guitar shredders technique too, but it doesn't move me like the feel of a good blues, rock, or even bluegrass flatpicker. Be who you are live and let live.
I do regret we have gotten to a place where so many people will judge how good of a player you are by how many bazillion notes you can fit into a bar of music, though.

[BobaFret]

What if the song is best served by Pentatonic scales and no first position chords?

[petrus61]

Slap is almost always overused when a bass is being reviewed by a manufacturer or retailer online. I remember ALL of G&L's sound clips on their site being slap. Ok, the bass sounds good when slapped but what else can it do? Is it because slap is the only technique that is decently audible on a crappy Internet video? Why must every review include a CRANKED TONE KNOB? This tells me nothing about the bass in question except that its bright and clanky. Hers a thought: unless you can show every aspect of what the bass is capable of with good sound quality, DON'T BOTHER.


Rant over.

[jamminology101]

I can totally relate to this post. When I was first learning the bass in the 80's I was in a music store and witnessed my first "live local slapper" and just stared with a mixture of amazement and envy watching this cat....I can even remember thinking "man I know I suck but I will never jam like that cat....mine as well hang it up". Well I got all the videos and tutorials I could and was the mad slapper for months. I played in a traveling rock name so I didn't get a chance to show off too much and still probably wasn't that proficient at it and it kinda took a back burner. Many years later a band I was in wanted to play higher ground so I reopened the slap book and this time around I was slot more fluid at everything and sounded tight. So I guess what I'm getting at is as my skills progressed fingerstyle all around, my slapping technique vastly improved as well. This kinda got me back into the entire funk thing again and also led me to one of the all time great who never slapped a note James jamerson, which learning some of his lines GREATLY improved my playing in all genres. So don't think that a dude who is proficient at slap can't lay down some serious fingerstyle as well...it kinda code hand in hand the way I see it. I was at Sam ash a week ago laying down a lil slap when 3 other dudes plugged in and started slapping to a 500 bpm tempo and sounded like beirut so I know where u r coming from...so I just turned off the amp and went looking at strings while these other cats were tryin to out slap each other.

[RaginRog]

Sounds great...I suck at it...but the only thing i don't really care for is excessive popping.

[JimiLL]

A well placed string pop in the middle of a plucked bass line can do wonders for building and releasing tension.

I cant stand it when I watch a video on the internet trying to figure out what an amp/bass/whatever sounds like, and all the player does is slap pop slap slap pop

[Bongolation]

Slap technique: Overused?

Vastly, but it's even worse than that.

Plinky effects bass is fine, within reason, but there's supposed to be someone taking care of the low end. If they're not, there's a gigantic hole in the music. Doesn't matter what kind of music, either.

That's why the instrument is called a bass and not a treble, as the saying goes.

It's fascinating how many people on production/engineering forums haven't figured out that out. Their mixes sound awful and they can't figure out why until some pro points this out to them, and they still fight it.

[ggvicviper]

Come to think of it, should this be in basses? I think it should be moved to technique.

[StrangerDanger]

Originally Posted by BobaFret

What if the song is best served by Pentatonic scales and no first position chords?

Yeah cuz that's so common. Come on you know what I'm talking about.

[StrangerDanger]

Ok if you don't like that analogy how about a guy learning to fly a plane and all he wants to learn is barrel rolls and never learns to land the damn thing.

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by ggvicviper

Come to think of it, should this be in basses? I think it should be moved to technique.

You're right.

Flag it.

[JimiLL]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Vastly, but it's even worse than that.

Plinky effects bass is fine, within reason, but there's supposed to be someone taking care of the low end. If they're not, there's a gigantic hole in the music. Doesn't matter what kind of music, either.

That's why the instrument is called a bass and not a treble, as the saying goes.

It's fascinating how many people on production/engineering forums haven't figured out that out. Their mixes sound awful and they can't figure out why until some pro points this out to them, and they still fight it.

I find quite the opposite actually. If I hear that bass is supposed to be felt and not heard one more time......

[petrus61]

Just like every other technique, it works when applied tastefully and in context.

[rapidfirerob]

I personally think slap can be overused in general. It's like a crutch for many bassists. It bores me in solos.

[smperry]

Moved to Technique. Thanks.

[77 StingRayBass]

Seem's like the only Cat that I can listen to lately Thumpin' and poppin' is Marcus. He'll Thump and Pop throughout a song, BUT, does it tastefully and musically. That's the difference for me.

[Clef_de_fa]

Originally Posted by Nurb

No such thing as too much emphasis on rythm as far as bass playing goes.

For me it is. I have no problem riding a root for a moment but not an entire song. And it is a bass, a nice instrument that can produce musical note, I prefer to play melodic and signing part instead of drum/percussion with more pitch definition.

[BobaFret]

Originally Posted by StrangerDanger

Yeah cuz that's so common. Come on you know what I'm talking about.

I really wasn't trying to be flippant. I just think a lot of straight up rock-n-roll stuff doesn't require being able to 'land the plane'.


I might be an oddball as I'm more a jack of all trades in my playing. I kinda incorporate everything (not tapping but that's because I'm still working on all the other trades).

[Dellers]

Not overused at all where I live (Norway). I know a handful (or even two) other bassists, but as far as I know none of them slap at all. I slap where I think it sounds appropriate, which can be in metal as well as the obvious funk. Depends on the song. I don't necessarily have to play a whole song finger or slap either, I often use fingerstyle for parts of slap songs and vice versa.