Suggest simple slap songs..

[FireArm]

Hi guys, im wanna get more into slap bass - i can slap + pop basically but every bassline i see is either super fast and i cant follow it or so percussive that it doesnt seem possible for me at this stage... what would you guys recommend for me to start off with?

cheers

[hunta]

The RHCP version of Higher Ground is actually a pretty good slap tune to start with if you slow the tempo down.

[element365]

Yea, I've been having trouble transposing slap lines. My ear is not yet trained enough to pick out the notes with all the fast percussion.

Chili peppers, Aeroplane has pretty easy slap riff about half way through the song (just roots and octives) surprise

Of course Higher Ground is fun too.

On youtube, check out MarlowDK (sp?)
He has a lot of really good videos with his lines slowed down.

[Dardanthian]

Is transposing like writing down what you hear from the music as in taking what you hear and playing it? Can someone explain what transposing is to me I am kind a left out of the loop

[Pstewart]

Transcribing is writing down things by ear, not using music or tab etc., Transposing is changing a piece of music to a different key.

[Misterpogo]

Rage Against The Machine - Take the power back

may be a bit easy, but still.. it rocks

[ryco]

Bros Johnson.

"Get the Funk Out Ma Face"
"Strawberry Letter #23"

Fairly easy. Good old school funk.

[perucci]

Brick House is probably on the easier side. I'm VERY new to slap/pop (forget double-thumbing!), but even I can pretty much handle it by ear. I got some sheet music for the opening part that has a couple of nuances that I can't quite get yet, but I see few non-classical musicians that really get "all the notes" when playing from memory: even when they wrote the song!

With slap/funk, the rhythms tend to be a little more sophisticated than the "root/fifth" quarter/eighth note runs of simple rock or country. Perhaps, like me, you'll find it is time to focus a bit more on rhythmic training like what a drummer starts with.

Personally, I prefer the sound of a more subdued slap approach, with occasional "pops" for emphasis. Done excessively, slap can be a little like constant soloing.

[hunta]

Originally Posted by perucci

Brick House is probably on the easier side.

Brick House is not slapped.

[kesslari]

Brick House is not slapped.

That's true.
But it actually makes a KILLER slapped line.
Especially because it's something other than "open E"

[BassMan250]

Timmy Tucker by moe. is simple enough and sounds great.

[lomo]

A good line for slap is the header to Stevie Wonder's Superstition. On the original, he played it on a clavinet. I slap it for our cover band and people (and the band) love it. The line isn't tough but the original is in Eb. The fingerings are easier in E on a 4-string, but the song sounds better in Eb IMO. If you play a slappable 5 it's all good.

[T-MOST]

Go to the original source... Larry Graham. Next would be Louis Johnson.

[OtterOnBass]

Sly and the Family Stone's "Thankyoufallentinmebemiceelf"

That was my first slap song, and I use that pattern a lot when slapping still.

[Steve]

Ricky Lee Jones "Youngblood" and "Danny's allstar joint"

[chaunceytoben]

'cant stop' by RHCP is a great first slap song to learn. Its pretty easy, but also a fun line to play.

[alexit]

Originally Posted by Misterpogo

Rage Against The Machine - Take the power back

may be a bit easy, but still.. it rocks

+1, it's a really easy way to learn, and you don't just get stuck on plain octaves. Plus when you play it people get up and jump around.

Can't stop I wouldn't recommend to a newbie, it's hard to pick out the notes and rhythm, plus there's muted notes, etc that aren't very easy to get.

[BassXgirl]

Originally Posted by T-MOST

Go to the original source... Larry Graham. Next would be Louis Johnson.

Definately.
A good Larry (Graham Central Station) song to start with is "Hair". It's super funky, still pretty easy to learn, and classic Larry.

Listening to any GCS is a great start though!

[BuffaloBass]

Folks, its cool if you can upload your tune to zshare.net and then link to it. It's what we've been doing in the " FUNK 101" thread. Make the thread "live".

Hair, told my lead singer if I could sing, I'd do hair., being white, 46 and near bald! The irony would be too much. Hip song, fa sure.
" Is that all your Hair!?"


FireArm, go through that Funk 101 and see what moves ya. Some of the older zshares are dead. They die after a while. Its not all slap. Hair might be too much for you , it took me a bit and I;ve ben slappin' for a year. I cant count it the way Graham does, my precussion is timed a bit different.

Check out "buzz johns" , Doug Johns on youtube. He's a master and has some simple lessons you should dig. Victa should have a freeebie up on tube soon to, about timing and pulse of slap. Key is the pulse, not the notes you play!

[FireArm]

Thanx for all your help. I have been slapping songs which arnt slapped (like a slap + pop enter sandman) but was looking for a real slap song. There are some nice ideas there - thanx