Can I play funk without slap?

[Mystic Michael]

Hey,

So this question has been on my mind for a little while now. My friends and I seem to enjoy and be good at funk music, and I don't exactly play funk all the time. I can't do slap and I don't wish to learn. It's just not my thing. However, I have seen some bass players play funk perfectly fine by just playing regularly, no slap. Would it be reasonable to play funk bass without slapping at a "funk band" level? Any certain techniques with the bass or amp itself to get around doing slap for the best funk sound? Just wondering for the sake of playing this genre with friends and in gigs.

Oh, by the way, I think if I really want to pursue funk I'm definitely gonna need to get a second bass, like a Fender P-bass w/ rounds, that doesn't have flats and isn't made for like classic rock and jam band stuff like my Epiphone Jack Casady.

Thanks

Q. Can I play funk without slap?
A. Sure, it's OK with me.

Funkin' without slappin' seems to work just fine for Rocco Prestia:



MM

 

[Ritchie_Darling]

I played funk and disco for YEARS.

I used slap VERY sparingly.

 

[JMacBass65]

sure you can!

He is such a bada$$, and has the coolest basses!

 

[JMacBass65]

what about this guy...I think his name is Jerry jemmot or something like that...he's kinda good<s>

Yeah, he's ok.

 

[SturmUndDrang]

I think pick playing can be funky. Even this Pink Floyd bass line has it's moments and I'm pretty sure Roger or Dave weren't that into Larry Graham at the time.

 

[CDoogz]

Not sure why you wouldn't want to, you could open up a whole world of new sounds. Not to say you couldn't play funk any way you wanted to! Slap, finger, pick, play how you want to!

 

[MarkA]

Just take a listen to Tower of Power, James Brown, The Meters, etc. I cover a few songs that require slapping but do not consider myself a master of the technique. I am not sure why beginner players associate slapping with funk music because to me funk is all about the pocket and the space the entire band leaves open.

Check out Vulfpeck for a perfect example of this. Joe Dart is one hell of a bass player and that band just grooves so hard while doing so little.

I'm not any farther than this in the thread yet, but had never heard of these guys. Decided to give them a listen and pulled up this:


Funky indeed!

I almost passed on this thread -- foresaw predictable and patronizing responses to the topic -- but I'm glad I did (so far, anyway ).

I grew up doing tons of slapping. Still really enjoy it, though don't employ it quite as often anymore. You can indeed be hella funky without slapping, though there are tunes where it would be good to be able to do it convincingly. There is more than one way to slap, by the way -- not all slapping (and not all people who slap/thump) sounds the same, just as not all "fingerstyle" sounds the same and not everyone who plays with a pick sounds the same. If you don't want to learn to slap, that's cool. I'm not great with a pick, and I don't do much tapping -- those are both valid tools, I just don't find myself drawn to them that much. If I find myself playing music that would be enhanced by them, I'll brush up.

I would Ramble On further, but I gots to go.

 

[FlatwoundFunk]

Forgive my ignorance; I'm not sure how to embed a youtoob video but the link may do.
Frank Itt, the big German guy grooving (not slapping) like it's going out of style.
Just very funky

Regards
Mark

Not that is funky! Man I can see Trombone Shorty mixing it up on this groove with him.
FF

 

[aprod]

Slap should be in your arsenal. Try playing "Thank You" by Sly Stone, with Larry Graham on de bass, without slapping. It won't sound right. Having said that funk is an attitude. So whether you slap, play fingerstlyle or with a pick if you got it the funk will come out. I aspire to jazz chops with a funk attitude.

 

[brianrost]

Would it be reasonable to play funk bass without slapping at a "funk band" level?

Funk existed long before Larry Graham started slapping.

 

[Rayjay]

People are bringing up some names here, George Porter Jr, Jamerson, Babbit, Duck Dunn, Rocco, Jaco, Bernard Odum and Sweet Charles, etc. So yes obviously you can play very funky without slap. But these guys made names for themselves making their own style, or worked for people that did.

The deeper question is, as a working bass player, will you ever be called to slap? Even if you hate it, it is worth looking into as a tool in your skill set. It could mean the difference between a job and no job.

 

[placedesjardins]

Hey,

So this question has been on my mind for a little while now. My friends and I seem to enjoy and be good at funk music, and I don't exactly play funk all the time. I can't do slap and I don't wish to learn. It's just not my thing. However, I have seen some bass players play funk perfectly fine by just playing regularly, no slap. Would it be reasonable to play funk bass without slapping at a "funk band" level? Any certain techniques with the bass or amp itself to get around doing slap for the best funk sound? Just wondering for the sake of playing this genre with friends and in gigs.

Oh, by the way, I think if I really want to pursue funk I'm definitely gonna need to get a second bass, like a Fender P-bass w/ rounds, that doesn't have flats and isn't made for like classic rock and jam band stuff like my Epiphone Jack Casady.

Thanks

Do whatever you wish. Nothing is mandatory. If you want to increase your capabilities and options in the funk genre, slapping and popping is good to add.

 

[vin*tone]

To me funk ended when disco started.

No you don't need to slap.

 

[gjohnson441496]

Taxman - Beatles cover (slap yo taxman mix)
Gregg Plays Bass - YouTube

 

[Mikey F]

Tower of Power, James Brown, most P-Funk stuff, Curtis Mayfield, Old Stevie Wonder, 70's Herbie records..... all of these don't really incorporate slap, and some of the funkiest recordings ever.

However there is something extra when you talk about Larry Graham and the way he makes the bass sound.

 

[MarkA]

I have to ask - where do you draw the line between soul/R&B and funk?

I've thought about this, though not in exactly those terms. There is Funk as a genre or style and then there is funk as a quality that something can possess. (How many times have you heard a funky beat or funky bassline in a non-funk genre?). Cross-pollination, overlap, whatever. Origins are debatable.

Then there is THE FUNK, which is something else entirely.

 

[Funkmabassup]

of course you can play funk without slapping. If your half as groovy as Bobby Vega you can even play it with a pick. The only thing you cant do without slapping is slapping

 

[FlatwoundFunk]

I've thought about this, though not in exactly those terms. There is Funk as a genre or style and then there is funk as a quality that something can possess. (How many times have you heard a funky beat or funky bassline in a non-funk genre?). Cross-pollination, overlap, whatever. Origins are debatable.

Then there is THE FUNK, which is something else entirely.

You forgot to mention about the mighty horn sections needed. Hahaha
FF

 

[MrLenny1]

Yes.
Just listen to Bobby Vega.
He plays Funk with a pick.

 

[Jrussblues]

You can, but why would you want to