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Can't slap/pop to save my life

#83
Being able to slap on a piano has no bearing on the amount of gigs a pianist will get.

How come nobody +1ed my Alex Sklarevski post dammit!?! Trust me, this guys instruction will give you all you need. I really couldn't slap fer nothing until somebody gave me this guys video.

And I just have to add that I know a lot of cover gigs that call for some slapping. To say you'll never lose a gig if you can't slap is simply wrong. Yes, you can have a succesful career as a bassist without ever slapping, but you absolutely will be open to more opportunities if you can. Why anyone would even try to argue that is beyond me.
 
#85
I can sorta do it, but I have trouble effectively "incorporating" a few slaps or pops into songs.

The dynamics are just so different than fingerstyle or even picked. If my amp and bass are set up for my "regular" sound, a few slaps and/or pops can drive the preamp right into the red clipping zone, and it sounds REAL loud and obnoxious.

Either some people are using a lotta compression, or they've set up their rig specifically to accomodate the spikes, or they've simply got a much better "touch" than I do to balance the techniques.
 
#86
Oh sorry for the original negative view I gave you. I interpreted as more of you venting and looking for support for the fact that you just can't do it. I was just saying that it really was not anything to worry about. But, now I know you meant differently.

Anyways, how is the setup on the bass that you are trying to slap on? I have found that slapping a bass with a neck that has bad action will only lead to frustration and this really gross buzzing sound after each attack.
 
#87
Joe Nerve said:
How come nobody +1ed my Alex Sklarevski post dammit!?! Trust me, this guys instruction will give you all you need. I really couldn't slap fer nothing until somebody gave me this guys video.
Click to expand...

Well I kinda did Joe, it was just to someone else recommending Alex. I agree 100%, if you want to learn to slap just go buy the damn video. Tells what to do and how to do it right!
 
#88
M.R. Ogle said:
I can sorta do it, but I have trouble effectively "incorporating" a few slaps or pops into songs.

The dynamics are just so different than fingerstyle or even picked. If my amp and bass are set up for my "regular" sound, a few slaps and/or pops can drive the preamp right into the red clipping zone, and it sounds REAL loud and obnoxious.

Either some people are using a lotta compression, or they've set up their rig specifically to accomodate the spikes, or they've simply got a much better "touch" than I do to balance the techniques.
Click to expand...

It just takes practice. See post #70. ;)


edit: Mabe that's a bit curt, I thought I'd elaborate on some things it took me ages to work out, might save someone some time.

I found a low action a huge help for two things, evening out my volume when changing techniques and getting a tone that works for fingers & slap without having to adjust any knobs. YMMV but it made a big difference for me.

Getting a do-it-all tone happening is important, then you can just shut up and play yer bass guitar (sorry Frank) - you're free to express yourself without worrying about technique, tone or the state of your knob(s). You won't be one of those annoying slappers (ahem!) as you can respond in a musical fashion to what's going on around you, at will. I think a key is to practice going from slap to fingers and back. Get your drum machine going on an easy tempo and maybe do a little call and response. Keep it simple, a groovy bar of fingerstyle and then a nice little slap fill as an answer. Nothing hard, something you can manage comfortably. Keep the tempo, feel and volume all under control. No compressors! When you start to get it make sure you practice at stage volume and watch your muting, no droning strings!

It can help to realise that you can alter your fingerstyle playing to integrate with slap and not focus solely on the slapping. For example, you can play a little more firmly to raise your fingerstyle volume if you like. Going back to the low action, in the past when I wanted to cut thru fingerstyle I used to move towards the bridge to get more burp. When the action is low I actually move towards the neck and the resulting fret sizzle gives me all the cut I could want.

So the action changes the way I play fingerstyle and the way I set my basic tone. Now for basic fingers I'm a little closer to the bridge and my eq doesn't need any mid boost/pan-to-bridge-pickup to sit in the mix. When I slap my hand naturally moves towards the neck where the mids aren't as pronounced and since I'm using a relatively slap friendly flat basic tone, it works.

I don't know if that's expressed very clearly. There's a lot of trial and error and a whole lot of practice involved. Lots of personal preference and experimentation. But for me the goal is to be able to play the bass guitar, not be a 'slap' or 'fingerstyle' player. Focus on integrating the techniques so you can do what you want, when you want. I've found it to be a lot of fun.

My 2c anywhooo.
 
#89
well after some careful re-evaluation, i think i may have given the wrong view of how i play. I can play slap/pop, but have problems stringing the notes together well. It seems that if I only slap the strings, I can string together a good sounding song. Once I have to pop strings on the fly, I start failing. Like if I try to do a root/octave quickly, I won't properly slap the root, and I'll pop the octave. It will end up as me hitting the muted string, then popping the octave.

Also, if I have to do multiple quick root/octave notes, I can't time them properly. So imagine I have to do a 5 on the E and 7 on the D, several times, quickly. (I am going to try to demonstrate my point via text instead of audio, so hopefully I can explain this clearly) Instead of doing an evenly spaced eighth notes, 5_7_5_7_5_7, ill do a 57___57___57. this is one of the major hurdles i'm having trouble overcoming
 
#90
Get a metronome. Set it ridiculously slow, at a pace where you CAN EASILY do the octaves, and then just keep on doing it at that speed relentlessly. The slow speed doesn't matter, what has to happen is your hands and fingers have to memorize what's going on, so you no longer have to use your brain. Once that kicks in it'll just happen, trust me (and everyone else who will tell you the same thing).

After the muscle memory sets in if you want to practice getting faster at it, practice at a metronome speed you can handle with no flubs. Go at it for 10 minutes, then rest a few moments and raise it a beat. Keep going back and forth. The speed will come, but NOT by practicing at a speed that you can't handle. You have to practice at whatever speed you can handle perfectly, or even less than that. Patience.
 
#91
The slap/pop technique was one of the first things I learned on the bass guitar. The way I learned was I bought guitar pro, downloaded some chili peppers song with slap in it, and slowed down the bass part. I would start out with a song like "Can't Stop" and work your way up to a song like "Blackeyed Blonde." Sorry if this did not help.
 
#92
Joe Nerve said:
Get a metronome. Set it ridiculously slow, at a pace where you CAN EASILY do the octaves, and then just keep on doing it at that speed relentlessly. The slow speed doesn't matter, what has to happen is your hands and fingers have to memorize what's going on, so you no longer have to use your brain. Once that kicks in it'll just happen, trust me (and everyone else who will tell you the same thing).

After the muscle memory sets in if you want to practice getting faster at it, practice at a metronome speed you can handle with no flubs. Go at it for 10 minutes, then rest a few moments and raise it a beat. Keep going back and forth. The speed will come, but NOT by practicing at a speed that you can't handle. You have to practice at whatever speed you can handle perfectly, or even less than that. Patience.
Click to expand...
+10000.2340234

And I include the decimal point to emphasize how precise your time must be when slapping, with all the syncopation happening, its easy to stutter when doing it at first. That'll kill the groove instead of enhancing it.

So the metronome will force you to be honest with the timing, and it probably wouldn't hurt to try fingerstyle to the metronome to see if you at least have a good baseline as far as meter goes when you're doing something you're comfortable with.

If you can't play along with a metronome with fingers, you'll have no end of problems trying to learn to slap.

Randy
 
#93
GregPlaysBass said:
sounds sexy, whats clawhammer
Click to expand...

Responding to an old thread here:

I used to play Banjo a bit. Clawhammer is a very cool technique. Here's the sequence:
1. Strum
2. Pop with Thumb
3. Pop with Pointer Finger

So you get a neat sound - strum,pop,pop

I have been trying to slap like the OP, but haven't gotten it yet. The bouncing thumb thing seems so unnatural to me.

I keep jumping back to my old clawhammer banjo technique (without the strum) on bass.

1. Thumb pop
2. Pointer Finger Pop

It gets a similar effect, but probably does not allow as much speed.
 
#95
PinkFloydDan said:
So slap lovers are also anti- First Amendment? Holy moly.
Click to expand...

You closed minded types might want to meet a slap wanna be and a lever gun pro one day.

I can still shoot faster than slap, accuracy wise. Think of a fun-kay Chuck Connors. :)

To the OP. For something like $50, Ant Wellington's MusicDojo Slap Level 1 course will defintely get you on the right path. One of the best instructors ever made.

Until then,

Use your wrist to pop strings, use your wrist when you're double thumbing. Your fingers are only "hooks and sticks". I found I could not keep my timings precise unless I did so.

Good slap technique requires a proper left hand ( fretting hand) technique that keeps the knuckles perpendicular to the board. Reckon many of the slap-haters here hang their thumbs over the neck. And then wonder why they cant slap well, or even care to.

Action makes a BIG difference. Lower is better as then your fingered and slapped notes are of similar volume. High action sometimes "buries" the slapped notes and "rings' the fingered or picked notes.

And for those closed minded types who think slap and taste are somehow related, they are ; if you've ever heard anyone run an open hammer pluck slap techinique during a metal song, where you can make a fill riff go to something like 300 bpm. That's style kids.

Also, as an occasional rock and roll player who sucks at times, ghost notes can be your ultimate " never misses the one" friend. Even if I dont know the note, a "thump" sounds in prefect time keep the band and peeps in the groove. Slap gave me that. Imagination requries an open mind.

I remember my "small mind days" when I use to bust on players for using a pick. Then I heard a local blues band, where the only "white" dude in the band shows up picking a P bass. Well, he did players, the band, the songs, and Mother Music true JUSTICE with that pick. I took that as a sign to NEVER pre judge.

If you pay Attention, Mother Music gives you all sorts of clues as to how to improve. As long as you can blind your ego to see them.

My only "bust" on slap is in professional shows where the touring bass player has like ONE solo a night, I would prefer a melodic fingering than a percussive slap show. So maybe some players tend to over use it and sometimes it dont have the feel, TO ME, of a nice medolic riff. I tend to think of slap less as a solo techique and more of a groove technique, and prefer whole song slap grooves rather than blistering riffs. But that's an opinion, so not truly valid here.

Learn all techiques to master your bass voice. Best players have the most open minds. Fact, not opinion.
 
#100
I do it enough to get by on certain occasions. One day, I will schedule a lesson or two with some of the players around town who do it way better! That would be my suggestion (IMHO) instead of trying to cop this technique from any on-line video or lesson book... especially for anyone who is having difficulty getting it on their own.

I also know that I can execute the technique better on certain basses than others. Fender J/P basses (bolt-on neck design) are the easiest to do it with, but slightly more difficult on my Thunderbird and even more so on my RIC 4001 (both are neck-through design). Almost impossible on my Beatle Bass and Guild Starfire Bass (these are set-neck design w/ short scales and have different string tension). I use compressed round-wound strings on all my basses.

I would like to say to bassist in music stores doing this technique... please be considerate of other customers. Especially if they're trying out an instrument at the same time. For me, I'm trying to listen for dead spots, sustain, pickup tone, etc. and it's just so hard to do when some slap geek has been going at it for 5-20 minutes at a time!
 

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