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I simply cannot slap...

#4
I think I need to see a close up ultra slow motion video of proper slapping. Either my thumb just doesn't do that or there's something about it I'm not getting. Maybe I'm just not coordinated enough. Lots of slappers have thumbs that bend back at the knuckle, making a nice rounded lump for slapping - mine just doesn't do that.
 
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#6
I can't seem to hit the string with just the edge of my thumb - either the corner of my thumbnail hits too, or if I angle away from that, the heel of my thumb hits down lower. Very frustrating. I can't seem to make the motion accurately enough (or more likely, I'm not understanding what the proper motion actually is.) Nobody seems to want to show slow motion close ups.
 
#7
Practice practice practice. It's the only way.

Hold your arm straight out in front of you. Imagine you're turning a door knob back and forth. Now, make a loose fist. Stick your thumb out like you're hitchhiking. Now bring your forearm perpendicular to the strings. Rotate your hand/arm just like you were turning the imaginary door knob. Now bounce your extended thumb knuckle on the E string. Imagine your thumb is the size of your fist and you're bouncing a basketball.

It will take time.
 
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#8
Felken said:
Help. I just can't slap. I don't know how to begin, where to begin. I've tried but I can't.
(Don't show me Scott's bass lesson on slapping, I've tried it, he just isn't helping)
Click to expand...

I don't put much time into slapping, Felk, so I don't expect too much... I think it's cool to hear and watch, especially when the musician is really good, though...

... if RUSH had really funked up 'Roll The Bones', I might have put more time into it.
 
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#9
Please watch my FAIK video below.

Please then believe me that for a long time, I felt exactly as you do. I was stylistically challenged when it came to slap bass.

Please then find Alex Slarvesky's (sp?? A on my phone and can't link to it) slap program

Please then listen to him carefully, watch him, do what he says, and be very patient.

I promise if you follow the above advice, you will a slap happy mofo in no time. Ya kinda just wake up one morning and say, "Wow! I can do this now!!!!"

That's what happened with me
 
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#10
Maybe because in your heart you don't really care about it that much?

If you do really want to get slapping together go take a few lessons locally with someone who's good at it. There are lots of good players in Ottawa. Marc Decho comes to mind if you could get a few lessons with him. He could also teach you how to funk hard without slapping.

This whole online thing can be a lot less useful than it appears to at first. Yeah there's a lot of great material out there but it's often a one way street. A YouTube clip can't listen to you, watch you play and see what you're doing wrong. It also won't say the same thing different ways until it makes sense to your brain. If you want to take advantage of a forum like this you have to be very specific about where your problems are.
 
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#11
Joe Nerve said:
Please watch my FAIK video below.

Please then believe me that for a long time, I felt exactly as you do. I was stylistically challenged when it came to slap bass.

Please then find Alex Slarvesky's (sp?? A on my phone and can't link to it) slap program

Please then listen to him carefully, watch him, do what he says, and be very patient.

I promise if you follow the above advice, you will a slap happy mofo in no time. Ya kinda just wake up one morning and say, "Wow! I can do this now!!!!"

That's what happened with me
Click to expand...

 
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#14
I feel pretty confident at slapping, so here's the simplest advice I can give someone who has watched the method videos, lessons, etc., and still say they can not get it. Just continue (in between songs, practicing, whenever you are holding a bass) to bang on the top string with your thumb until you get a reasonable sound that feels natural. It may take a year just to develop the wrist pivot. Once you get that, move to other strings, and add the pop by pulling the bottom strings. But just continue to bang that top string, like you drum on a steering wheel in your car.
 
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#17
What's the hangup?
can't control the dynamics?
can't keep a consistent volume?
Larry Graham slaps with
his thumb a certain way
Mark King does it differently
so it can be done
Larry turns his bass
all the way up
and uses a lighter touch
which gives more control
Don't try to come out
the gate
like Louis Johnson
or Marcus Miller
or Hyunmo Kim
:cool:
 
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#19
Me neither.

And I've often wondered - must one slap? Well, maybe somebody does... but I have no current or prospective funk or rockabilly gigs in my future. There are no Guitar Centers within 100 miles to show off mad skillz in. What need have I for gratuitous whappety-whap-whap? Honestly, if I tried to slap during a gig, the other guys would be like- "dude... you alright back there?" I wouldn't even get paid more. And they might take me even less seriously than they do now. :bag:

McVie never slapped the bass solo on "The Chain". :ninja:

Jeannie doesn't dance to it, even in my dreams. :smug:

So, nah... I'll pass. :roflmao:
 
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