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Is slap necessary for me?
- Thread starter desert_rain
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Yep, I know that. I'm just keeping it real basic for the guy. Not trying to get into technique analysis.
I learned how to slap well enough to sound cool while keeping rhythm, but I can't pull a solo doing it. It's just not a necessity for the music I play.
My acoustic duo plays exactly one tune that I slap on. The other 40 are finger style.
To answer your Q, it doesn't sound like slap is a necessity. Not for this project, anyway.
My acoustic duo plays exactly one tune that I slap on. The other 40 are finger style.
To answer your Q, it doesn't sound like slap is a necessity. Not for this project, anyway.
If you don't want to play slap bass then don't play it. It's not the be-all-end-all of bass playing, it's just a small part that works with certain styles of music.
The only reason to take it up is if you want to learn the technique for any reason.
Once you get the hang of slapping it's not that hard anyway. It just takes a bit of time to get it. After that you'll still be wishing you practiced your scales, arpeggios, chords, etc. since those enhance slap playing too.
I think if you asked the question at all there's a good chance slapping might not be for you.
And I think if you have an unstoppable desire to slap then at least you are then going to spend some time and effort working on it.
Not that it would hurt you to learn to slap well but the question itself makes me think you aren't really into it. And music not played from the heart always suffers to some degree. Music shouldn't be played half heartedly.
Personally I like using slap in the same way I occasionally use cuss words. To put an added emphasis upon something but I don't sit and linger there constantly.
And I think if you have an unstoppable desire to slap then at least you are then going to spend some time and effort working on it.
Not that it would hurt you to learn to slap well but the question itself makes me think you aren't really into it. And music not played from the heart always suffers to some degree. Music shouldn't be played half heartedly.
Personally I like using slap in the same way I occasionally use cuss words. To put an added emphasis upon something but I don't sit and linger there constantly.
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Slap isn't a measure of musicianship unless the song calls for it.
If you're not going to be playing slap lines, don't worry about it.
The one carry-through I got from slap that applied elsewhere was a greater awareness of the value of muting strings. Other than that...
If you're not going to be playing slap lines, don't worry about it.
The one carry-through I got from slap that applied elsewhere was a greater awareness of the value of muting strings. Other than that...
There are a lot of guys out there that assume slap is the be-all-end-all of bass playing. Go to a instrument show of any kind and that's pretty much all you will hear. Now, while I find this a little wanky, I also enjoy slap bass when it is done right. I love Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, and Les Claypool. I wish I understood slapping better, but like you, I play metal and I don't really see a place for it.
However there are guys like Ryan Martinie, Nick Schendzielos, and Erlend Caspersen integrate slapping and other techniques into some pretty heavy playing. So you don't know if there is a place for a tool until you really understand it.
However there are guys like Ryan Martinie, Nick Schendzielos, and Erlend Caspersen integrate slapping and other techniques into some pretty heavy playing. So you don't know if there is a place for a tool until you really understand it.
Eh, there's a lot I learned about finger and pick playing because of my slap practice but overall it's not a super necessary thing to have.
I can. But I don't
I learned to do it just so I could say to myself: "I can do that too." But I have zero interest in being a slap player. It's just not my thing. And there's enough players who do it well (and want to) that my absence won't be noticed.
Big world. There's room enough for every taste.
I learned to do it just so I could say to myself: "I can do that too." But I have zero interest in being a slap player. It's just not my thing. And there's enough players who do it well (and want to) that my absence won't be noticed.
Big world. There's room enough for every taste.
Yes. Just look at the news. This is the dystopian future. Everyone must slap.
Slap bass is fun and definitely worth learning. It's fun to experiment with and will get you thinking in a different way approaching the grooves.
In a two hour set I'll only slap on one or two songs though. It's important to still use it where it is appropriate even if you become a great slap bass player. It's all about the song.
There are many great examples of how slap can bring a song to life without being overbearing. I'd check out Boz Scaggs "Lowdown" and Steely Dan "Peg".
In a two hour set I'll only slap on one or two songs though. It's important to still use it where it is appropriate even if you become a great slap bass player. It's all about the song.
There are many great examples of how slap can bring a song to life without being overbearing. I'd check out Boz Scaggs "Lowdown" and Steely Dan "Peg".
i have never played in a band that required me to slap. that being said i love slapping. it is so damn fun.
there are a lot of good slap songs that i play to on my own practice time.
tell me les claypool doesn't look like he is having a blast all the time. or flea or anyone slapping for that matter.
just learn for the fun of it.
there are a lot of good slap songs that i play to on my own practice time.
tell me les claypool doesn't look like he is having a blast all the time. or flea or anyone slapping for that matter.
just learn for the fun of it.
OP, nothing wrong with not playing slap, but I certainly wouldn't say, "metal is no place for slap".
For example:
And you can learn how to do it too (if you want):
For example:
And you can learn how to do it too (if you want):
On the one hand, it's ideal to be able to play all kinds of styles... but, on the other, if you really don't find a particular technique useful for the sound you're after feel free to ignore it. In other words: learn what you want to learn, not because other people may want to somehow gauge your proficiency by using one particular style.
Learning more than you need never hurts, while the opposite may see you not getting particular gigs. So, if you can and you really want to become a more rounded player, try to become proficient as slap as well. But do it for yourself.
Regarding slap and metal... check out Mudvayne. There's some cool slap there, and they're not the only ones.
When I first picked up a bass, I didn't have an amp for 2 months, so I did a lot of slapping (it's the loudest!).
I became reasonably good at it, and did it way too much. Eventually, for me it become just a technique that's nice to have. These days I still think it's a must if you're into funk (who can listen to some Graham Central Station and not slap the hell out of a bass?), but I don't really care for acrobatic slap numbers much, nor think it's 100% necessary in general. It's just a technique. That being said, having a good slap tone is important if you want to enjoy the learning (and playing) process, I would say. This applies to any technique, of course, but it's really really easy to have a crappy slap tone and get frustrated by it, especially when trying to emulate someone who obviously has an immense slap tone (which happens often when one starts to learn slap as a young beginner.)
I became reasonably good at it, and did it way too much. Eventually, for me it become just a technique that's nice to have. These days I still think it's a must if you're into funk (who can listen to some Graham Central Station and not slap the hell out of a bass?), but I don't really care for acrobatic slap numbers much, nor think it's 100% necessary in general. It's just a technique. That being said, having a good slap tone is important if you want to enjoy the learning (and playing) process, I would say. This applies to any technique, of course, but it's really really easy to have a crappy slap tone and get frustrated by it, especially when trying to emulate someone who obviously has an immense slap tone (which happens often when one starts to learn slap as a young beginner.)
I was not motivated at all to learn slap. I was turned off by all the annoying people slapping at GC (such a HARSH sound when done poorly) and the Youtube "demos" that were only slap bass.
Then I heard:
Then I heard:
