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Is Slapping out of style?

#41
this is an interesting thread.

generic comment: music is music, and what you do makes it what it is.

for me, i started all fingerstyle. i always wanted to slap and depised picking, thinking it is not real bass playing. a few years into it started slapping. a lot. more of a flea style than anything. i played in a power pop punk trio and used it a lot, but not alllll the time. now, in a much different band and mindset. i slap, but kinda stick with the basics for the music's sake. i much more fingerstyle oriented again, but will pull out slapping for that extra... you know. funny thing is, im started to pick seldomly here and there, too. its all about context and with moderation.

i agree sometimes it seems like guys slap to show off, never fitting the context of the music. i go out of my way to NOT show off, just like i try not to sound condescending with other musicians about the knowledge i have, because in the end, who cares? its not about being flashy or trying to one up the next guy.

i respect myself much more by fitting my piece into the whole puzzle, and enjoy the music, not my pip pop twang boddity boop. i am much more approachable this way, too. YMMV
 
#42
rythmicillusion said:
"Slapping" is just another feel/sound that a musician can choose to utilize or not. It certainly may have had its roots on the electric guitar or bass guitar, but now the sound roams more freely. A painter might decide not to use a shade of orange in a painting for example, but that color might well be in use by some other painter somewhere else. Some of my favorite tunes and moments in sound have used some "slapping" type sound here or there when the music calls for it. You don't even need a bass to get "Slap"...a keyboard sound or computer patch often does the trick, and if you want to go really nutter, you can assemble a collage to get the effect (by virtue of different types of sonic analysis and synthesis).

With my best effort to see out of the scope of my identification of being a bass player, "slap" has become more a timbre than a style.

DFW_Bass, do you see slapping as out of style? Which begs the question, was slapping ever in style to begin with? And what is style anyway? I am curious to hear your viewpoint.

One possibility I've entertained in trying to get to the root of this inquiry is the "full time slappers", the players that have made a brand out of different slap bass approaches. I've been burnt out by too much listening to these folks (Wooten, Dickens, Miller, etc), but I will occasionally find something fresh. Like this guy...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2008/nov/10/squarepusher-session-live
Click to expand...

I posted a comment above but to add on to what I was saying, Slapping is not as useful as it was some years ago. Again, i started out with slap, and loved it till it wore me out. Too much slapping on every song is not necessary, but fingerstyle will never go dead. I agree with a lot of what TB users post such as the modern music is not so great.

For a lot of let's say pop and R&B songs, they use keyboards instead of a live bass. I'm young and still in my 20's, but i tend to purchase older music that has the passive P or J bass playing w/o slap.

Wooten, Miller, etc.. they are all good at what they do, but honestly they are not in my ipod or cd player. in my opinion, i believe slapping is a trend and trends usually come on very strong and leave silently and one day will return, but they never go away completly.

There are some people that still wear 40lbs gold chains, another example of trend that went away but the few will carry it on.
 
#45
WJGreer said:
It totally depends on the genre, IMO.

I hear virtually none of it in rock, pop, or alternative music right now. Come to think of it, I hear very little bass at all in pop music these days.
Click to expand...

Totally agreed. A lot of Jazz fusion guys I see or hear are still using it. It just fits the music they play. Slapping in any of most of today's processed crap on the radio wouldn't do. Then again... any form of competent bass playing in most of todays music wouldn't do either.

Then again... in style... I'd almost rather be able to slap when it's not in style. That way people will know that I'm not doing it for show, I'm doing it because it fits the song/genre I'm currently in. Guitar is in style these days, REALLY in style and for that reason it's easy to find a million guitar players, but harder to find one good one. *sigh*

But on the other note. Please, let's not make music a fashion statement. So many people I know these days play an instrument because it's the cool thing to do. Not because of passion. It's really sad.
 
#50
As one TBer has pointed out, slap is often (mis)used to cover a boring bass line. And I hear slap used in smooth jazz a lot to make up the snoozy melody and total lack of hook. On the other hand, I absolutely love the sound of slap tone. It's one of the reasons I took up the bass in the first place. Few things are funkier than good slap and pop.
 
#51
DFW_Bass said:
For a lot of let's say pop and R&B songs, they use keyboards instead of a live bass. I'm young and still in my 20's, but i tend to purchase older music that has the passive P or J bass playing w/o slap.on.
Click to expand...

Yea. The keyboard thing is kinda bugs me. I picked up a GK catalog and some of these guys are sitting next to a rig and have a keyboard right next to them. Eh... whatever floats your boat?..
 
#53
I think people are misreading the question. IMO, the OP was not asking "what do you think of slap bass" but rather "what is the state of slap bass in music today". Most people seem to be answering the former question.
 
#55
The best advice I heard when learning bass guitar:

"Learn to play slap bass and then never use it."

Knowing how to do it is good so you can whip it out on a whim when you feel it's applicable, but exclusive/dominant "showy" slap is out, IMO.

Again, as has been echoed throughout the thread, it depends on the style and genre.
 
#57
After playing bass for over 22 years, I decided to make the effort to learn how to slap/pop. I just received my "Slap It!" book in the mail today.

I have been working on the technique now for about 6 days. I am hoping that I can get the groove and play something remotely interesting.

Also, I came across a Mark King video on You Tubes that showed his slapping skills. Wow!



I assume that the metal guard on his thumb is to make the popping more clear.

:bassist::bassist::bassist::bassist:
 

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