Wow---I had no idea that my post would cause 4 pages of comments. Great discussion by everyone, I enjoyed reading every one of them. I see lots of common themes among everyone---that it is fun to do, but not particularly practicable.
It can have its place in the right context of the song.---Chanson
I love to slap and pop and that technique can be incorporated into the music styles that I play(Gospel, Urban P&W, Smooth jazz, R&B). It is just another way to play a bass that is all. ---Robear22
I just consider it a tool in the toolbox. Like a punctuation mark. Thumpin' too much is like typing in all caps. ---Hayde
It all boils down to what the song calls for,and,it makes my "toolbox"that much bigger,having all those styles of play to fall back on. ---Millsbass5
There are many other quotes from others that echo the sentiment that it is a good tool to have, if you are going to be a versatile, marketable player. I agree with this---if I were in a cover band or aspired to session work, then I would definitely require myself to get this technique. But, since I do neither, nor do I aspire to those levels, I have no motivation to learn it. The incessant "wackity-wack" that many of the practitioners do is not interesting to listen to.
But, when it is used within the context of a chord progression or a specific melodic idea, it can be a very interesting variation---guys like Hamm and Wooten (among others) have the knowledge of music theory in order to carry "wackity-wack" from the senseless to the sensible, as echoed by the following:
The only context I enjoy it in is Leigh Gorman's bass playing in Bow Wow Wow, and that's merely one of many styles and techniques he uses expertly, and it's never at the expense of an actual bassline for a tune. ---lunarpollen
What if I slap and pop a counter melody. Or, how about if I were to slap a melody, all the while popping a counter melody. ---Audiophage
What makes guys like Victor and Marcus so great is they can do the technique and stay in the groove. I cannot do it well enough to have the technique and stay in the groove so I don't because groove trumps all else. ---kirkm24
And these guys pretty much sum up my thoughts on the style:
...but I never tried to do the non-stop whackity-whackity-whackity-whackity stuff. It's boring to listen to and just doesn't interest me much. I can admire the manual dexterity required to become a Mark King sound alike... ---TheoFly
I was never really able to get into slapping/popping that much, the sound it creates just sounds empty to me. I now just use the occasional pop for a strong accent, I prefer creating intricate, yet subtle, counterpoint and syncopation in what's going on. ---Bassist324
Variety is the spice of life, as the saying goes. Too much of the same thing over and over can cause interest to wane. As far as my playing style goes, I prefer to use other tools to break monotony, such as rhythym changes, variations in use of a scale to create a line, switch lines to modes that are compatible with the major or minor scale in which the song is written, use of dyads and triads and arpeggiation---in short, I depend more on the elements of music rather than gimmickery, such as Slap n Pop. I often feel that so many are learning the rote movements of SnP, rather than the more difficulty of learning the structure of music (ie, music theory) and use that knowledge to build a line that complements the production of the other ensemble members. Some others seem to share the same idea:
I realized that I used slapping to hide a lack of real fretboard harmonic knowledge. I could slap a wicked riff, so why know more than pentatonic? So I decided to forgo slapping this time around and really focus on learning the harmonic possibilities of the instrument. ---kesslari
However, as I have gotten older, I find that less is more when it comes to bass. Playing the right note at the right time is so much more effective that slapping like Flea. ---Matt Dean
The following kinda rings true with me:
I keep being reminded of Michael Rhodes words:
"Your primary role is to serve the song and be beautifully anonymous in it. Bass is the power of anonymity. There is much to be learned from those simple words. ---Billoetjen
How many basslines are you somewhat aware of when listening to a particular group, but play the bass lines differently, and the character of the entire song changes? I know that with a lot of the Beatles songs, if that bassline is played differently, the song becomes only vaguely familiar.
Basically, for all of the exclusively SnPers, a one-trick-pony gets old fast, and in my observation of its use among most of your Youtube and Musicstore players, it is thoroughly unimpressive.
