People who whine about slapping

[Thumpin6string]

Slap sucks and isn't very impressive.

 

[Kael]

I could give less of a crap about slap. It isn't a style I give a flip about but you do you.

 

[Sparkl]

Slap bass playing in Guitar Center by players who aren't very skilled is a little grating. But then, it's also awful to listen to your 6 year old practice the violin. It's not the violin's fault and not a problem in any way. It's just a beginning player.

One criticism of slap overall is that it precludes creative note choices and therefore is boring. Plus most guys slap only in the key of E. Boring. But Smoke On the Water is also boring for all the same reasons.

Personally I am less a fan of Louis Johnson as a slap player. Taking nothing away from his level of influence, it comes off to me like he recognized and rode slap as a fashion and a mood tool for his music. Although his playing was aggressive, it wasn't always very musical. I'd say the same about Bootsy. Both of those guys are legendary and for good reason, but their stuff sounds like it was a lot about hormones. That's rock & roll.

Stanley Clarke has always gone out of his way to use slap as a way to engage the bass, but to do it without limiting his key or note choice options. I appreciate his approach more and more the older I get. Also true for guys who were obviously influenced by Clarke, such as Mark King. And Marcus Miller slaps melodies - that's not for everyone but he has made a brand of it and it sounds great to me.

Lastly - yes, whenever I pull out a slap solo on a gig, people in the crowd love it. The anti-slap sentiment is over-represented on this board.

My following statement does not specifically lean upon your post, but I feel it is equally as important to stress it out.

Most of you guys are sadly completely missing the point here. I know the community is big and people express their opinions here, but as much as Agedhorse has to step in on some occasions where corrections need to be made from an expert standpoint when people start beating the bush a bit too much, same applies here, where some of us, who play music professionally and have school trainings behind feel exactly the same.

So what's the deal?

You have a painter. He doesn't paint in red color only. He uses all colors. Which colors? Well, there is an ocean of widely accepted color combinations and there are colors that can provoke happiness, sadness, anything in between. So what color do you use? The one that attracts you, the player in the first place. There will be so called producers though, that will grab the color that YOU want to watch right now. This is called commercial painting (I'm not english native so please forgive me if my "terminology" sometimes needs a bit of deciphering).

Techniques on any instrument are much the same as color in painting - different colors of sounds, combined with the sound of instrument, gear, equipment, whatnot. You use something when you, an artist, with free will, feel like using it.

There are also roles to the types of play. Fingerstyle is more closely connected to melodic support (melodic extension of a bass kick in a traditional modern band setup). Slap on the other hand completely originates from imitating a more percussive instrument, such as drums, congas, anything along those lines. And these instruments have a fixed tuning - based on the previous notions from people, drums should also sound very boring - they can't play melody, they have a fixed tuning with the same pitch all over again, about the only thing they can do is mash the drums, maybe some cymbals, and control the crescendo or decrescendo, to some degree. Right? Right?? Not really, no.

So basically when you people discuss whether you would want fingerstyle, slap, whatever... You just sound like people arguing whether a pineapple or apple is better. It makes zero sense. Yes they're both fruit, but they have different nutrients, different set of vitamins, one is a tropical fruit, the other grows in a completely different climate.

The biggest problem is when someone subjective opinion prevails into an objective one. And criticizing slap for this or other isn't really objective. It's a valid technique, with tons of material to back it up, and finally here comes the point directed to the quoted post directly, quoting:

One criticism of slap overall is that it precludes creative note choices and therefore is boring.

Without searching for too long:



It is not the only example anyways, there is literally a quintillion tonnes of this around the world. Slap can and will of course be as musical as fingerstyle, if you so desire. But you need to desire it first - slap is still mostly centered around being sticky with the drummer and smashing the beat out for others to lean on. Obviously the support role will tend to play more neutral, I can't think of a piano player being happy about the bass player outlining every single chord for him for the whole song just because someone expects him to play melody. That's not how music works, know your roles.

 

[Sparkl]

Sounds good = impressive.

Also ironically, people don't realize that actually slapping the string gives you THE MOST information about the sound of a guitar. Because slapping the string overdrives it into many different sine waves, producing the widest frequency response out of any other bass technique.

Not defending slap only videos, but if we're to get nitpicky, it is what it is.

 

[SpankBazz]

My following statement does not specifically lean upon your post, but I feel it is equally as important to stress it out.

Most of you guys are sadly completely missing the point here. I know the community is big and people express their opinions here, but as much as Agedhorse has to step in on some occasions where corrections need to be made from an expert standpoint when people start beating the bush a bit too much, same applies here, where some of us, who play music professionally and have school trainings behind feel exactly the same.

So what's the deal?

You have a painter. He doesn't paint in red color only. He uses all colors. Which colors? Well, there is an ocean of widely accepted color combinations and there are colors that can provoke happiness, sadness, anything in between. So what color do you use? The one that attracts you, the player in the first place. There will be so called producers though, that will grab the color that YOU want to watch right now. This is called commercial painting (I'm not english native so please forgive me if my "terminology" sometimes needs a bit of deciphering).

Techniques on any instrument are much the same as color in painting - different colors of sounds, combined with the sound of instrument, gear, equipment, whatnot. You use something when you, an artist, with free will, feel like using it.

There are also roles to the types of play. Fingerstyle is more closely connected to melodic support (melodic extension of a bass kick in a traditional modern bend setup). Slap on the other hand completely originates from imitating a more percussive instrument, such as drums, congas, anything along those lines. And these instruments have a fixed tuning - based on the previous notions from people, drums should also sound very boring - they can't play melody, they have a fixed tuning with the same pitch all over again, about the only thing they can do is mash the drums, maybe some cymbals, and control the crescendo or decrescendo, to some degree. Right? Right?? Not really, no.

So basically when you people discuss whether you would want fingerstyle, slap, whatever... You just sound like people arguing whether a pineapple or apple is better. It makes zero sense. Yes they're both fruit, but they have different nutrients, different set of vitamins, one is a tropical fruit, the other grows in a completely different climate.

The biggest problem is when someone subjective opinion prevails into an objective one. And criticizing slap for this or other isn't really objective. It's a valid technique, with tons of material to back it up, and finally here comes the point directed to the quoted post directly, quoting:



Without searching for too long:



It is not the only example anyways, there is literally a quintillion tonnes of this around the world. Slap can and will of course be as musical as fingerstyle, if you so desire. But you need to desire it first - slap is still mostly centered around being sticky with the drummer and smashing the beat out for others to lean on. Obviously the support role will tend to play more neutral, I can't think of a piano player being happy about the bass player outlining every single chord for him for the whole song just because someone expects him to play melody. That's not how music works, know your roles.

THANK YOU.

 

[SpankBazz]

I could give less of a crap about slap. It isn't a style I give a flip about but you do you.

And yet...

 

[Sam Evans]

I for one don't get people that don't see the irony in whining about people who whine

Yes, but this is meta-whining, so there's no irony ...

 

[SpankBazz]

You wanna slap, slap. I don't give a poopie.

Not even on my radar to worry about.

But yet...

 

[mongo2]

I appreciate players who can slap effectively. I used to slap myself (I'm aware of the inadvertent pun there) until a minor stroke 5 years ago messed with my right side incluing my right hand which prevents me from slapping with any effectiveness so I can't do it anymore. Now I have to pluck mostly with my index finger with some use of my middle finger, but it works well enough for the jazzy guitar/bass duo I play in.

The effects of the stroke also prevents me from playing piano or guitar as effectively as I did prior to the stroke.

I guess my point here is...I think slap techinque is OK but try not to have a stroke.

 

[And I]

And you're in here whining about it.
Good job, bro!

observation is not whining. post all the threads you want about whatever you want. i just may point out some irony in those threads if there's any to be found.

 

[jvanoort]

Yes, but this is meta-whining, so there's no irony ...

What about meta-irony?

 

[SpankBazz]

Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the pea beneath their mattress.
Personally I can't see how this subject becomes a subject in a thread in a discussion that I'm contributing to. ...
Can't we live in peace.

"What are you doing in this house of ill repute, Pastor?"

 

[SpankBazz]

Some posters:
"I don't care about this topic at all, so I'm gonna click on the topic, read the discussion, then type a reply to show the OP that I don't care just to let em know I mean it!!!"

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Slap as a technique is valid, and like all “special techniques” can be used to serve the music wonderfully.

I think the issue with slapping is at least for me (and I’m pretty good at it) — is that it’s overblown as a measure for how good a player is, or even how good an instrument or rig is when used in a music store.

The most offensive slapping that I’ve ever heard occurred at various “Bass Day”’s during the later 1990’s in NY City, held in the large conference halls of hotels with high ceilings, where about 50 players would start beating their instruments to hell at various booths, all slap style. My friend Jimmy Coppolo turned to me and hollered ”it sounds like a bunch of friggin broken down 747’s at JFK here…!”

 

[gln1955]

Why does anyone get their panties in a twist about stuff like this?

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[mcnach]

I’m only annoyed when people find out I play bass and immediately say “Slaps’ da bass!”

ufff, yes... in my head I reply "slap yer face, that's what I'll do if you don't go away"

 

[SpankBazz]

My problem with slap bass is that the majority of players are slapping root and popping octave, rinsing, and repeating on the other chords. Guess what- that is the same freaking note! There is a chord progression with four chords, and you have slapped and popped a total of four notes, which are all roots! How did you convince yourself that sounds good? It works musically to play all root notes, but it is not very impressive.

How many bass lines are there where the whole thing is slap bass? (Not many). Yet how many demos of amps or pedals are there where the bass player slaps 100% of the video?! Did it ever occur to you people might want to know how it sounds finger style or with a pick?

*reads this reply*

 

[misterCRUSH]

I would never whine about what anyone else is doing. Hoping they don't whine about me I can slap, just never came up. Quite frankly I'm way to busy to work on it dutifully. Three jazz groups and two songwriters, I've got my plate full. Never much thought about doing it actually, but it's in my back pocket if I ever need it.

 

[factorplayer]

I’m only annoyed when people find out I play bass and immediately say “Slaps’ da bass!”

This has to be said, and this is coming from a Rush fan: That's not a good movie.

 

[Kael]

And yet...

And yet what? I just said I don't care about it but you play however you want....