slap bass on jam sessions

[GreyBeard]

Slapping is one of those things that a little goes a long way.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

Here's my take on it: generally speaking if you're slapping, everybody should play less. If the drummer is playing an intricate pattern, everything will clash. Same with the other instruments. They have to listen to you and chill when you start slapping AND you should know when to slap. I also love slapping, but rarely do in real-world situations because as much as I love it, I don't think it's appropriate in most cases.

 

[DJ Bebop]

Whatever technique you use, it should support the song. If it doesn't, perhaps save it for another song, another time.

 

[JonathanPDX]

Slap bass often has a bad rap because people either play inappropriately (which is not a technique issue, you can play with a pick and be just as bad!) overplay in the wrong environment, or have crappy tone. Your bedroom solo bass tone is going to vanish in a bar with a live band. The harsh crisp sound that you dial back because it's too much at home is exactly what it takes to cut through a wall of other midrange instruments. Though it begs the question: if everyone else is gumming up the midrange why are you adding to it?

After 20+ years hosting jams, sitting in with every band in town, and being known as a guy who can slap and do all the thumb techniques, here are a few tips:

Learn a LOT of slap bass lines. Don't learn one pattern and try to force it into every song. Learn to slap your regular bass lines, walk with your thumb, and accent your normal lines with plucks/pops. Get comfortable playing every interval and shape, not just octaves and pentatonic boxes.

Study not just the bass, but how the bass interacts with the drums. Listen to songs like Brick House and Got To Be Real. Note how in many cases the slap line works because the line is built around following the kick drum but leaves intentional space around the snare. In a jam setting I'll often focus on the kick drum and leave space for others to fill, using the plucks as more of an accent than a core element of the groove.

Put work into your tone, not just your technique. If you have dialed in a perfect fingerstyle tone it might not translate well to slap, especially if you are sitting in using an amp you can't adjust or aren't familiar with. Learn how to adjust your bass controls on the fly. It might mean taking steps like dialing in your baseline tone (pun intended) with the tone or mid pulled back a little bit, so you have that headroom available to crank it up when you unleash the thumb.

If you can play tasteful, appropriate bass parts that sound good then nobody will care if you are using your thumb or fingers or a pick. If the tone sucks or your groove feels like "dude jamming in his bedroom" instead of "bass player with an ensemble" then all the chops in the world aren't going to save you.

Communicate with the band, especially at a jam! Tell them what kind of song you want. Tell them if you want a solo. Give some direction. I always wanted to make other players happy when they sat in at my jams, so it's easy to accommodate when you are clear. "Hey guys, I'd love to fit a funky one in there before the end of our set. A solo would be great if there's time, too. If you want me to solo just hold the beat down, follow the form of the head, and please do some light comping behind so I have some chords to solo over."

 

[Rip Van Dan]

How much of the issue is your sound, how much is your technique and how much is the musical ideas themselves? Getting a good slap sound in a live setting can be tricky, depending on what equipment your working with. Technique should be consistent from practice space to stage, although if you always practice sitting down and you perform live standing then that can expose some technical weakness.

A work around for differences in technique when playing standing up than when sitting down is to adjust your guitar strap so that the bass is at the same place regardless if you are sitting down or standing up. Then you won't have nearly the trouble you can have if you're resting your bass cut away on your knee sitting down and then have to play it unsupported hanging in a different position when you stand up. it will still be slightly different, but not much and not enough to really screw up your playing.

 

[TOOL460002]

If you want super aggressive slap that doesn't sound all octave cheesey, I highly recommend thumb slapping and index popping a low string in a more picking rhythm. If you are going fast enough and want to pop an octave use the index.

My other major advancements all came when I got a second bass strung lower. Going back and forth builds the muscles and endurance. Also, oddly enough, drop tuning. I did not think it would lend itself to slap, but it does. A pair of open string octaves can let you do thumb slap to index into middle popping chords. Or strumming them.

I also use slap to get around baselines written on guitar. Move like classical guitar plucking. Get an aggressive tone. Great combo. I'm not amazing but I have gotten a lot better in the last couple of years.

 

[bramvdhoeven]

One of the virtues of slap bass is that it is often a two or more voiced style.....sometimes ill do melodic passages with the thumb and a counter melody with the pops, ascending thumb/ descending pops as one example.

I agree with everyone that said you'll impress more folks by providing them support in jam situations as opposed to showboating your slap prowess.....but as a guy that has hosted many jams as well as participated in them, I do understand that jam nights are about having fun and jamming.... and playing nothing but simple parts and walking 12 bar blues lines in the allotted approx 20 minutes isn't exactly a barrel of joy for me. I'll do that in my band, but I want to let my hair hang down at a jam, so I get where you're coming from

Yeah and it's not just about my or the band's entertainment. To get a crowd excited something must be happening on the stage. But you have to be doing it well, and not just for yourself!

 

[Les Fret]

I've been playing in jam sessions around town and it's going well.
I love playing slap bass, and I thought I had my technique down pretty well. I've been doing it for many years in different settings. However, making up slap lines on the spot that work with the rest of the band and support the music properly has been difficult. I've seen more slappers having a hard time, it doesn't sound good.

When I play simple tonic + octave lines it goes best, but anything more complicated and it gets lost, or too difficult to play. I am honestly a bit baffled by how all of a sudden my slap skills seem downgraded.
I do think there's a lot of potential for the crowd to get enthusiastic and it can be a way to drive the band if done well. I really want to explore it more.

Any tips on how to do it better and to prepare for doing it properly during jam sessions?

You will get there. This stuff has to really get into your brain and muscle memory. When you have that you can create slap lines on the spot. It just takes time and practice and experience. It also really helps if you know the theory behind the notes you play, so you know what notes you can play.
Just try do simple lines with some variations first or whatever you feel comfortable with for now on jam sessions, eventually your lines will become more advanced. Always keep the groove in mind. That's the most important thing when slapping. Good luck!

 

[Les Fret]

IMO, this is all the slap you need...

Victor W would disagree that this is all you need for slapping!

 

[ahbradot]

The drums need to drive really solid and steady same goes for the guitarist.
Now make sure your bass is hanging at the correct hight and angle from your shoulders.

 

[Queue]

Victor W would disagree that this is all you need for slapping!

LOL, Victor needs much more slapping than I ever will, and that guy Marcus, too.

 

[Jogobass]

Practice more. If you can play at 100% at home in your safe environment you can expect to play at 75% in a live situation. Make sure you can play at 125% at home. Improvisation, whether slap or fingerstyle, is a skill that needs to be honed. You can't expect to make something up on the spot if you never practice doing that. With a band, and an audience.

For now, keep it simple. And go to the jam as often as possible to get used to the extra pressure of a live performance.

 

[Passinwind]

I've been playing in jam sessions around town and it's going well.
I love playing slap bass, and I thought I had my technique down pretty well. I've been doing it for many years in different settings. However, making up slap lines on the spot that work with the rest of the band and support the music properly has been difficult. I've seen more slappers having a hard time, it doesn't sound good.

When I play simple tonic + octave lines it goes best, but anything more complicated and it gets lost, or too difficult to play. I am honestly a bit baffled by how all of a sudden my slap skills seem downgraded.
I do think there's a lot of potential for the crowd to get enthusiastic and it can be a way to drive the band if done well. I really want to explore it more.

Any tips on how to do it better and to prepare for doing it properly during jam sessions?

Play more jam sessions, plain and simple. Practice needs to be in-context for best results.

 

[Altitude]

I find it’s really easy to play too many notes when I’m improvising a slap line. A sensible way to approach it is to think of the line first as a basic harmonic concept, focusing on the low notes and where they appear. Then, use pops, ghost notes, etc. solely to add a small ornamentation to that base.

In other words, your slap line should still make sense in the music if you remove all the pops and fanciness from it and just leave the low notes. You want to be sure that statement is the right one, then add some sprinkles on top.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Trying to slap on songs/jams where slapping isn't the right choice will always be an uphill struggle. There's a time and place for everything, but more often than not it's NOT slapping. Trying to force slap bass into a song/jam that calls for a different style of playing is just a display of poor taste IMO. It doesn't matter how good you are at slapping, it will never sound right.

Leave the slapping to songs where it works.

 

[Altitude]

Trying to slap on songs/jams where slapping isn't the right choice will always be an uphill struggle. There's a time and place for everything, but more often than not it's NOT slapping. Trying to force slap bass into a song/jam that calls for a different style of playing is just a display of poor taste IMO. It doesn't matter how good you are at slapping, it will never sound right.

Leave the slapping to songs where it works.

I might have missed the part where the OP said he was trying to play slap lines in songs where they didn’t fit.

 

[brianrost]

Notes are notes. You can play them with a pick, your fingers or you can slap. Trying to force a “slap style” line like octave pops into a bass line is thinking about it the wrong way. The line comes first, how you play it comes second.

 

[conttador]

Whatever technique you use, it should support the song. If it doesn't, perhaps save it for another song, another time.

This is probably the best advice & frankly it requires a high level of self awareness. Usually at jams people will withhold criticism because it’s a jam.

You need to consider the song and regardless of the situation, your job as a bassist. Your #1 duty is to keep time and outline changes. If you aren’t already, I would encourage you to record your performances and go back and analyze with a critical ear for ambiance and musicality in general. I’ve been both pleasantly surprised and unpleasantly surprised but it’s all for the better because you can see what works & what doesn’t; but you need to be very self aware because sometimes the results were not what you thought they were when you were in the moment.

 

[DJ Bebop]

This is probably the best advice & frankly it requires a high level of self awareness. Usually at jams people will withhold criticism because it’s a jam.

You need to consider the song and regardless of the situation, your job as a bassist. Your #1 duty is to keep time and outline changes. If you aren’t already, I would encourage you to record your performances and go back and analyze with a critical ear for ambiance and musicality in general. I’ve been both pleasantly surprised and unpleasantly surprised but it’s all for the better because you can see what works & what doesn’t; but you need to be very self aware because sometimes the results were not what you thought they were when you were in the moment.

Yep, you don't know what you don't know.

 

[mambo4]

When I play simple tonic + octave lines it goes best,

Any tips on how to do it better and to prepare for doing it properly during jam sessions?

Gotta support the chords
That's why Root- Octave lines work so well.
Most slap riffs are not arpeggios of chord tones, but more pentatonic or modal
if they include the 4th they can imply a chord change

SO I would try to build patterns that include 5ths, 3rds
In walking jazz lines the 2nd and the 6th are fair game under a major chord
A flat 7-octave hammer on is good , IF the chord has a flat 7
And avoid 4ths