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slap bass on jam sessions

#41
You're not alone. I feel I have decent slap technique, but when jamming it can get tricky. Especially if jamming with people who change it up a lot. What's helped me is going in slowly.... half notes and quarter notes, and letting it evolve. What's helped even more though is knowing when I have to bail and learning to go back to fingerstyle, smoothly.

Slap is always a lot easier when YOU wrote the song though. This is the only slap I've ever recorded. Never even really use any slap live, but its a fun skill to have, for sure...

 
#43
logdrum said:
Provide momentary excitement -- milestone effect that should be used sparingly. However Rockabilly Upright Bass slap is a must and it can go on for the whole night. Completely different animal. Not sure if you can do that on an electric bass.
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It's doable on a high-action, fat neck P bass. But if you aren't playing an upright in a Rockabilly band, you're going to get fired as soon as they find someone who will!
 
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#44
Les Fret said:
Victor W would disagree that this is all you need for slapping! :)
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Actually, Vic speaks to this at pretty much every class and clinic. Groove is what matters and what gets us gigs. People hire him with an expectation to play the slap stuff so he puts on the solo show they expect. But behind all that is a lot of groove, fundamentals, and a very deep understanding of how to play an appropriate bass part in the context of a song.

As Vic says, there are very few gigs in the world that expect the bass player to do what he does, and most of us don't have them. :)
 
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#45
Not to sound discouraging, but I used to be the house bass player for a weekly open mic/live band karaoke. Every once in a while this certain bass player would show up and everybody knew him for his slapping abilities, and all the musicians on the bandstand rolled her eyes and go “oh no, here we go”. My point is, in most situations slapping and popping should be kept to a minimum- use sparingly because people prefer a player who maintains the fundamental.
 
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#46
Smooth_bass88 said:
Not to sound discouraging, but I used to be the house bass player for a weekly open mic/live band karaoke. Every once in a while this certain bass player would show up and everybody knew him for his slapping abilities, and all the musicians on the bandstand rolled her eyes and go “oh no, here we go”. My point is, in most situations slapping and popping should be kept to a minimum- use sparingly because people prefer a player who maintains the fundamental.
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"Say what?"
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:)
 
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#47
Smooth_bass88 said:
Not to sound discouraging, but I used to be the house bass player for a weekly open mic/live band karaoke. Every once in a while this certain bass player would show up and everybody knew him for his slapping abilities, and all the musicians on the bandstand rolled her eyes and go “oh no, here we go”. My point is, in most situations slapping and popping should be kept to a minimum- use sparingly because people prefer a player who maintains the fundamental.
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I know what you are saying. But you can also maintain a fundamental with slapping. Lots of ways to slap. Doesn't always have to be busy or a show off thing. I don't understand the apathy for slapping of some (in my opninion a bit narrowminded) people...
 
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#50
Les Fret said:
I know what you are saying. But you can also maintain a fundamental with slapping. Lots of ways to slap. Doesn't always have to be busy or a show off thing. I don't understand the apathy for slapping of some (in my opninion a bit narrowminded) people...
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Too many people have used/abused this technique to the point of cringe. Especially the infinite number of YouTube bass “demo” videos.
 
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#51
bramvdhoeven said:
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?
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Do you have a compressor and/or a limiter? They make a big difference when slapping live.
 
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#53
Across the universe of songs and jams I've played in, I think slap would have been appropriate on maybe 10-15% of them. When I'm in a jam playing guitar, keys, or sax (bass may be what I do best, but it's my 4th instrument), I actually find it annoying when the bassist starts slapping around before a slapworthy groove has been established. Just sayin'...
 
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#54
bramvdhoeven said:
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?
Click to expand...

Practice improvising a bass line on the spot to a recording. If you do this enough you will get to where you can whip out the right line in the midst of a jam, slap bass or otherwise.

Also remember that "slap technique" is just the concept of playing a single note by slapping your thumb or popping with your other fingers. It creates a different tonal texture. You'll want to figure out where that sort of tonal texture compliments the music and when. Think of the bass line as independent of how you play the notes in the line, ie with fingers versus slapping. You can even do both in the same bass line.
 
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#55
DiabolusInMusic said:
Do you have a compressor and/or a limiter? They make a big difference when slapping live.
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How is a compressor helping you with creativity and ideas on a jam session? That’s not the first thing you have to worry about. Although I like compressors I don’t think it’s a must for slapping on a gig.

Curious if players like Victor Wooten or Marcus Miller use a compressor on gigs. And if so if he uses it as always on.
 
#56
bramvdhoeven said:
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?[/QUOTE

I’m not saying it can’t be done in jam setting when you have no clue who you are playing with, or what their ability is to read your mind, I would strongly suggest that you keep it as simple, basic as possible or don’t do it at all.

Don’t get me wrong, I think slap is a very useful tool, but in an ensemble setting, the bigger the ensemble, the more potential conflicts can occur. In the best case, with an ensemble rehearsal would be useful, something that doesn’t typically happen with band jams. That said, if you have a spotlight solo, LIGHT IT UP!!!
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#57
Les Fret said:
How is a compressor helping you with creativity and ideas on a jam session? That’s not the first thing you have to worry about. Although I like compressors I don’t think it’s a must for slapping on a gig.

Curious if players like Victor Wooten or Marcus Miller use a compressor on gigs. And if so if he uses it as always on.
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They do! It helps you have a more even tone which is even more helpful if you’re alternating between slap & finger. Yes, it’s always on…
 
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#59
Nope…

But you can hear him talk about compression here:



It’s old since he’s moved on from SWR but I’m pretty sure he’s still using some form of compressor.

He endorses MarkBass now so he’s probably using an amp w built in compression or a MarkBass compressor these days but you can find that online if you want specific models.
 
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#60
conttador said:
Nope…

But you can hear him talk about compression here:



It’s old since he’s moved on from SWR but I’m pretty sure he’s still using some form of compressor.

He endorses MarkBass now so he’s probably using an amp w built in compression or a MarkBass compressor these days but you can find that online if you want specific models.
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Yes saw that one. But I read somewhere that Victor Wooten doesn’t use a compressor live.
 

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