Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
"Slap is overused"
- Thread starter Traynor
- Start date
Its all good, I think the only thing I use it for anymore is when we pull out the the old Boz Scaggs tune "the lowdown" or the occasional foray into disco.
Because fingerstyle is the standard/original technique for playing bass. You dont say "walking with two legs is overused" just because the people do it all the time...
Listen to the Brothers Johnson, or old 70s disco and funk music. The technique called "slap" is used most tastefully and minimally in those genes. One of the most flamboyant uses of slap in a pop song was "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon, and even that was appropriate for the song. Rarely will you hear YouTube style webcam bass gymnastics in a popular song. Is it worth it to learn to be a proficient slapper? It depends on why you want to. I'd bet most of it is ego based. And it probably comes at the expense of more worthwhile musical pursuits considering you are rarely, if ever, likely to do more than pluck octaves in a song.
FUPPITA-FUPPITA!
Hah! Thanks for that sludgelord3000
"Hey, wife, c'mere..." Fuppita-fuppita...
Gotta say Hankerson was groovin' "1984", thanks for that clip tbasstreble11, and narry any overdone fuppita-fuppitas. Would love to hear that groove with more than just the drums, too. I have to say I don't like slap when it is denigrated to a barrage of non-rhythmic machine-gun bursts of non-note fuppita-fuppitas.
"Fuppita", my favourite new word, describes itself.
Fuppita The World.
Slap on slappers.
Hah! Thanks for that sludgelord3000
"Hey, wife, c'mere..." Fuppita-fuppita...
Gotta say Hankerson was groovin' "1984", thanks for that clip tbasstreble11, and narry any overdone fuppita-fuppitas. Would love to hear that groove with more than just the drums, too. I have to say I don't like slap when it is denigrated to a barrage of non-rhythmic machine-gun bursts of non-note fuppita-fuppitas.
"Fuppita", my favourite new word, describes itself.
Fuppita The World.
Slap on slappers.
Slap is pretty cool but I too wonder the limitations. This Stanley Clarke gig had 11 guys soloing to School Days. The slappers are pretty heavy duty but it comes out in this setting sounding like their beating tupperware. I hear rhythm but not a lot of bass playing. Nevertheless a cool talent to have.
I can slap (and had to be able to in a commercial music program at school... it impresses the guitar teachers during a jury), but I am never asked to. When I was in music school circa 1995, Wooten was all the rage, and everyone was trying to slap like that. I'm not exaggerating when I say that either. In order to have my own playing personality, I had to go a different way. I chose not to make slap a big part of my style.
Slapping can be tasteful, and I will use it if a song calls for it, but honestly, I rarely find that it fits unless you're in a cover band that plays music where slap bass was used originally.
Slapping can be tasteful, and I will use it if a song calls for it, but honestly, I rarely find that it fits unless you're in a cover band that plays music where slap bass was used originally.
i think Is pretty hard to slap and pop on a single string, so its very uncomfortable to play some lines, scales and runs, and impossible to slap the high strings and pop on a low string right after.... So most slappers just avoid that physical limitations resulting in the typical slapping patterns over and over... Thats why IMO slap sounds "all the same" and is percieved as "overused"...
I've done things to make slap sound less cliche occasionally...
---Used a Precision.
---Used a violin bass with flats.
---Used fuzz and octaver.
---Turned the treble down on the bass.
---Slapped all over doo wop ballads.
---Bought an upright and learned how to slap on it.
Slap never gets old.
---Used a Precision.
---Used a violin bass with flats.
---Used fuzz and octaver.
---Turned the treble down on the bass.
---Slapped all over doo wop ballads.
---Bought an upright and learned how to slap on it.
Slap never gets old.
Yeah, like anything overused, it's a matter of taste. Some people want lots of butter on their bread and a little jam, others the inverse (then there's people who only want jam, no butter don't go there).
Slapped octaves, now that's probably overused. Eat too much cake and you'll want to puke.
What I don't get is setting limitations. I want to have as much technical ability as possible to serve the music and express myself, to be able to rise to the occasion when it presents itself or it's required.
Maybe punters are saying it's overused because it is spreading in its application. Slap is used in so many more genres now than when it first appeared on the scene of Funk, Disco and Pop. It's used in Rock, Metal, Country (not counting slapped DB), Jazz and other genres.
I saw/heard Mingus in a clip where he does a double gliss during his solo on two different strings going in two different directions simultaneously. It was TOO Frick'n'Cool. I watched and listened for him to do it again later in the tune. Never happened. He used it once.
I've never heard nor seen that double gliss done in his other music. I tried it myself and it's something Mingus had to have practiced to nail the intonation and pacing of the glisses yet he only used it where/when appropriate. It served the solo, the song, hooked the listener and perked up some ears.
Definitely not a case of having too much cake...
Slappity slap slap, keep on slappin'
Slapped octaves, now that's probably overused. Eat too much cake and you'll want to puke.
What I don't get is setting limitations. I want to have as much technical ability as possible to serve the music and express myself, to be able to rise to the occasion when it presents itself or it's required.
Maybe punters are saying it's overused because it is spreading in its application. Slap is used in so many more genres now than when it first appeared on the scene of Funk, Disco and Pop. It's used in Rock, Metal, Country (not counting slapped DB), Jazz and other genres.
I saw/heard Mingus in a clip where he does a double gliss during his solo on two different strings going in two different directions simultaneously. It was TOO Frick'n'Cool. I watched and listened for him to do it again later in the tune. Never happened. He used it once.
I've never heard nor seen that double gliss done in his other music. I tried it myself and it's something Mingus had to have practiced to nail the intonation and pacing of the glisses yet he only used it where/when appropriate. It served the solo, the song, hooked the listener and perked up some ears.
Definitely not a case of having too much cake...
Slappity slap slap, keep on slappin'
I'm pretty sure this thread wouldn't exist if styles of music and/or music mixes that leave room for/work well with slap bass playing were still fashionable. But alas, they aren't, which is where most of the animosity towards slap playing comes from these days if you ask me.
Personally, I think it can sound awesome as the foundation of a song when you keep things simple and don't overdo it when it comes to plucked notes as those can get extremely treble-heavy. Try constructing a bass line consisting of slapped downstrikes only. It can work wonders! Playing ultra-downtuned metal with high-gain guitars is another story, of course, as the technique isn't exactly ideal for producing the amount of low end required to make the band sound good here.
Some people seem to think slapping is all about double-thumping high notes until the cows come home - if you're not afraid to go back to the basics, no one will ever accuse of you "overusing" what can be an extremely cool-sounding technique.
Personally, I think it can sound awesome as the foundation of a song when you keep things simple and don't overdo it when it comes to plucked notes as those can get extremely treble-heavy. Try constructing a bass line consisting of slapped downstrikes only. It can work wonders! Playing ultra-downtuned metal with high-gain guitars is another story, of course, as the technique isn't exactly ideal for producing the amount of low end required to make the band sound good here.
Some people seem to think slapping is all about double-thumping high notes until the cows come home - if you're not afraid to go back to the basics, no one will ever accuse of you "overusing" what can be an extremely cool-sounding technique.
Vintagefiend
I don't care for 410 cabinets at all.
As a technique it's fine, if it fits. IMO, too many players don't fit.
It’s all about personal taste, but fore me the main problem with slap is the guys who think complicated is good when it isn't. Twangy “1000 notes a second slap” can sound OK solo'ed but in most numbers sounds like a bag of spanners in a washing machine.
I prefer 70's slap, in the style of Louis Johnson and Larry Graham, which is a lot less technical but is 100% locked into the groove.
It’s all about personal taste, but fore me the main problem with slap is the guys who think complicated is good when it isn't. Twangy “1000 notes a second slap” can sound OK solo'ed but in most numbers sounds like a bag of spanners in a washing machine.
I prefer 70's slap, in the style of Louis Johnson and Larry Graham, which is a lot less technical but is 100% locked into the groove.
As with any technique it has to and can be applied with good taste to fit and help the music.
Slapping just seems to encourage flash and technique over good musical sense.
Slapping just seems to encourage flash and technique over good musical sense.
Overused? I hardly ever hear other bass players slap. If anything, in my experience from playing and seeing plenty of shows, it's underused. You know the people that say things like, "Slap is overused." Or "Everyone does it so I won't do it." Maybe anything similar to those statements, those are usually people that are jealous or mad because they can't do it. How do I know? I use to be one of those people! lol Then I learned to slap(pretty darn well actually). Not to brag haha. I do it a lot. To be honest it's my favorite technique. But I know there are lots of naysayers so I definitely don't over do it. If you can fit it into a song or jam tastefully and not just whale around to show off. Then it is awesome and any crowd loves it! I know A LOT of bass players that have no idea how to slap(not that that's a bad thing, definitely isn't). I love to slap and I'll do it if I want if it's tasteful. Won't care what anybody says.
haha. I do it a lot. To be honest it's my favorite technique. But I know there are lots of naysayers so I definitely don't over do it. If you can fit it into a song or jam tastefully and not just whale around to show off. Then it is awesome and any crowd loves it! I know A LOT of bass players that have no idea how to slap(not that that's a bad thing, definitely isn't). I love to slap and I'll do it if I want if it's tasteful. Won't care what anybody says.
Overused? I hardly ever hear other bass players slap. If anything, in my experience from playing and seeing plenty of shows, it's underused. You know the people that say things like, "Slap is overused." Or "Everyone does it so I won't do it." Maybe anything similar to those statements, those are usually people that are jealous or mad because they can't do it. How do I know? I use to be one of those people! lol Then I learned to slap(pretty darn well actually). Not to brag
+1
AndrewFord
Guest
- Aug 11, 2012
- 123
- 59
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Line 6, TC Electronics, Yamaha, Elixir Strings
I love slap bass when executed musically, my problem with it is when it is somehow equated to playing funky, like to play funky means to slap, I wrote a blog about it
http://www.andrewfordbass.com/Andrew-Ford-Bass-Blog_files/71386e603d0c5cbbf99d462c10c3b501-2.html
http://www.andrewfordbass.com/Andrew-Ford-Bass-Blog_files/71386e603d0c5cbbf99d462c10c3b501-2.html
Slap used to be my bread and butter... So I got away from it and focused 100% on fretless. Then I pulled out a fretted bass one day and, while noodling, slapped it a bit. Folks around me went *nuts*. Every group of musicians I hook up with want me to slap *more*, not less - - and I'm no Marcus Miller here - the folks I work with just seem to dig it.
But I do agree - done tastelessly or poorly, it bites. But you can say the same thing about anything - particularly if it's a difficult thing that is easy to execute poorly (like fretless playing).
But I do agree - done tastelessly or poorly, it bites. But you can say the same thing about anything - particularly if it's a difficult thing that is easy to execute poorly (like fretless playing).
The problem may really lie with the misuse of the term “funk” and not with slap technique per se.
