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Teacher told me I slap wrong

#105
Brad Johnson said:
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I remember reading this article a while back.

It's interesting that back then the bassist that were on popular recordings (Glide was huge on black radio and in the clubs/discos) Nate Phillips,Louis Johnson just to name a few all really felt different. I think it was because back then when you heard slapping on record you just did it, in a effort to duplicate what you were hearing. There were no articles in Bass Player Magazine because there was no Bass Player Magazine. Guitar Player Mag covered both. I have a large number of old Guitar Player Mags and there are very,very few if any covering slap. I think Louis Johnson may have done some articles. There was no You Tube to see how it's done. I think these resources are great, It would have been great 30 years ago to see Larry Graham on video explain his style. But on the other hand it's was good not to see it because in the effort of trying to sound like Graham, a little bit of you sneeks in there when you don't know exactly what he's doing.
I think a teacher should tell a student to experiment with different slap techniques. Slap on the finger board,behind the board, closer to the bridge whatever, the student may discover something new.
 
#106
seebee said:
I remember reading this article a while back.

It's interesting that back then the bassist that were on popular recordings (Glide was huge on black radio and in the clubs/discos) Nate Phillips,Louis Johnson just to name a few all really felt different. I think it was because back then when you heard slapping on record you just did it, in a effort to duplicate what you were hearing. There were no articles in Bass Player Magazine because there was no Bass Player Magazine. Guitar Player Mag covered both. I have a large number of old Guitar Player Mags and there are very,very few if any covering slap. I think Louis Johnson may have done some articles. There was no You Tube to see how it's done. I think these resources are great, It would have been great 30 years ago to see Larry Graham on video explain his style. But on the other hand it's was good not to see it because in the effort of trying to sound like Graham, a little bit of you sneeks in there when you don't know exactly what he's doing.
I think a teacher should tell a student to experiment with different slap techniques. Slap on the finger board,behind the board, closer to the bridge whatever, the student may discover something new.
Click to expand...

While today's resources would've been nice back then, I'm very glad I came up when and how I did as a musician. It forced me to figure things out for myself and many of those things worked in my favor.

For example, without really thinking about it, learning something like the theme song to a TV show required quickly being able to hear and comprehend. No rewind, no tapes or DVD... miss it this week and you have to wait until next week to try again;)

Adversity is an excellent teacher.
 
#107
Brad Johnson said:
While today's resources would've been nice back then, I'm very glad I came up when and how I did as a musician. It forced me to figure things out for myself and many of those things worked in my favor.

For example, without really thinking about it, learning something like the theme song to a TV show required quickly being able to hear and comprehend. No rewind, no tapes or DVD... miss it this week and you have to wait until next week to try again;)

Adversity is an excellent teacher.
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It would have been something to rewind Barney Miller.
 
#109
Bassist4Life said:
I think that if you're going to practice something, you should try to learn the right way.

If you are slapping with your fingers pointing at the floor, then you should change your technique (IMO).

IMO, this is poor slap technique. It works for him; and that's fine, but I wouldn't teach my students to do it this way.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=h08bwjF_dL4

I think good slap technique looks a little more like this.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eMzXtizKcXY

Good luck with your slap lessons.
Joe
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Can u play this with ur so called "right" way of slapping?
 
#111
Drake Kennedy said:
I find it ironic how the cover of Slap It! it shows incorrect technique.
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Drake,

It looks about right to me (for a line drawing). I generally play closer to the end of the neck (I think the artist took some license there), but the hand position was derived from photos of how I play.

There are many different styles of slap technique. I don't think one is more correct than the other. It's sort of like French vs. German style bow technique. They both work. It just depends on what you're comfortable with.

Tony
 

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