(Bzzzz!) "Geeze, I'm sorry. The answer we were looking for was: Fretless bass! Yes, fretless. Fretless is by far the most hated form of electric bass.
We would also have accepted slapped fretless bass. Did you have fun?"
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The Beef with Slap
- Thread starter Ezmar
- Start date
(Bzzzz!) "Geeze, I'm sorry. The answer we were looking for was: Fretless bass! Yes, fretless. Fretless is by far the most hated form of electric bass.
We would also have accepted slapped fretless bass. Did you have fun?"
All the little nuances the technique calls for like legatto, stuccato, short mute thumps...same for pops...pulled off, hammered on, slid, slide or hammered on trills. Anyone who thinks slapping is easy just because one isn't playing any note in the scale just doesn't get it. U will find the farther u delve into funk, one can by playing with their fingers close to the bridge and applying left hand muting for ghost notes , almost get a funky slap like sound with ur fingers. This is at least for me when I understood that the two techniques were more similar than dissimilar. Like the previous post stated, the guys who usually hate on it r the ones playing their walking twelve bar pattern sitting next to a talented bassist who is thumpin it up with a crowd around him at GC while the 12 bar guys just unplugs out of inferiority complex. Don't hate it till u have spent months/years learning/understanding/perfecting a technique that ends up being a lot more complex as u delve deeper and deeper inside it.
When reading the posts on this thread (the not childish finger pointing ones, at least), we can see some basic consensus:
1) Music store show off slapping sucks: no, the guy isn't buying the bass. Yes, he going to try to slap on every song of his first band, be it alt rock, metal, country, samba and even funk (most James Brown classics are played fingerstyle...). I was this way when I was young. And although it gives slap a bad name, it has nothing to do with serious slap bass, a technique that can be effectively and creatively used with many genres, including alt rock, metal, country, samba and even funk.
2) Larry Graham is the man: he's work is great, he slaps (or thumbs, as he prefer) almost every time AND can make it work in many different situations. Some of his music is obviously built around his basslines, but plenty isn't. A bass and music hero of mine and these days I play a hofner with flatwounds...
I think the whole discussion is just a matter of being tasteful and creative, whether you choose to use the technique or not. Also acknowledge that teenagers have these hormones that make them do stupid stuff...
1) Music store show off slapping sucks: no, the guy isn't buying the bass. Yes, he going to try to slap on every song of his first band, be it alt rock, metal, country, samba and even funk (most James Brown classics are played fingerstyle...). I was this way when I was young. And although it gives slap a bad name, it has nothing to do with serious slap bass, a technique that can be effectively and creatively used with many genres, including alt rock, metal, country, samba and even funk.
2) Larry Graham is the man: he's work is great, he slaps (or thumbs, as he prefer) almost every time AND can make it work in many different situations. Some of his music is obviously built around his basslines, but plenty isn't. A bass and music hero of mine and these days I play a hofner with flatwounds...
I think the whole discussion is just a matter of being tasteful and creative, whether you choose to use the technique or not. Also acknowledge that teenagers have these hormones that make them do stupid stuff...
- Jan 12, 2011
- 4,578
- 2,460
- Disclosures
- Artist, Trickfish Amplification Bartolini Emerging Artist, MTD Kingston Emerging Artist. Artist, Tsunami Cables
I grew up listening to all kinds of music. I did however grow up during the heyday of R&B and Funk. Imagine being a kid/teenaged bass player and you could hear Bootsy, Larry, Louis, Ohio Players, Barkays, Lakeside,Bohannon,Fatback Band, SOS Band,Tyrone Brunson,Mark Adams, Cameo, Kool and the Gang, Mandrill and this is to only name a few. How could you grow up like that and not be funky or slap?
Dude from foghat??? O think layin down that hardass slap line in "slowride"...then the funky solo. That song is an iconic rock song. I think the term "slap" actually doesn't help notion....conjures ur images of ike and Tina...
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
Now that's just a weird connection!
I have returned to calling it "thumping," though...not because of Ike and Tina but because of Larry...that's what he calls it, he invented it, and I respect it.
JAUQO III-X
Inactive
The more techniques and possibilities we have, the better. I thump in a pretty traditional sense but just because something is fast or technical doesn't mean it can't have groove and melody. Check out Evan Brewer's playing:
Well, to each his own. I shut that off after 30 seconds. I didn't hear much of a melody. Like I said, I can appreciate the skill that goes into that but for me, I'm in it to get the booty's shaking! Old school thumpin' for me, baby!
The Seinfeld Soundtrack ruined slap for the masses.
On the other hand, those who can confidently play slap upright bass seem to always get applause.
On the other hand, those who can confidently play slap upright bass seem to always get applause.
Amen! I grew up with the Brothers Johnson, Kool and the Gang, Larry Graham and Stanley Clark....
That's a great gesture and invite. I'm out of town that weekend and disappointed not to be able to attend. I for one as a 30 year player cannot slap competently. While it's not my taste, that doesn't mask my admiration for those who can and I can certainly appreciate the style and the place it holds within it's appropriate genre(s). Even though I don't use it in my field, that's not to say I shouldn't make a more concerted effort to learn and broaden my horizons - even just for self-betterment and the satisfaction that comes with stretching oneself, to learn, to develop and not become stale. With that friend, if you get to read this, may I inquire whether your clinic is being recorded for resale or for youtube? I would love to see it.
I don't hate slap. I just hate it when a bassist goes into some crazy slap routine which doesn't serve the song at all just to say "look at me, I'm a good bassist." Or the guy at the guitar shop who does the same. Not saying there's anything wrong with either of those, but yeah it does annoy me can't help it.
When slap technique is employed to serve the song I certainly couldn't see any reason to hate on a set of techniques. But if you go into a crazy slap solo in the middle of a cover of "Freebird", then yeah, your probably a douche.
When slap technique is employed to serve the song I certainly couldn't see any reason to hate on a set of techniques. But if you go into a crazy slap solo in the middle of a cover of "Freebird", then yeah, your probably a douche.
I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it in the sense that you have to be able to sit down at a kit and play drums.
Think percussively as a drummer would on a kit. In basest form, substitute thumps for the kick and pops for the snare. For example play the basic drum part to Queen's "We will rock you" on your bass. That's a clear rhythm one can lock into and then possibly embellish it. And don't speed it up.
When I slap I invariably THINK DRUMS as a foundation. It's a great example of the bridge electric bass can make between rhythm and melody. It's also like thinking about the human voice when soloing vs. seeing how fast you can work up that arpeggio you've been playing for years. If you talked that fast you'd likely sound ridiculous. One tends to be more musical than the other.
Granted, many people musicians and non are fascinated by speed. Nothing wrong with that... as a child of Fusion I did at one time. At some point I really began to appreciate the beauty of space.
I rarely put up clips, here's some nonsense I just put up to demo a rig I was testing for the first time. It's not super fast and hopefully not as mechanical as some of the stuff floating around. Of course I could be wrong. Mostly noodling up front, a groove starts around 1:10. I rarely play this busy live.
https://soundcloud.com/#brad5161-1/lil-g-april-1-2013-0609
This is EXACTLY the extent of my knowledge of slapping. It's all I need to play the music I play. I almost never use it. I think there are some incredible slap players out there, though. I do think the style is almost cliche, anymore.
