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The Slap Bass Welcome Center

#105
Pumpkin_Howie said:
i got "slap it!" but i can only read tab :[

are there any more websites with examples on and made up slap riffs?
Click to expand...

There is a guy on YouTube, his username is LeSebu, he has lots of videos of him playing the riffs from Slap It! at slow and normal tempos. I personally find it easier if I see someone play the line first so I can see what kind of technique they use and modify that to my own style. Give it a try.

Another thing, try and learn to read notation, it makes life alot easier because you can see the 'length' of the notes and such.

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=LeSebu here's the YouTube account
 
#107
When I try to slap, all of my other strings also ring, so it makes it impossible to play anything without all of the other strings in the background. It also happens with i just pick it too, but I keep my fingers on the strings while I play. How do I stop all the other strings from ringing too?
 
#108
I recommend starting *SLOW*, just like you did when you first started out, as this is a technique thing. Couple of suggestions:

1) Look what your the fingers on your fretting hand are doing. They should either be pressing down on a string, or lightly pressing down on a string.

2) When you lift your fretting fingers off the string you just played, lift it slowly, and only a tiny amount. By lifting it slowly, you won't cause undue noise and you'll be muting the string as well. Notice some great players, their fretting hand often looks like it is barely moving.

3) When you are 'popping' you can mute the lower strings to help out with it.

4) When you slap, you don't need to hit the string with 'all your might'. Just like when you pick, or finger. You don't need to slap like you're driving in a nail. Let the amp do it's work. I try to slap with the thumb knuckle making contact with the string.

In any case, play slowly, as you're having to unlearn/relearn technique, if a note doesn't sound right, try to think what your left hand technique is and what your right hand technique is doing.

btw: Have fun.
 
#109
Pumpkin_Howie said:
i got "slap it!" but i can only read tab :[
Click to expand...

Fun thread. I love watch watchin' guys throw down some slap grooves. I can hardly look away.

I bought the "Slap It" and was initially slowed by the lack of tab as well. Determined to figure this stuff out, I made photo copies and wrote tab-like notes around it. I spent a number of weeks really focused on learning it.

In the end, I really enjoyed workin' it out, and I recommend these lessons to anyone. In fact, after learning 10 or 12 of the mid to advanced lessons, I was inspired to come up with my own composition. I worked it up over a series of weeks, bought an inexpensive 8-track with built in drum machine and recorded it. I then overdubbed some accompaniment instruments (guitar, keys). You can hear the result here: Link Removed
I didn't directly lift any of Tony's licks, but the style is quite similar.

As others have said, you start slow and simple, practice and move forward. I wasn't new to bass and had some simplistic slap skills before starting this, but didn't know how to practically apply it.

In spite of the missing tab, the combination of CD and written music allows you to go at your own pace and really study the details. It is an effective approach I thought.

Best of luck, Daren
 
#111
daren_woodall said:
Fun thread. I love watch watchin' guys throw down some slap grooves. I can hardly look away.

I bought the "Slap It" and was initially slowed by the lack of tab as well. Determined to figure this stuff out, I made photo copies and wrote tab-like notes around it. I spent a number of weeks really focused on learning it.

In the end, I really enjoyed workin' it out, and I recommend these lessons to anyone. In fact, after learning 10 or 12 of the mid to advanced lessons, I was inspired to come up with my own composition. I worked it up over a series of weeks, bought an inexpensive 8-track with built in drum machine and recorded it. I then overdubbed some accompaniment instruments (guitar, keys). You can hear the result here: Link Removed
I didn't directly lift any of Tony's licks, but the style is quite similar.

As others have said, you start slow and simple, practice and move forward. I wasn't new to bass and had some simplistic slap skills before starting this, but didn't know how to practically apply it.

In spite of the missing tab, the combination of CD and written music allows you to go at your own pace and really study the details. It is an effective approach I thought.

Best of luck, Daren
Click to expand...
Good job!
 
#113
daren_woodall said:
You can hear the result here: Link Removed
Click to expand...

Daren,

Cool track!

Have you taken the cycle full circle and written out the notation for that track?

I found that writing out the music I could play really improved my sight reading, and almost always leads me to new ideas.

I think we can all play things that would scare the heck out of us if someone put the same music in front of us on a music stand and counted it off! :)

Cheers!

Tony
 
#114
Tony Oppenheim said:
Daren,

Cool track!
Click to expand...

Tony Oppenheim! Wow, what can I say?! I'm flattered you listened to this and were willing to comment.

I'm sure you can recognize the influence immediately.

I guess this is the perfect opportunity to thank you for kick starting me in this recording thing. It was the desire to add a drum part to the lessons I learned from you that prompted me to buy a recorder. From that, one thing led to another and now I'm actually making whole songs. I would have never thought I had it in me. It is shaping into one of the most personally rewarding efforts.

Tony Oppenheim said:
Have you taken the cycle full circle and written out the notation for that track?
Click to expand...

It has not occurred to me to write it out. I can forsee that being quite time consuming, especially since I'm not practiced at it. And as you said, some parts might look pretty scary on paper. ;)

By the way, I loved the groove on page 13, example 6 (track 19). It puts a grin on my face everytime I hear it. :)

After I recorded this little diddy, I often wondered if you had ever put together an arrangement of this type. I'd be interested to hear an applied distillation of the techniques. I'm sure you'd have all of us picking our jaws off the floor.

Again, thanks for the inspiration.

Sincerely, Daren
 
#116
Hey guys, I am self taught, and trying to get into slapping. A problem that I run into is that when I hit the A string, I often hit my e string with the meatier part of my thumb (the joint below the middle knuckle).

I am also a bit confused about how to mute lower strings when popping a higher string. Some of these tutorials have mentioned gripping the popping string with the finger right as you slap the slapping string, but it seems to me like a quick execution of this would mute the slapped string almost immediately. Is that the point?

Thanks for the help.
 
#117
Can't stop by RHCP is always the beginners slap pop song. THe pace is not that fast, so it should be easy.

one thing though, is there any tip for slapping with thumb pointing down(like Flea) and then pop easily. I found it harder than having thumb pararell to the string, but i prefer thumb down slap sound, but i kind of find it hard to do fast switching between slap and pop in that position.

Anotehr thing is that pop usually cause my finger to get small cuts, is it normal, or am i doing something wrong?
 
#118
I've read through the thread and watched the videos, lot of great stuff in here. I'm having a hard time getting rid of the clicking noise of the string hitting the fretboard when I slap. I don't hear that from any of these guys who know what they're doing, do you think it's a technique issue, a guitar issue, or is it a normal part of slapping?
 
#119
mjlach said:
I've read through the thread and watched the videos, lot of great stuff in here. I'm having a hard time getting rid of the clicking noise of the string hitting the fretboard when I slap. I don't hear that from any of these guys who know what they're doing, do you think it's a technique issue, a guitar issue, or is it a normal part of slapping?
Click to expand...

I have this too.... loads of clatter from the fretboard. I thought this was due to a low action, but there doesn't seem to be excessive buzz. Is it a technique thing? Or do I need to replace or change the gauge of my strings (currently medium)? Any ideas?

UV
 
#120
Hmm...might be technique. When you are fretting, are you hitting the middle of the fretspace? That might cause it. When you are fretting, make sure your fingertip is on the string just behind the fret, not in the middle of the fretspace. If it is clatter from the act of slapping the string, that is part of what makes the slap technique's sound. Try hitting "through" the string, when your thumb hits directly on the string, it should bounce up just a little and into the space between the strings when it comes to rest. Also, make sure your thumb is roughly parallel to the string, this helps with cleanliness of execution as well. I don't think it is your string gauge, but is you wanted to go a hair lighter, that's cool...totally up to you, though. Just remember, if you're playing a passive bass, as you go lighter on string gauge, you also lose mass, and bottom end.

Another thing just crossed my mind- if you have a Jazz-style bass, and your poles are sticking up, you might be hitting your strings into the polepieces. If you are, try putting some black electrical tape over the length of the pickup to cover the polepieces. If the clatter goes away, that could be the culprit. If so, you might need to lower your pickups a touch, or ease up on the fury with which you smite your strings! ;)

Hope that helps.
 

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