Usually when I hear somebody really shred at slapping, I don't like how it sounds. I'm not saying it's objectively bad, but it doesn't personally appeal to me. I sometimes like it in a slower, groovier context, but most of those times, I like the tone better when done with fingers or a pick.
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the thread i have been reluctant to write...
- Thread starter joebar
- Start date
not one bassist who influenced me early on ever slapped, so i never equated bass playing with slapping.
I'm quite terrible at it. I've never been in a band where it would be needed so I haven't worked on it much. My biggest gripe with slapping is how often I see it used on
demo/review videos and sound clips. Often the player is quite good at it, but it gives me no reference as to what said object is likely to sound like played any other way.
demo/review videos and sound clips. Often the player is quite good at it, but it gives me no reference as to what said object is likely to sound like played any other way.
I seem to follow the trend here. Been playing for 30 years. Never influenced or really liked the slapping style for the most part. Actually the band I currently play in was excited that I didn't play that style. Seems to be very over utilized lately and usually not performed very well or in the right passages. Part of my problem also is that I play finger style & like the bass slung lower than most. It appears to me from trying it and seeing others that the bass must be slung pretty high up to get the correct hand position.
I feel a lot better now, I never wanted to slap either and did not put much effort into learning it. See some other more experienced players didn't either.
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Don't feel bad... I started out in the midst of the heavy slap-days (late 90's) and while some of the biggest early influences I had were slap bassists, I didn't ever pick it up well. I tried slapping early on and it just didn't work for me. I've always been a fingerstyle player from day one. When I started really digging into upright bass (and getting into Jaco) I really knew then that I was primarily a fingerstyle player. I wrote something a long time ago that basically said I love listening to tasteful slap playing a lot, even though I choose not to do it. That's why I love Marcus Miller, Mark White (from the Spin Doctors), Jason Scheff, and a few others like that. When they slap, they are very tasteful and musical. Gratuitous, wanking slap playing really turned me off. Give me JPJ, Jason Scheff, Pino Palladino, Peter Cetera, and Charlie Haden any day over machine-gun slapping. ;-)
Wow - not too much love for ol' Les here I suppose
Fingerstyle, slapping, greasiness - it's a new funky with balls.
I grew up with P-Funk, but there's always room for a player like Les in my world.
Fingerstyle, slapping, greasiness - it's a new funky with balls.
I grew up with P-Funk, but there's always room for a player like Les in my world.
There are some really closed minded responses here. People seem to be equating "slapping" with mindless poorly done "shredding." Slapping is just another technique to get a different sound out of the bass, and it can be musical and sound great -- again, listen to Larry Graham or Bobby Vega. Really, how many bass players are really any good anyway, like two percent 
I'm not going to stop playing with my fingers because most players do that poorly! Remember, a good bass player should be able to cover a variety of styles competently. How over done is a 12 bar blues, and how many of the the anti-slapping crowd play those regularly?
I'm not going to stop playing with my fingers because most players do that poorly! Remember, a good bass player should be able to cover a variety of styles competently. How over done is a 12 bar blues, and how many of the the anti-slapping crowd play those regularly?
Here's another nifty little book that teaches basic slap well:
Mel Bay's Slappin - easy, cheap, step by step
and if ya want to learn the thrashier version of slap, this is a good method book Invalid Link Removed - takes a little more time and practice, but if ya wanna thrash in the music store.....
also check out the "Slap Bass Welcome Center" stickie at the top of this forum. Vids and links to all kinds of slap techniques -- FREE!
Mel Bay's Slappin - easy, cheap, step by step
and if ya want to learn the thrashier version of slap, this is a good method book Invalid Link Removed - takes a little more time and practice, but if ya wanna thrash in the music store.....
also check out the "Slap Bass Welcome Center" stickie at the top of this forum. Vids and links to all kinds of slap techniques -- FREE!
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
Many/most players 12-bar blues pretty regularly... it's not considered 'over done', it's considered an essential style for ANY bassist, since most all forms of popular music in the 20th/21st centuries evolved from it. Slap is GREAT when done tastefully, but it's usually overused or misused by people who can't successfully hold a groove with their fingers. See previous post(s). Agreed, it's a technique that most people should be PASSABLE at (I am). Pick playing is often regarded in the same fashion. Most people are PASSABLE at pick playing, but most working bassists do not use it as a primary method. YMMV.
I don't do slapping or popping or tapping or sweeping. There is something that is very... NOT metal/NOT punk about using those techniques. I guess it's just personal preference.
The band I may be joining in the next couple months has a small amount of slap in some of their songs. I've told them already, goodbye to that style of playing. It just doesn't belong in my brand of metal.
The band I may be joining in the next couple months has a small amount of slap in some of their songs. I've told them already, goodbye to that style of playing. It just doesn't belong in my brand of metal.
Slapping is certainly not my main technique, but I am fairly proficient at it. I can kill a twelve bar blues and a ii v i progression too
This is not directed at you, but I think a lot of people criticize slapping because they themselves can not do it well. Yes it is overused by the children in Guitar Center... so what! Kids often do a lot worse things than slap poorly in a crowded music store. Those same kids sound just as bad playing finger style, but no one here is ready to use that as an excuse to give up finger style playing. Hey if a person doesn't want to slap, don't -- I really couldn't care less. But these threads often come off as a defensive rationalization for not gaining some proficiency in a technique that good bass players are expected to have!
It's a technique that kind of hogs the entire sonic spectrum, so the rest of the band has to kind of lay back while the bass is going thwackity thwackity doink doink doink. I like hearing Doug Johns or Marcus or Vic do it for limited amounts of time.
I don't really like hearing me do it all...so I don't.
I'm still getting gigs and sessions, though!
I don't really like hearing me do it all...so I don't.
I'm still getting gigs and sessions, though!
I was no good at it for the last 7 years I've been playing. I always joked about slapping and would do it very, very badly. After working a lot on my playing, notably my staccato playing / muting I can get really funky fingerstyle and feel like I'm a much better bassist. With that and lots of practice came a good slap sound and better feel for it.
I looked at my Carvin's last fret. It's shredded. Practice had its cost... but now it's one more thing I can do if I need.
However, I see it like I see sweeps on guitar. I'm a great player, but it's wanking off. I still refuse to sweep even though I now slap...
I looked at my Carvin's last fret. It's shredded. Practice had its cost... but now it's one more thing I can do if I need.
However, I see it like I see sweeps on guitar. I'm a great player, but it's wanking off. I still refuse to sweep even though I now slap...
JazznFunk
Supporting Member
No worries... I knew it wasn't directed at *me*. No worries there, and no offense taken or given. I also haven't haven't cared about my lack of ability or choice to slap in a LONG time. It certainly hasn't cost me work. In fact, a lot of the musicians I work with are surprised when I bust out a slap part here and there. It's just not 'what I do'. The meat of your previous post seemed directed at a certain, very fundamental aspect of bass playing (pizzicato 12-bar blues) which EVERY bassist must grasp, hence my response. Slap playing is one of those techniques that most working situations do not demand... but excellent (or at least competent) pizzicato (fingerstyle) technique is required.
Back to the music...
Back to the music...
It's certainly not my main technique, but I am fairly proficient at it. I can kill a twelve bar blues and a vi v i progression too
I play more 12 bar stuff (and always have) than slap. In fact I rarely play entire songs slapped, preferring to use it for fills here and there. But I don't understand why people feel the need to post criticism of the style and players who use it. Not all slap is Guitar Center wanking and it can be a very nice spice to add to certain lines. Also, I'm not sure how hard some of you are playing your bass, but I have never shredded any frets from any style of playing!
my thoughts originally were to see how many other bass players struggle to slap as opposed to other styles. it was not a bash against the style; i envy those who can do it so well.
speaking of other styles, it just occured to me that maybe not everyone can play gallops perfectly executed like i do either...(thinking out loud...)
i guess i am answering my own question lol.
speaking of other styles, it just occured to me that maybe not everyone can play gallops perfectly executed like i do either...(thinking out loud...)
i guess i am answering my own question lol.
The key to slapping is to think of your thumb as a bass drum and your popping fingers as a snare. after you get that down, move the popping to the "ands." When I teach slap I get my students to thump out scales or any line they are playing with their fingers. If you think of double thumbing as a pick, you will have a better chance of getting that down also. I know when I was learning I mostly worked out drum patterns with no notes. When I got that hand together I later started adding the notes.
