Slap Bass Book Pdf

[Ortiz Ullery]

Slappingand popping are ways to produce percussive sounds on a stringed instrument. They are primarily used on the double bass or bass guitar. Slapping on bass guitar involves using the edge of one's knuckle, where it is particularly bony, to quickly strike the string against the fretboard. On bass guitars, this is commonly done with the thumb, while on double bass, the edge of the hand or index finger may be used. Popping refers to pulling the string away from the fretboard and quickly releasing it so it snaps back against the fretboard. On bass guitar, the two techniques are commonly used together in alternation, though either may be used separately.

On the double bass, the technique was developed by jazz bands in New Orleans in the early 1900s, and later spread to other genres, including western swing, rockabilly, and other offshoots of those styles.

On bass guitar, slapping usually refers to a percussive playing technique most commonly used in funk, disco, soul, R&B, jazz, country music, rock, and many other genres. The style sounds much more percussive than regular plucking of notes with the soft part of the plucking hands fingers, and is also usually louder (although on an electric instrument, the volume can be adjusted with the volume knob or through compression), brighter, and more distinct than the sound of a bass guitar played with the usual plucking or pick techniques.

The slap sound comes from the combination of two elements: slapping, which involves striking the string with the side of the bony joint in the middle of the thumb, a harder surface than the pads of the fingers (used in plucked fingering); and intentionally allowing the vibrating string to come into contact with the metal frets, producing a "toney" or buzzing sound that is normally avoided in plucked/fingered bass.

In the slap technique, the bassist replaces the usual plucking motion of the index and middle fingers with "slaps" and "pops". In the slap, the bassist uses the thumb to strike the strings (usually the lower E and A strings) near the base of the bass's neck. In the pop, the bassist will use the index or middle finger of the plucking hand to snap the strings (usually the higher D and G strings) away from the body of the bass, causing them to bounce off the fretboard; this produces a prominent buzzing tone with a sharp attack and more high-frequency vibrations than present in plucked bass.

The bassist can play many notes quickly by rotating the forearm, alternately slapping and popping: during the pop, the hand moves away from the fretboard, "winding up" or getting in position for the next slap. The slap and pop techniques are commonly used with pull-offs and hammer-ons with the fretting (usually left) hand, to further increase the rate at which notes may be played. Ghost notes, or notes played with the string damped, are also commonly played in slap bass to increase the percussive feel of the technique.

The invention of slap on electric bass is generally credited to funk bassist Larry Graham.[3] Graham has stated in several interviews that he was trying to emulate the sound of a drum set before his band had found its drummer. Graham himself refers to the technique as "thumpin' and pluckin'".[3]

I need to practice it a lot more! Thumb down is still by far the easiest for me but accuracy is harder with it (as you point out). I love the idea in this video to just practice slap and ignore popping for a while.

I have found that slapping has been the most difficult part of this course. I really felt like I had made great progress with my instrument and then the slap lessons sent me back to total beginner level, and really threw me for a loop. As an older person (61) with limited free time , I decided it was best for me to concentrate on finger style and playing with a pick, and to put slap on the back burner and to forge ahead without this technique. So far I feel like I have made the right decision.

As an older person (61) with limited free time , I decided it was best for me to concentrate on finger style and playing with a pick, and to put slap on the back burner and to forge ahead without this technique.

Also, it?s completely possible that the solution won?t cost anything more than a little time and experimentation. So before looking at spending any money on compressors, boost pedals, etc. let?s look at a few basic things which might make all the difference.

Whether you play a passive or active bass, you must be able to understand how to get all the different sounds it offers. Many techniques need specific frequencies to ?speak? better. Make sure you understand how those sounds are achieved on your axe of choice. I know this is a total no-brainer but it?s good to keep in mind because no stone can be left unturned when it comes to matters of tone.

This is probably where a lot of the issues you are having are coming from. The amplifier?s EQ has a lot of bearing on your overall sound. If you have an active EQ on your bass, this is where the problem potentially can get exponentially bigger because the amp settings could be masking/canceling out the settings on your bass. For example, if your EQ on the amp is set to emphasize lows and mids and the active EQ in your bass has the mids scooped out and the highs and lows dialed in, it won?t sound clear at all.

My advice for troubleshooting your situation is this: Try setting the EQ on your amp completely flat and make tonal changes strictly from the bass. (i?d have written that in all caps, but I?m not trying to yell at anybody.)

Personally, I prefer making most of my sonic alterations from my bass and (additionally, if i?m using pedals & effects as I often do, my feet.) That?s not to say that you can?t/ shouldn?t alter the EQ settings on your amp if a certain room calls for it, but as a starting point it?s helpful to see what everything sounds like without any additional reinforcement from the amp other than volume. You?ll also get to truly hear what your bass sounds like. It?s definitely a good starting point.

So if I?m using my (passive) jazz bass and I want to use my slap sound, I have both pickups 100% all the way up volume-wise and the tone is set about halfway. If I want it brighter that I?ll adjust the tone to a brighter setting. If I switch to my fingers and want to get more of a growl, I can quickly roll the volume of the neck pickup off. And if I want to have a darker sound, I will quickly go for the tone knob. You should try this with your bass of choice. See how significant the changes in tone can be just from your fingertips and the knobs on your bass while going through your amp.

Your cabinets also have some bearing on your sound. A 210, 410, or 2 cabinets with 12?s in there are ideal. For slapping, even if you are going for a more old-school tone, a tweeter is helpful/essential in getting the brighter frequencies heard. The more subtle elements simply won?t translate as clearly if there isn?t a tweeter there. Cabinets generally have adjustment controls so you don?t have to have the tweeter set very high for it to be effective. Let your personal taste guide you with this.

Even if all of this is contrary to the way that you?ve done things, it?s good to experiment with it. If your amp settings are creating an uphill sonic battle, it doesn?t matter how good your ideas are if what your plugged into can?t represent them accurately.

If you have something to record with, play it once through with your fingers and then switch and do it slap-style. Listen back and see what it sounds like. It?s inevitable that the slapped version (in most cases) will probably be a little louder than the fingerstyle version.

Try lightening up your touch a little bit if it?s louder one way versus another. It?s never going to be 100% identical but you can get it really close with practice. It does take some getting used to, but it?s an important thing to consider. Another incentive to do this is that it actually is a really beneficial exercise because it will help you with dynamics.

You don?t need brand new strings but if your strings are dead they won?t be doing you any favors if they prevent what you?re doing from being heard the mix. It doesn?t matter if they are roundwounds or flats, they just have to have some life in them.

Hi all. I'm a complete newbie, so please be gentle!

I've been playing the guitar for a couple of years and would consider myself intermediate, but I had a bass guitar as a present this Xmas, so I've only been playing it a few days. It's interesting being a complete novice again! The guitar is an Ibanez SG400, in case that makes any difference.

Anyway, I've been trying to play some slap bass... My first goal is to play Hot Water.

The problem is that most of the time, when I slap the strings with my thumb, I hear the harmonic very strongly, but not the actual fretted note. So, basically, all I'm hearing is the much higher-pitched harmonics, which vary in pitch depending on where I slap the string at the pickups. But I never strongly hear the note I want to hear.

I thought it might be my amp setup... since I don't actually have one! I know it's a bad idea to use my regular guitar amp, and I don't have a bass amp, so I've been plugging my bass into a POD, which is plugged into a PreSonus interface, which is then monitored through my computer speakers. But if I play the bass unamplifed, I can still hear the harmonics and very little else.

Is this a common problem? Can someone tell me what I'm doing wrong? Thanks guys.

check that your pickups are screwed down properly. if they are loose, you get a definite 'squeak', it happened to me recently, and it was doing my head in until i figured it out..

edit - sorry forget that, i didn't read the bit about it being the same when unplugged !

I think it's just a case of working on your thumb technique-after all it's only been a couple

of weeks.

You don't need to hit the string hard,but you need to do it hard enough so that the fundamental notes is clear.

If you hit the string quite lightly you tend to get a effect the same as 'tapped' harmonics. It also helps if you

hit the string right at the end of the fingerboard.

It's difficult to explain in writing-try to find someone who can show you where you are going wrong.

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