Help Luke learn to Slap! :-)

....haha - I'm waiting for the taxi to take me to the airport now. :d

Now I'm confused! To bounce, or to thumb through?!?

Maybe this needs a poll!

:lol:

See you in a couple of days.

;)
 
Somewhere in between Use it like a whip, not like a hammer.
Splash!
:-)

Have a safe flight matey!
 
So I came into this thread to recommend Slap It. So the good news is that the book seems very standard, so I must have picked right. Bad news is, this thread has me seriously doubt my own slap technique! I've never really spent much time on learning slap, and most of that time was by using Slap It, and it seems to me I learned the way Eberbachl did (correct me if I'm wrong). When I slap, I use the thumb a la the 'double thump' technique exclusively - meaning most of the time I 'single thump'.

There are definitely some mixed messages in this thread, but I'd like to know if there really is a standard slap technique, and what it is.
 
There is no "standard slap technique" If you can do it in a relaxed way, and if you are fast that way, and if you have a good sound, then it is a good slap technique. The "thumb down" technique has the advantage that you can keep the bass lower.

But the most used technique, is with the bass kept fairly high. The movement of the hand is a combination between a rotation, and a movement from back to forward. The thumb hits the string like a whip, and gows down, even rests to the next string.
It is usually called the "thumb up" technique, because you have the thumb pointing up.
Check my little sloppy video. The most important thing is to do it in a really relaxed way.
 
Thanks Florin, my mistake was thinking that 'thumb up' and resting on the next string were mutually exclusive and was confused at first. But i got it now, and good video too.
 
So flo obviously our two techniques to
slapping are different. but with your slap
technique, how does it improve speed.
It seems to me like there would be more
movement involved to bring it back into
slap position.
 
Not really. When you have to slap really fast, the movement is really economical, so it is basically a bounce off movement. But as an intention it is a "through the string" movement. Hard to explain, haha :-)
Anyway, whatever technique you chose, if it sounds solid and allow you to improve your licks, then it is good.
A good friend of mine - Zamolxed on this forum noticed that if you wanna play "aeroplane" by rhcp, the thumb down technique (flea style) is working better, keeps the train goin' better :-)
So there is no right or wrong technique here.
...................................................................................
But the most economical, and ergonomical, and anatomical, and minimal technique will be the fastest one.
And this is with the hand rotating in it's natural way - thumb up

HAH! I had the last word again :-)))
 
1 2 3 4 i declare thumb war haha
Slap speed off haha
Just for fun :)
Anyone who wants to join we'll post clips.

The speed test is straight 8th notes on any
string of your choosing.

And when you post put down the BPM.

5 6 7 8 try and move your thumb straight

HA i got the last word :lol:

But seriously ;) thumb off
 
I think if you're doing repeated thumbs then the bouncing off the string could be a little faster, but I find thumbing through the string sets me up for a faster pop.

Either way - I don't care about speed. What I'm after is good clean technique and a nice sound.

I find that palm muting seems easier for me when I'm bouncing off the string - thumbing through the string doesn't seem so easy for me to mute other strings and I seem to get some sympathetic ringing.

My left hand muting is fine - if I'm thumbing the E string, muting A, D and G with my left hand is no problem, but if I'm thumbing the A, D or G string I get some ringing from the E, A or D when thumbing through the string. If I'm bouncing off the string I seem to be able to palm mute these strings OK. Does that make sense?

I don't know which technique is best - I'm still trying both.

Might post another vid tomorrow.

:d
 
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Use both. whatever fits for the moment. I switch between both like doing triplets its

E X X X
The first X would be a palm muted thumb
The second X would be a ghost note with your hand
The third X would be like the first.

try and mess with a lot of techniques and see what works.
 
Sure - I think using both depending on circumstances is a good approach!

;)

Here's a quick mp3 - I promise another video soon :d

We're on the way out, so I thought I'd quickly record this exercise before I get nagged too much to get ready! :lol:

Thumbing on the D string takes practice to get a good and clean sound.

More practice required!

:d

Slap Example 2
 
Hey Luke. I noticed in your first video that you were doing quite a lot with your left hand. When I was learning to slap (not claiming to be an expert here, guys) I used a really simple riff so that I could focus exclusively on the actual slap technique. Excuse the use of tab, its the easiest way for me to explain:

G---------------------|
D------5------5------|
A---------------------|
E--0-3---0-3----3h5--|

Once you've got comfortable with playing that at various speeds you can use the same riff in different areas of the fretboard (eg play on A and G instead of E and D, or move it higher up) and throw in some improv as well.

And ofcourse, the other option is the 'if-your-hands-are-free-play-your-bass' method. Watching teli, listening to the radio, sittin on the toilet....whatever your doing, if it doesn't involve the use of your hands then have your bass on your lap - not necessarily plugged in - and slap those strings.
 
As I said before, from listening to you clip, its just a matter of time.

And a side note when your doing the syncopated pops (the + of the beat)
are you intentionally doing a ghost not on the beats?
Because if you aren't thats a bad habit to keep up.

MUY BUENO
 
What about popping? Do you guys use index or middle finger? I use index on D but I find I am losing the G string with it, so I use middle for that. I don't know if this is a good thing to do or if it will limit me later. Do you think it's a bad habit? Note: I am learning on a 5 string.
 
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Thanks Everyone ;)

Pedro - Yes...I see your point. I am doing alot of exercises in this book that as you suggest just work on technique. I'm not recording any of those 'cause they're pretty boring. I'm just recording the exercises that have a little more interest.

;)

Kyle - what I'm playing there is exactly as written - I'm reading the exercise from my slap It! book ;) The ghost notes are written in there. I don't habitually play them. The ghost notes are written on the beat of the two three and four in the first bar, the two of the second bar, and on the 'an' of beat three and the 'e' of beat four in the second bar when counting the sixteenths as '3-e-an-a'.

:d

Jester - Not sure if it's right or wrong, but I only pop with my index finger, regardless of which string I'm popping.

;)
 
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jester said:
What about popping? Do you guys use index or middle finger? I use index on D but I find I am losing the G string with it, so I use middle for that. I don't know if this is a good thing to do or if it will limit me later. Do you think it's a bad habit? Note: I am learning on a 5 string.
Click to expand...
I've noticed they give two different sounds. I use the index for soloing, and sometimes the middle for heavy slap octaves :-)
 
The rationale behind this is that both index and middle go under D and G string regardless of whether I am slapping E or A, meaning their approach is identical every time and can be automated in a sense. The only thing that remains is slight adjustment of the thumb to select E or A when slapping.
 
this thread is really useful for technique! I tend to use only middle finger for popping, my index doesn't feel strong enough.

Just out of interest, how do u play a 'ghost note', i've been learning a few guitar pieces with ghost notes and i have no idea what it means.
 
A ghost note is a note that is picked (slapped, popped) with the right hand, and muted with the left hand. Keep all your fingers over the strings, to have just a POP, not a note or a harmonic.
So on a 5 strings bass, you really have 5 possible ghost notes :-)
 
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