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How exactly do you slap?


BoredGuitarist7

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I am a newbie at Bass Playing... Sorry about all the threads by me, by the way.

 

Anyways. How exactly do you slap? Everywhere I have looked it just tells you to hit it with your thumb and them pop up underneath the other strings. I can do the pop just fine. I am having trouble getting the slapping down; it always hits the pickups. I realize this takes a long time to learn, I just want to get down how to do it. :rolleyes:

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Try slapping closer to the neck, let your thumb's knuckle strike the string where it meets the end of the last fret.

You want it to either

1) bounce (sort of a whipping kind of motion, if you hit it and leave it there you'll mute it)

 

or

 

2) slide onto the next string (you should develop this technique if you want to get into wooten's double thumping style) while grazing the string with your knuckle so it bangs against the fretboard.

 

The 2nd one is harder to start out with and if you are trying it, make sure your thumb doesn't get in the way of the string once it descends, or you'll mute it. The first one is pretty standard.

 

At least this is how I do it. I'm sure you can find youtube videos too.

 

Good luck

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You should try slapping over the edge of the fretboard if you haven't already.

 

+1

 

ill try to explain how i learned. keep in mind i am a slapping novice at my best.

 

make a thumps up with your plucking hand and relax all the fingers except the thumb until your hand makes a curve similar to a bass clef.

 

then bounce your thumb on the string of your choosing. then for the pop you take the curved index or middle finger if you prefer and snag it under the strung you want to pop.

 

try practicing while fretting octaves and fifths. :thu:

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A lot of the instructional stuff I've seen says at the edge of the fretboard and such, but I feel more comfortable and get a better tone playing close to the bridge... That's probably because I have horrible technique though ;)

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I am starting to get into slap like I never have before. At first I kind of dug it, but then kind of grew distasteful of it b/c of it's prevalence amongst 'bass shredders' (:o).

 

There's different ways to do it, I'm old school in that I was taught the do kind of a rotating wrist motion (towards to thumb/p, away to pop), but I know people who do just do more of a hardcore fingerstyle kind of thing... you can get really fast doing that.

 

Something that's helping me get better at it now that I'm kinda interested again is to practice scales doing it. Just alternating between slapping and popping, on the same string even. I think it's important to be able to do both on every string. Oh and another thing, left hand articulation is really important b/c it can kinda help you play more notes than you could just slapping and popping (which is a little less efficient than normal plucking/picking). And of course muting w/ your left hand. And a million other things. :o

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Great instruction, but couldn't you find one without such an ugly mofo playing? Seriously, my eyes...........

 

 

You are supposed to be watching his hands and the strings. :poke: :facepalm:

 

 

I think it's as good a video on slapping as any I've seen.

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You are
supposed
to be watching his hands and the strings. :poke:
:facepalm:


I think it's as good a video on slapping as any I've seen.

 

The ugly at the top of the screen draws my eyes like a train wreck. You don't want to look, but you have no choice.

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The ugly at the top of the screen draws my eyes like a train wreck. You don't
want
to look, but you have no choice.

 

 

LOL. :)

 

 

I think he looks very confident in front of the camara though. On some YouTube videos, the teacher comes across as very hesitant and not sure what to say next.

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A lot of the instructional stuff I've seen says at the edge of the fretboard and such, but I feel more comfortable and get a better tone playing close to the bridge... That's probably because I have horrible technique though
;)

 

Why would you hit the edge of the fretboard? :confused:

 

I use the space between the end of the fretboard and the pickup, avoiding both.

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