To Slap Or Not To Slap..........

[smokin_dave]

Recently I was playing a holliday gig for a private party and one of the party go'ers was a bass player/teacher who started a conversation with me on our break.He asked me if I slapped or not and I guess I dissapointed him with my answer which was no.He said but you are such a good player,why not?For one I really don't want to since I never have been able to get my thumb and plucking fingers to do that sort of thing to really sound good.
  I can do that half assed but thats not my style.He also asked why I hadn't played a solo and if I was going to.Nope.I don't solo either.Mainly for the same reason.I don't want to sound half assed.I feel like I'm soloing anyway just playing the music I'm hired to play.Nothing satisfied this guy until he asked me what kind of bass I was using.I told him and his eye's got wide and saidWhoa,those are expensive.HAHA.
    Anyway,I've never been a music store bassist to impress anybody who may be listening.I've alway's stuck to the basics and it's kept me employed for a long time.I do admire anybody who can do the Billy Sheehan,Stu Hamm,Jaco,Victor Wooten thing though.I'll never be one of those type of players however much to the dismay of some.

[kmh364]

Opinions are like *-h*les, everyone's got one, and they all stink, LOL!
 
Sounds like you're doin' just fine the way you are, SD. I'd say keep on keepin' on!
 
Cheers,
 
Kevin

[keith_h]

Dave,
From your description the guy doesn't sound like he would be a very good teacher. If he were he would realize that each person has their own style and playing preferences. While I do slap some I also think a number of folks take slapping to far by slapping when it is inappropriate. As for soloing I'm with you. I get enough satisfaction stepping outside the pocket during a song that I don't feel the need to solo. When I rarely take a solo it is with great reluctance. While I also admire the great soloing bassists out there are also a number of bass players that have never stepped out that I also admire. I don't think you should worry about how dismayed some stranger might be. It is they that have the small mind. You only have yourself to satisfy (or the band leader writting the check :-) ).  
 
Keith

[jlpicard]

Dave, I love all those great players from Stanley to Victor and I have been known to do my share of showy playing, but I earnestly believe that the greatest thing you can do on your instrument ( and one of the most difficult ), is to consistantly lay down a great groove or play that one right note at that right time if you follow my gist? As bassists we surely must have great respect AND Love for the groove or we never would have been drawn to the bass in the first place. Follow your own muse Dave, and play from the heart. You'll get far more satisfaction and acollades if you do. Mike

[gare]

Dave
Don't feel like the one ranger..
I don't slap, pop, nor chew myself.
Just never got into it, more power to those that do tho. And I've never been one to do an impromptu concert in a store while checking out equipment. I actually concentrate on accessing a bass or an amp rather than a 'hey y'all watch this'.    
More than a few times I've been asked why don't you play this way, or it that way etc..well..cuz I don't.
Not trying to be closed minded about techinque etc, but until I master something at least to my liking I generally don't use it except while practicing.

[beelee]

Well said, Kevin, Keith and Mike there's not much I can add, I couldn't agree with you more.
 
Its nice to be able to slap and tap etc. solo as well
 
but playing what's best for the song should come first
 
and there is an appropriate time and place to do those other things. knowing when to do them and when not to makes for a good bassist.
 
I'm pretty sure Jaco never slapped or tapped ( from everything I've read about and listened to) and he was a monster !!
 
I'd like to hear what that so-called bass player/teacher  has to say about that !
 
as long as you have work, and people want you to play with them......you know you must be doing something right........stick with it !!
 
and if you really want to learn how to do / play those other things......you will.
 
Bruce

[bassfingers]

Dave,
    It sounds to me like you're doing just fine as you are mate.Do what you love and love what you do.You were the Bassist working that night,not him.As Mike say's,continue to play from the heart,'cause when you do,technical criticism really is missing the point.
 
          Illegitimus non carborundum,Baby!.
 
    (Don't let the b******s grind you down!)
 
                     Best Wishes,
 
                         Simon.

[smokin_dave]

Well,I've been plucking wire on wood for a very long time now and I've never let anybody's opinion,good or bad,steer me away from locking in with the drummer and laying down a solid foundation for the proper solo members of the band,guitarist,singers,key's ect.I greatly respect and admire the players I mentioned before but I don't want to sound like them,I want to sound like me,to find my own voice.Always remember that the heart and soul of music comes from the beat and the groove mainly supplied by the percussion and bass.It's what gets the girls up to shake that thang and that's mostly what keeps me going night after night.It's Blues with a feeling baby.Thanks for the reply's,happy holidays and a prosperous new year and may all of your Alembic dreams come true my friends.

[palembic]

To repeat my profile's quote:  
I-V, I-V, I-V, T-V, I-V, ...
Being on stage I always play for people. I like the music to come over and as a bassplayer I can do a lot to make that happen. Oh ...an applause is not what I am aiming at but that little tic of a foot, that wiggling of the head in rhythm, a tapping of the hand on the table.
So I am not a neck watcher but I'd like to be with the audience.  
I'm not into slapping and stuff though there is one song our bandleader asks it to use that technique. I am not good at it but ...I am learning.
Another tune we play -Bill Whithers' Who is He?- we open with a bass solo. I don't like to do it. In the 25 times it was on our playlist I only managed ONCE to make that solo decent. I will never be a solo artist but I know it is very important for my feeling well as a bassplayer that I learn to make the jump in the emptiness and LEARN to handle solo's.
For me it has to do with self-confidence and accepting my limits.
It's a work in progress!
Though I know that one will only become a true master by choosing carefully the notes you are not playing so ...that stands for soloing too!
Anyway ...the learning and balancing process is in full progress with this guy.
 
Paul TBO

[jazzyvee]

I'm not a mad thumb slapping, string popping bass playing motherplucker at all.
 
I agree with all thats been said here, slapping is very much a personal thing. I can slap but not with any great degree of jaw dropping dexterity and only do it when covering songs that are done with that technique, such as Clarkee and Marcus.  
 
Most of my bass playing gigs ( quite rare recently) are jazz, funk, fusion and rnb so there is quite a bit of slapping at times but i try to avoid it for solo's.
 
Now on that note, any advice on slapping techniques. I recently got a Marcus Miller video and a already have a clarkee dvd. I've been watching the difference in their technique.
 
Clarkee seems to do a number of slapping moves.
1) Initially he comes down vertically onto the top of the string string, not slapping it horizontally against the fretboard, but ending up hitting it with the inside edge of his thumb ending up with his thumb resting on the next string down. ( which is where I picked up the learned to do it). That seems to give more bass and less of a click and treble bite.
 
2) For faster slapping he seems to slap horizontally, wrist twisting style between the neck pickup and end of the neck. Again less click and a bit meaty.
 
Marcus seems to slap horizontally against the base of the neck and only goes vertcal when doing that flamenco bass double thumbing thing.
 
Well I just wanted to know do you have to set your action a lot higher to do that double thumbing technique?
 
I do like the idea of trying these things... but never would do it live until I'm well versed in it.
 
Just one more question, are there any exercises that you know of for hands and fingers that are good for musicians?
Jazzy

[mpisanek]

I am not a slapper either!
 
There is a time and a place for all types of bass playing, and I prefer to steer clear of using the slapping and popping techniques because I am not great at them.  Because of this, I would not be into playing funk, or disco where this type of playing is very prevelant.  
 
More power to those that can though!!

[David Houck]

Jazzy; which Clarke video do you have?

[gare]

Jazzy
Try a Gripmaster, lets you exercise individual fingers as well as wrist etc. Try a net search for more info.
Good subject for another thread.
 
Now back to the movie

[ajish4]

What a great thread!  
 
THANK YOU!
 
And I thought I was alone in this boat! I'm always asked if I slap & pop. I'm just not comfortable with it at all.  
 
I'm more of a harmonics, slide, 1st, 3rd, 5th and let the sustain RING ON FOREVER kind of player and I like my action LOW Low low...In only play in church (a Lutheran one by the way-just getting modern instruments in the door is a miracle in itself  ) so the music lends itself to my style of playing.  
 
If I started to slap and pop, that is just what the parishioners would be doing. SLAPPING their chests, and POPPING over dead if they heard that being played in our church! I personally think it's kind of cool, and I don't mind listening to it or watching it done once in a while, it's just not for me.  
 
And on a final OCD note, I cherish my basses. I've waited over 20 years for my first Alembic and at that, it was a gift. My family obligations will always take priority in my life. The thought of going out and spending $4000.00 plus on a bass for myself, would be ludicrous. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to have a custom made Alembic, but if I'm still around when the kids are married and on their own, watch out VISA-here I come!  
 
Added to this, to then take this wonderful instrument and start SLAPPING and POPPING it, just seems like INSTRUMENT ABUSE!  
 
Does anyone know if this style of playing takes its toll on the frets or pickups?

[karl]

Oh, yes, it definitely takes its toll! I've got a beautiful old Jaydee GA24 on which I've been slapping and popping for the last 16 years. As a result, the wooden pickup covers have grooves worn into them under each string and the 24th fret has been replaced twice (I slap and pop right over the last fret). I'm also slowly wearing through the gloss finish under the G string where my index fingernail hits every time I go to pop the top string.
 
I've also got a Status KingBass which I've been using for the last two years, and I'm already wearing a few grooves into the fretboard right at the top (and this thing's phenolic, not wood).
 
All this despite the fact that, as slappers go, I've got a very light touch (super light string gauges, murderously low action etc) - I like to bounce off the strings rather than thump through them . . .
 
No signs of wear and tear yet on the Alembic, though. Not sure why that is - I use it as much as the Status - could be something to do with the spacing of the various elements - end of fretboard, pickups, string action (I have the string action slightly higher on my Alembic than on any of my other basses, simply because it remains just as playable, unlike the others.
 
I get through a heckuva lotta strings, too. Expensive business.
 
K.
www.harambeuk.com
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