The Basics of Slap Bass

Slap Bass History

Exponents of the upright bass have been employing the slap technique since the 1920s, hitting the strings firmly against the fingerboard to ensure their basslines are heard above the other instruments. The slap style came to electric bass in the 1960s, introduced by Larry Graham during a gig without a drummer. Graham took the style, which he called “thumping and plucking” to the funk bands he was a member of, Sly and the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. The thumb slapping technique took off and in the decades since the 1960s has been adopted by bassists in many genres including funk, punk and rock. Notable bassists who use slap include Stanley Clarke, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Mark King and Flea.

What is Slap Bass?

The slap technique is a highly percussive way of playing bass guitar, and involves striking the strings with the side of the thumb. The string hits the fretboard and the fretted note sounds. Muted slaps – called ghost notes, and denoted in written music and tab by an “x” – can add to the percussive effect, and introduce variety to the melody of the bassline. Also crucial to slap bass is the “snapping” sound produced by pulling the strings up and letting them snap back onto the fretboard – this is called “popping”. Of course, all the other more usual techniques of bass playing are still used, such as hammer-ons and crosshammers, lift-offs, slides, string bends and harmonics – but rather than plucking the string with the finger or pick, it might be slapped with the thumb or popped.

Basic Slap Bass Techniques

The Right-Hand Slap

The first basic technique is the right-thumb slap – assuming you are right-handed! This is achieved by striking the desired string – usually the E or A string, although the technique can be used on all strings – firmly and rapidly with the thumb of the right hand by rotating the wrist. Immediately allow the thumb to bounce off the string and the note will ring out. Keep the arm relaxed. Some players slap the E-string, for example, and allow their thumb to slip down to the A-string. This is fine also. Accuracy and technique are the important things to get a clean note.

The Muted Slap

Playing ghost notes can be accomplished by muting the strings during the thumb slap. There are three ways to get the muted slap effect. The easiest way is simply to touch the string lightly and perform the right-hand slap described above. Be careful not to press too hard on the string or you’ll produce a new note. A second way of forming ghost notes is to strike the string as if you are attempting a Right-Hand Slap, but deliberately leave the right hand in contact with the string. This results in a muted slap. Finally, a very common and useful technique employed widely in the slap bass method, is the Left-Hand Slap. It is carried out by simply striking the string against the fingerboard with the fingers of the left hand. Make sure to hit the string and then release the pressure so that you don’t perform a hammer-on – which would result in a note sounding. Also take care not to produce harmonics – most easily produced at frets 5, 7 and 12.

The Popping Technique

Popped notes are normally played with the index and third fingers of the right hand, usually on the D and G strings. Slightly hook the fingertip under the string to be popped, lift it away and then twist the wrist, allowing the string to snap back against the fingerboard and frets. Popped notes have a more percussive sound than a normal plucked note. It is also quite common to pop notes on the E and A strings using the thumb rather than fingers. It is important, when popping straight after a right-hand slap, to position the finger at the same time the thumb makes contact during the downward movement of the hand. So you get a thumb slap on the downward movement, and pop when your hand rebounds. Don’t be tempted to slap, bounce your hand back up, and then bring it back down to perform the pop – the slap and pop technique should be smooth.

The Muted Pop

The muted pop is carried out in exactly the same way as the normal pop, except that you lightly touch the popped string with fingers of the left hand. As with ghost notes produced by muted slapping, be particularly careful not to accidentally play harmonics when attempting the muted pop.

Double Stops and Harmonics

A double stop is simply playing two notes at the same time to give a chord-like effect. They are commonly played on the D and G strings by popping with the index and third fingers, although they can also be played on other string combinations using thumb and finger to pop.

Harmonics have a chime-like sound which can give a nice contrast to a heavy, slapped bassline. They are most easily played at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets, but with care can be played anywhere on the neck – another good place to play them is at the 9th fret. The pitch of harmonics can be bent at the nut – this is a technique that Mark King of Level 42 has used in some of his basslines. Finally, artificial harmonics can be produced by playing a note and then tapping the fret an octave up the neck – that is 12 frets higher. So for example, play 2nd fret on the G string and tap with a finger of the right hand at the 14th fret to produce the artificial harmonic.

Practice Pointers

You should already be familiar with the notes on the neck of the bass if you are generally a fingerstyle or pick-player. In the slap style your best friend is the octave, and whole basslines have been constructed using simple slapped notes and popped octaves – the octave being two strings higher, two frets higher. So 2nd fret E string has an octave at 4th fret D string. Get practising with a right-hand slap followed immediately by its popped octave. This is a very basic technique – and filler – used by slap players.

Practise some of these combinations also:

• Right-Hand Slap – Left-Hand Slap – Repeat……until comfortable, smooth and fast
• Right-Hand Slap – Left-Hand Slap – Right-Hand Muted Slap – Repeat
• Right-Hand Slap – Left-Hand Slap – Right-Hand Muted Slap – Muted Pop – Repeat

Above all, experiment, and try anything that you feel sounds good or right, and have fun! Happy slapping!