A good exercise for double-thumb slap technique...

[Gruuve]

Hey folks:

 

I thought I'd share this since it seems to be a good exercise. By "double-thumb slap technique", what I'm referring to is the Wooten-style slap down/pluck up method of using your thumb only to get two notes. (Forget the Wooten-style double-pops for now.)

 

The hardest part of that technique IMO is getting the down-slap and up-pluck to sound the same (and that's after you are executing the motions successfully), so here's an exercise that I've found that helps me tremendously with that, and it's very simple:

 

SlapDown PluckUp SlapDown Mute PluckUp SlapDown PluckUp Mute

 

If you count it as 16th's, you would count "1 e and...2 e and...3 e and...4 e and...". Start on one note to get a feel for it, then do scales with it so that your thumb and hand can learn how the different strings feel while doing it.

 

It's effective because you are alternating how you play the 3 notes...it becomes blantantly obvious when the down slaps and up plucks don't sound the same. Do it very slowly at first and work up speed, but back down the speed when you become inconsistent (like any other practice technique).

 

Other tips...I find that it's crucial to keep your wrist and thumb relaxed...if you tighten up your wrist and/or thumb, that not only causes fatique, it also doesn't *sound* as good. I have to remind myself to relax my hand.

 

Also, I find that it's easier to execute consistently if I do it with minimal force (ie. light to medium light) rather than by smackin' the snot out of it. YMMV.

 

You can also practice it with all notes muted (mixing muted ghost notes and unmuted notes in slap technique usually sounds quite good, muting/unmuting on demand is a good skill to foster). Use the fleshy part of your thumb (where it connects to your hand) to mute on the up-plucks, and use either the same area or attacking part of your thumb to mute on the down-slaps (which works better for you will depend on string spacing and how big your thumb is, I believe).

 

I've found this exercise has helped me make a decent jump in accuracy, so aspiring double-thumpers give it a try!

 

Cheers,

Dave

 

[_Sweet Willie_]

Is this coming in handy on your church gig?

 

Peace.

--s-uu

 

[jeremy c]

It's for his Bill Dickens tribute band.

[zeronyne]

It's for his Bill Dickens tribute band.

 

http://www.buzzlife.com/forums/images/smilies/lmao.gif

[Gruuve]

Is this coming in handy on your church gig?

 

Peace.

--s-uu

 

Yes, in fact...there was a song a couple weeks ago that was served well by a double-thumped riff.

 

Dave

 

[Rowbee]

If it's something new you've learnt to do then squeeze it into any song or musical situation - especially if you've mastered it that very day. Everyone will love it and you'll feel damned good about yourself. It will work especially well in a ballad.

[Brocko777]

Dave,

Seriously wondering when you apply this technique?

Is it tunes that actually use it or do you put it in to add color and texture?

Could you give an example.

Brocko

[Gruuve]

Dave,

Seriously wondering when you apply this technique?

Is it tunes that actually use it or do you put it in to add color and texture?

Could you give an example.

Brocko

 

How about this: I'm going to try to record a clip or two of the new Roscoe bass today...I'll do a riff that is purely or mostly double-thumped as an example. Cool?

 

The church tune that comes to mind is "You're Worthy of My Praise", which is a tune with a great groove. I did a double-thumped slap bass line in the verses (interspersed with plenty of rests), and a fingerstyle walked and syncopated bass line in the choruses. It worked really well for the tune. So, I guess the answer would be "to add color and texture"...but done in a way that supports rather than overpowering all the other instruments (or that's my intention anyway). That song, for instance, benefits from a bass line that grooves hard in the verses without a lot of melodic/harmonic movement, then introduces some melodic/harmonic movement in the choruses to kick the excitement level up a notch.

 

I generally try to (at least somewhat) seperate the bass line from the technique used to create it. Just like my 3 and 4-finger plucking, you don't have to do measure upon measure of 32nd notes to use an interesting technique like this. You can use it because it sounds different. When I have a bass line in my head, I will often experiment with using different techniques to do the same (or roughly the same) bass line, and pick the one that I think fits the song the best. In my mind, that's the reason to have a good toolbox of technique to pull from...you can do the same bassline but make it sound different by using a different right-hand technique. Each bassist can make their own decision about how many tools they have...if ain't useful to you, don't bother learning it...if you think it might be useful, then definitely put some work into it. It's an individual decision.

 

Dave

 

[_Sweet Willie_]

It's an individual decision.

 

 

True dat.

 

Peace.

--s-uu

 

[Gruuve]

OK folks, here's a simple example of a double-thumped riff (first half of the riff...this is actually the new Roscoe, 1st pass is both pups, 2nd pass is bridge only, 3rd pass is neck only).

 

The slapped part of this riff is mostly double-thumps (except for the high part on count 4...it's a double-pop and hammer-on).

 

http://www.ipass.net/davesisk/music/soundclips/Roscoe_CenterBridgeNeck.mp3

 

The verse riff in the church song I mentioned above was very similar to this, except rests on count 4 rather than the high part (and of course, it followed the song's chord progression rather than just sitting on one chord). But this is good enough to get the idea across, I think.

 

Enjoy,

Dave

 

[Sanvean]

Thanks Dave.

[Gruuve]

You're welcome.

 

So, I should add...the reason I find this technique useful is that it *sounds* different. I could, for instance, do the same slapped riff by doing perpendicular slaps and using index-finger pops on the same string (ie. popping the same string that I'm slapping instead of the typical octave or other interval) rather than thumb up-plucks (actually, maybe "thumb pops" is a better description?)...but that just doesn't *sound* the same. In that lies the usefulness, IMO.

 

Dave

 

[Sanvean]

My problem with this, is that when I go to slap down (graze) to set the pluck up, I often kill the note.

 

What is the angle of attack? The pluckup is not the problem.

[Gruuve]

I had the same problem dude. Practice practice practice! I added a ramp to my main bass at the time, and that helped quite a bit (keeps your thumb from going too far under the string), but I don't seem to need it now. Concentrate on slapping it downward...say a 45 degree attack angle or better. Also, concentrate on pushing down on the next string down so that your thumb doesn't choke the note you just slapped (just make sure you don't tighten-up your wrist when you do this...I can't stress enough that a relaxed wrist and thumb is not only healthier, it actually sounds better too!). Be sure to get your hand into the position where you can easily palm-mute...that actually makes it a little harder at first, but some things just don't sound very good unless they are muted, so go ahead and teach your hand to be ready! Finally, try to catch the string with mostly the side tip of your thumb, both on the up and down stroke. Do whatever exercises you do slowly, and make them sound right...reasonable speed will develop automatically after your hand learns exactly what to do.

 

HTH,

Dave

 

[Sanvean]

Ok will do Dave!

Thanks!

[Gruuve]

Disclaimer here...I don't make any claims to being any kind of expert, so YMMV. I'm still mastering this technique myself...what I've described is what works for me, it may or may not work well for anyone else!

 

Dave