Double thump videos....

[SavedByJaco]

I've looked through the forum, but I can't find what I'm looking for...

Does any body have a link to a free double thump technique tutorial video, I've tried googleing it and I keep on getting that Jim Lee video you have to pay for...

 

Any help would be really nice, I don't want to try to buy video unless I have too....

[Danthaman]

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4449818176212403705&q=victor+wooten

 

Like this?

[theTragicRich]

thanks alot, I will now quit bass

[jmrunning3]

Wow!

 

I wish I had more practice time in a 24 hour period.

[Gruuve]

Thanks for posting this! That double-thump double-pop technique is something on my list to learn. I've been slowly working on thumb picking for a while now, and I've gotten at least down strokes pretty consistent (the key for me was to not pluck too hard). I'm working on getting the thumb up-stroke consistent, but still got a ways to go.

 

Today, I actually started working on some exercises to combine the thumb up-down and the double-pops. The double pops don't seem that difficult to me, but that thumb up-stroke is going to take some practice. Anyway, I can do 16th notes at about 40-50 beats per minute, about 70-80% consistent. Yeah, I know...that's about a quarter of Vic's tempo, but you gotta start somewhere.

 

For me, this technique means fundamentally changing how I approach slap. I've always slapped mostly perpendicular to the fretboard (in other words, I knock the string into the frets). To be able to get an up-stroke (unless you got enough room and dexterity to hook your thumb under the string...I don't!), you pretty much have to hit the string from the top and let your thumb move almost parallel to the fretboard. Then, your thumb is in position to execute an up-stroke. The thumb parts aren't as bright as I'm used to, so that has been a mental block for me. But, watching Vic on this video again, I noticed that his thumb parts aren't all that bright either (but certainly brighter than mine). However, I think once you get going fast the lack of brightness in the thumb part may very well be masked by the brightness you get from the two following pops. I dunno....I'm going to put some practice time into this technique and see if I can get it up to at least 16th's at around 100pbm and 90+% consistent.

 

The encouraging part for me was that I did the same thing with 4-finger picking about 6 months ago. It took me a month or two of pretty focused practice to get the technique solid enough to actually use, but it was worth it. I started 4-finger picking 16th's at about 50-60 bpm, then kept practicing and varying tempos until I could get it fairly consistent at around 100 bpm. Now, I can do 16th's and short bursts of sixtuplets at around 120 bpm very consistently, and peak out at around 140-150 bpm with it mostly consistent (at that tempo, a missed note or two every measure isn't very noticeable!). I'm hoping this technique will be similar in terms of progress I can make and what I can execute with it.

 

Dave

[Ross Brown]

Originally posted by polyrhythm:

thanks alot, I will now quit bass

I'm out....

[Gruuve]

Oh come guys...you can learn this! If I can, I know you guys can...just have some patience and belief in yourself.

 

Very important things:

1) Use a metronome, drum machine, or some other timing device. This helps you focus on getting the notes consistent and even. Also, when you see the tempo at which you can do something like this improve by 5 bpm each day or so, you realize it's only a matter of time and practice until you can wail away with it. For me, seeing my own progress (even in very small incremental improvements) is a strong motivator.

 

2) Use many short practice sessions instead of one long one. Three 10-minute practice sessions are much better than one 30 minute practice session. It builds your ability to recall how to do something as well as your ability to do it once you've recalled it. Plus, especially when you start getting old (like me!), this helps prevent cumulative trauma injuries like tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome.

 

Dave

[espowari]

What part of your thumb do you use to do the up stroke? It seems to hurt my fingernail when I try this...

[Gruuve]

Not that I'm an expert on this, but either the left top corner of my thumb (if I've got my hand further from the strings in more of a finger-picking position), or the left side of my thumb near the first knuckle (if I've got my hand closer to the string in more of a popping position). Haven't figured out which is going to be most comfortable and consistent yet, or I might end-up using both based on the position my hand is in.

 

I keep my fingernails short generally, but my thumb does get sore. Just gotta let some calouses build up. Also, try doing it lightly...if it's hurting, you may be trying to do it too hard. I'm thinking this may be one of those techniques that works better when you turn the amp way up and play softly.

 

Dave

[espowari]

I'm all about keeping my nails super short ever since I started playing again last year. I'm a secret nail file guy...

 

:>

[Chad Thorne]

Impressive - but I'm at a loss to think of where I would ever use this technique.

[Dave Brown]

"That's about it. Good luck; have fun with it."

 

Right.

[Gruuve]

LOL, DB...if only it were that easy for us mere mortals...

 

Dave

[Ross Brown]

Originally posted by Dave Brown:

"That's about it. Good luck; have fun with it."

 

Right.

Kinda like when someone says "I don't really know much about this but..." and then they tell you more than you ever wanted to know.

 

About this technique, I also wondered when I personally would use it. I am not a big solo artist. I do admit it would be fun just for the challenge of it. Also would be good to throw in here and there... oh well just thinking... hmmmm

[Gruuve]

Valid points here...if there's something you think you'll rarely use, why bother learning it? For me, I tend to be more of a rhythmic player than a melodic player, so I think I'll see good use out of it, just as I have the 4-finger picking. If I'm going to embellish something, I'm more likely to do it from a rhythmic perspective moreso than a melodic perspective, although this depends on the song of course. So, I think I'll get quite a bit of mileage out of it, assuming I put the work into getting it proficient enough that I can actually use it. I'm not much of a soloist either, but I see anything that has a rhythmic element as contributing to the collective bag o' grooves that I can dish out as needed.

 

Dave

[picker]

Yeah, guys like Wooten have gigs that not many of us will ever be up for, and they do things the rest of us in that great unwashed bass majority won't ever need to do. But, even if you may never have an opportunity to play a G diminished/flatted 7th scale from low to high and back to low, it doesn't mean you shouldn't learn how. The more technique you learn, the better your technique can get. Also, you never know where you'll use something till you've gotten it under your belt and gone on playing. Opportunities for that sort of thing pop up in weird places. So, it doesn't hurt to swat up a few "outside" techniques here and there, and figure out ways to put them to use.

 

But you know, I'd like to see a video on turnarounds and leading phrases, things that propel music and guide musicians from one progression to another. That would be a great video if it were done right...

[Ross Brown]

So much to learn, so little time. I do agree that it is important to build the technique repetoir.

[Salvador]

I tried the thumb thing once, and got frustrated. That was good, because it led to work on 3 finger technique, and I'm getting good at it. But I,m the first one to say that the best thing about 3 fingers is that you don't need them most of the time... anyway, I'm going to give this thumb thing another try...

[Gruuve]

"Use your thumb like a guitar pick". Sure *sounds* simple, doesn't it? That said, even if someone does't want to tackle the double-thumb technique (which is what I find the hardest), there's certainly some benefit to working on the two-finger pops. Those double-pops by themselves open up some groove possibilities that don't exist with one-finger pops.

 

Salvador...if you've gotten 3 fingers mostly mastered, try adding the 4th finger. I did that...there's four 16th notes in a beat and 4 fingers on my right hand...it just made too much intuitive sense (and carries too much economy of motion benefit) to not put some time into it...or that was my opinion anyway.

 

Dave

[Salvador]

Do you the thumb or the pinky as the 4th finger?

[josh a]

Is that video legal?

[Gruuve]

Salvador...I do the pinky as the 4th finger. I'm trying to work the thumb into that for some 5-finger stuff, but I haven't put a whole lot of focused practice into that yet. But, practice I put into the double-thumb technique ought to carry over to that as well. I figure I've got 5 fingers on my picking hand...might as well learn how to use them all.

 

Josh A...I seriously doubt it...

 

Dave

[Salvador]

I have tried the 4 finger technique with the pinky, but my pinky is kind of short compared to my other fingers, which makes it more difficult. I like to use the thumb instead, it feels more natural to me.

 

You know, I should practice both ways just for learning something new. It should be fun...

[Danthaman]

Originally posted by josh a:

Is that video legal?

I guess, it's on Google video, or am I being gullible now?...

[Gruuve]

My pinkie is shorter too, so I kind of position my hand a little differently, which actually ends up with my wrist being straighter, so I think that's a good thing. I *think* I slightly roll my hand right to left as I 4-finger pick...I think...I guess I'll have to watch myself and see for sure...

 

Dave

[rdepelteau]

Great technique, I was looking for a fast picking bass technique. Being a guitar player with very fast picking, I was often frustrated when playing bass having to go slow where I wanted to drop in a full scale in short order. Here it is, I started right away, got the gist of it last night, and will use what little I've learned so far. A quick triple here and there, until I have the technique fluent enough to do scale with it, then watch out, I'll almost be a real bass player...

[SavedByJaco]

Thanks alot, I actually already almost got it down now, not that fast granted, I had been attempting it for a while, I now I figured out what I was doing wrong, thanks!

 

and don't quit the bass, if you stay with it long enough (longer for some, not as long for others), it will become your life.

[Gruuve]

We should note for future reference...there's another way to get a double-thump with the thumb while keeping the economy of motion factor (ie. not have to actually hit it twice or "bounce" your thumb on the string). I have always slapped almost perdendicular to the fretboard rather than down toward the string underneath. That gives me a very bright sound on the slap, where I get a thuddier sound by down-slapping/down-plucking/whatever you want to call it. So, something I'm teaching my hands to do is to slap the string almost perpendicular like I've always done (maybe just a little of a downward angle to it), then pluck down for a second note. The perpendicular slap is very bright and holding my thumb there mutes it, then the down pluck is not as bright but has a little more tone. I'm going to keep working on this technique as well...I just kind of stumbled across it while practicing the up/down pluck, and it seems like it might be quite useful.

 

I haven't really worked with this any at this point, but it would also be possible to slap the string a little downward, let your thumb go through that string as part of the slap, then do a down-pluck on the string underneath, finally coming to rest on the 3rd string downward. Or combine this with what I said above, and maybe get 3 notes out of one motion? (Hope you can get a mental picture from that description.)

 

Dave

[Fred TBP]

Thanks for the post, SavedByJaco and thanks for the vote of confidence, Mr. Sisk. Thanks to the video, I've learned something to work into my routine over the next few weeks and just see it as another plateau to climb. I may not need to slap this way for a while, but the opportunity to use this will come up sooner or later, and I'd rather be prepared. You can never learn enough bass, IMHO.

[jeremy c]

Yeah, I used that technique on Mustang Sally the other night.

 

 

In my dreams.