Slappers: Do you slap down or slap perpendicular?

[Gruuve]

Do you slap downward and let your thumb come to rest on the next lower string, using the side of your thumb to selectively mute the string you just slapped?

 

Or do you slap more perpendicular to the fretboard and let your thumb either mute the slapped string or float in the air after the slap?

[Luke73]

I'd like to see the results, but it says I have to vote to view the results.

 

I don't want to vote because I don't slap, and therefore would degrade the credibility of the poll.

 

Woe is me

[ArwinH]

I used to slap perpendicular and it's still a little more comfortable for me, but slapping donward gives you a much thicker sound that works much better in transition from other techniques, your volume is mroe even and the strings are vibrating in a similar dircetion to when you pluck/pick.

[dcr]

Good question. I was initially taught to slap by striking the side of the string as the thumb came to rest against the fretboard, between the strings (and, of course, against the next string up). Then I watched the Ed Friedland DVD & he has the thumb going perpendicular & rebounding back up. I'm trying to learn the latter. But there seem to be different approaches; I'm wondering whether the Friedland approach is more conducive to speed?

[Gab]

I used to slap perpendicular but after watching Vic Wooten, i changed to downward strokes. I am trying to copy his chops and You need the upstrokes as well which i can't do with perpendicular slapping. Then again, i'm not much of a slapper in the first place...

[alexclaber]

Thump parallel to the string attacks in a perpendicular fashion. Generally striking the string closer to the neck pickup than the 24th fret, though it varies depending on the note I'm playing and the tone I want. The thumb comes straight off the string and stays poised in mid-air ready for the next strike. All RH muting is done by back edge of palm/hand. And I hit it HARD!

 

Alex

[Gruuve]

I actually voted wrong accidentally (in my own poll! duh!). So, subtract one from the "down" and add one to "perpendicular".

 

I have historically slapped perpendicular, but I've also started to learn the downslap as well...same motivation, get into position to catch an up-stroke. I find this particularly hard to do on standard 17mm string spacing...my thumb is wide enough that when I land on the string below, I have to really concentrate to not completely mute the note I just slapped (assuming I want to let it sustain).

 

But, the thing I've found is that it's also possible to get a thumb double-stroke with perpendicular slap, although it sounds different from Victor Wooten's up-stroke. I've always been able to get a little bounce out of the thumb hit by sort of moving my thumb a little faster than my hand roll...thumb hits first under it's own swing, then hits again as my hand catches up and pushes my thumb back onto the string (this is exactly the same physics as how most drummers get a double-stroke with their kick drum foot...with heel up, drop the leg and extend the ankle faster...1st stroke comes from the ankle motion, second stroke comes from the downward leg momentum). The only issue is that the 2nd note (the bounce) is quieter than the first slap and any subsequent pops. So, if I do double-pops, it sounds like THUMP-thumb-POP-POP. This actually sounds fine when I use it in rhythms...it doesn't sound "right" when I do scales using straight 16th's, though. This approach feels very natural to me, and I can reach some decent and useable speeds with this approach.

 

There's a couple others that I'm working on, though. One means of getting 4 notes per motion is to slap with the thumb, then do 3 successive pops using index, middle, and ring fingers. This one sounds the most consistent...every note has the same timbre and attack, but it's going to take quite a while to build up any speed with it. The finger dexterity takes a while to build up, and that has to come first. This one at least has the potential to work really well with perpendicular slap however, and probably holds the most potential to reach some pretty substantial speeds (for me, anyway).

 

The second approach that I'm working on a bit is to slap with the thumb, then down-pluck with the thumb, then follow with two pops using index and middle fingers. This one also feels quite natural to me, but it'll also take a while to build up consistency. It has an interesting sound...the first note has a sharp attack and is mostly mutely, the second note has a less sharp attack and more pitch, and the final two pops of course have sharp attack and how much pitch depends on how strongly I mute them. It actually seems to work best if I do the down-pluck on the end of the fretboard or the 24th fret...that second note is brighter that way. This could grow into a good technique I think! It works well with perpendicular slap and feels quite natural for the most part.

 

So, the down-slaps feels awkward to me (and the up-strokes feel even more awkward), but I can do it slow so eventually I'm hoping my fingers will get used to the motion and it'll feel more natural.

 

Dave

[wraub]

I voted "perpendicular", but, like Alex, I pretty much do whatever's needed to make the sound I want.

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[alexclaber]

Maybe it's my imagination but I find that it's rather hard to get any slap techniques other than old school thumping and plucking happening with my relatively high action and relatively heavy strings.

 

It's not like my bass has high action, far from it, but it's high enough that I can dig in pretty hard without any buzz, and my strings are relatively stiff feeling 45-105 s/s hexcores.

 

When I think of any notable fancy slappers they all have lighter strings and/or lower action, so they can get the slap from the frets from a much softer attack.

 

Alex

[picker]

I do it so badly, I'm not sure if I should claim to do it one way of the other. I aim at perpendicular, because the Ed Friedland DVD I got on it says to, but who knows?

[Gruuve]

Actually, I like low action and heavier strings. From my experiences, it seems that you can get the action lower without too much buzzing (I actually like a little bit o' fret grind when I really dig in) if the strings have higher tension (usually meaning larger guages...I use 5-string 130-45). The ideal for me is really low action and really taught strings...very taught strings don't feel hard to play when the action is really low. MHO, of course...YMMV. When I use thinner guage strings or lower tension strings and/or higher action, I find that I tend to really play too hard. The lower action forces me to use a little lighter touch (and that's probably still not what would usually quality as "light"...maybe "medium touch").

 

Dave

[Dave Brown]

It was always my understanding that slapping is a rotational motion of the forearm, forcing a circular motion of the thumb past the slapped string into the next lower string. The upstroke finger pop is the rebound circle. That is certainly how Vic Wooten does it, and how he accomplishes his double slap technique.

 

The wrist doesn't bend.

 

However, any way you can get a neat sound on the bass and be physiologically safe, I'd say "go for it."

[Gruuve]

Well put, DB...my current train of thought is that it's worthwhile to master both of them, because they do sound different!

 

Dave

[wraub]

Originally posted by C. Alexander Claber:

When I think of any notable fancy slappers they all have lighter strings and/or lower action, so they can get the slap from the frets from a much softer attack.

 

Alex

Not that I am an especially notable slapper, but this is how my basses are set up.

Although I do use 45-105 strings, I use a lighter touch and a lower, looser action.

Sounds good on any of my basses.

 

It works for me, just like monkey phonics.

 

Perhaps we could each do a quick clip of the various techniques described here. Beats the hell out of trying to describe sounds.

 

Maybe I'll post a quick solo soundclip...

 

Peace,

 

wraub

[Eric VB]

Like Picker, I suck at slap. (Well, I may suck even more, who knows? )

 

I was briefly taught Ed's technique (or Alex', or whomever). The thumb hovers over a string, paralleling it. All the motion comes from twisting the forearm. (Some would say the motion comes from rotating the wrist; same thing.) The thumb acts as a hammer, striking with the hardest part on the side (right by the knuckle for me). Just like a piano hammer, the thumb recoils after striking the string. During the recoil, fingers can be used to pop. (Sorry, I didn't vote because I don't consider myself a slapper.)

 

I can usually get a decent sound this way, but I have zero speed. The only way I can approach the speed of other players I've heard is to play practically every thumb slap as a hammer on. That is, slap an open string and then hammer on the note I want to play with the fretting hand.

 

My pops are pretty much limited to one finger (pointer). When I try to pull-off with a second finger it somehow over-rotates my thumb too far away from the strings. So I mostly stick to slap/popping octaves, as this seems to work best with my limited chops.

 

One thing I spent some time on (not enough) was getting more of a vibration motion than a single HUGE WOLLOPING WHACK out of my thumb. For me it seems to work for fast bursts of short duration, say a 16th triplet (slow tempo, 60-90 bpm) amidst 8ths. It's hard to maintain for longer durations and maintain eveness, and I tend to tense up when doing it so it would probably be fatiguing if used too much.

 

Unfortunately we can't apply the principles of a drum roll. If we could, then we'd be cooking!

[Gruuve]

Eric...that actually sounds like a really good start. I've historically been guilty of slapping and popping just too ferociously...when I do that, I lose quite a bit of the control and finesse that you can utilize if you reel things in a bit. So, it sounds like you're definitely on the right track (although there's truly no right or wrong way to do it, IMHO.)

 

Here's a thought...when you're slapping straight 8th notes at a slow tempo, try throwing a double-pop (index followed by middle finger) between any two of slapped 8th notes on the same string (not octave up)...you'll get a nice bright little half-count sixtuplet riff!

 

UPDATE: I just tried my own suggestion. It doesn't sound "right" if you let all the slapped notes ring...it only sounds "right" if you mute all the slapped notes. I actually find it easier to get the same rhythmic structure by bouncing my thumb (see above) and then doing a double-pop (the middle finger pop lands on the & of the beat rather than the thumb...in other words ThumbSlap+ThumbBounce+IndexPop+MiddlePop).

 

I guess my thump bounce is a little like a snare roll...whether you're talking about a kick-drum foot "bounce" or a snare drum bounce, the motion is very similar...you swing the stick a little faster than your wrist but continue to flex your wrist down after the stick hits, which pushes it back into the snare drum head after it's recoil. The kick drum bounce is very similar except that (at least for me) it relies more on the dropped leg momentum plus the spring-loaded pedal recoil versus a real "bounce" of the beater off the kick drum head. (And some drummers actually use their heel to get the 2nd hit...there are a couple of kick drum pedals designed with a heel plate to make this easier.) The end result of two notes and the motion to get those two notes is very similar. My thumb bounce is almost exactly the same...I use my wrist to sort of continue to push my thumb into the string after it's "recoil". Hope that makes some sort of sense.

 

Dave

[Catlin]

I said down, just because I go down and up most of the time, I might be a cross between the two.

[SavedByJaco]

well, since we got the Double thump videos up here, I had to change going perpendicular, now I go down about 95% of the time, every now and then you may catch me going perpendicular, but only as the situation calls for it... for a while I only did it for octaves but now I do thos down also

[Bottomgottem]

I CAN'T SLAP!!!!

 

If a slap like sound is required, I can kind of fake it by striking down on the strings with my index and middle fingers.

[Gruuve]

Jay, I could swear I've heard you slap...what trickery is this you bestow on us?

 

Dave

[Bottomgottem]

It was faux, my man.

 

I always got too discouraged when trying to learn the proper slap technique. I believe that I'm too heavy handed, or thick thumbed, or something. My thumb slaps are totally out of control. But, I learned that I can approximate the sound by slapping the string with my fingers (index, middle, and ring). I can get off some pretty quick little slap sounding runs this way, too.

 

This is probably regarded as cheating, but it's what I do.

 

Now popping a string is another story. I never got the hang of that either. Nor did I ever find a way to fake it. ALAS!!!

[Gruuve]

Hey man, if you got a technique that works for you, by all means use it! One day I'll figure out how to play with a rubber chicken and make it sound good.

 

Dave