Us bass teachers LOVE teaching slap bass,
but we get way too excited and
cover too much stuff at once,
including my dumb ass.
So we're gonna go through 7 drills
that cover every ****ing detail
that's causing you problems,
so by the end of this video,
you're getting a solid,
juicy slap sound.
We're not gonna do pops,
We're not gonna do double thumbs.
We're not gonna do double pops.
We're not gonna do it all at once.
[hella techniques]
We're gonna paint the
fence, just like Daniel-san.
Wax on, wax off.
DANIEL-SAN: Why you got me
doing all these boring drills?
I just wanna slappa da bass!
MIYAGI: Daniel-san,
show me Sand the Floor.
[kiais and slide-y slap bass notes]
DANIEL-SAN: Wow, I was
slappin' da bass all along.
[BassBuzz theme music]
That's right, we're doing all
slaps, no other techniques.
'Cause remember, Bruce Lee said,
"I fear not the man who has
practiced 10,000 kicks once,
"I fear the man who has
practiced one kick 10,000 times."
So let's scare the **** out of Bruce Lee
and get your basic slap sounding good.
If you think doing only slaps with no pops
or hammer-ons or anything
is gonna be boring,
check out some stuff you
can do with just the thumb.
[Larry Graham rip-off licks]
I'm gonna have you playing
some actual music later,
but these first few drills
are really important to do
without any accompaniment
so you can hear yourself super clearly.
Here's the deal.
The thumb is what hits
the strings when you slap,
but slapping is not
really about the thumb.
It's about rotating the entire
forearm at the elbow joint.
So it's not about
wiggling the thumb muscle,
it's not about rotating the wrist at all.
It's a simple twist of
the forearm at the elbow.
And I used to teach this as
being like turning a doorknob,
like every other bass teacher.
The problem is, it's not
really the same motion at all.
[success chimes]
[knock knock]
[failure buzzer]
So to get you to really feel this motion
so you don't need any stupid analogies,
here's drill number one,
which might seem stupid,
but remember, this is all
coming straight from Mr. Miyagi.
MIYAGI: Show me Slap the Table.
So on the top of a table or desk,
hold your hand with your thumb pointed up,
your fingers curled in, and
then twist your forearm down
so your thumb hits the table.
Now try doing it like this
with just your thumb muscle.
Now go back to the forearm.
There's a huge difference in power, right?
It's louder, the table vibrates more.
Now let's try doing that
with wrist movement,
like on this plane.
Okay, the fingers just
get in the way, right?
You can't even get your
thumb to the table.
So the wrist doesn't work,
the thumb muscle's wimpy,
and the forearm twist
gives us a nice, solid slap
on the table.
So it's clear now that slap is
all about the forearm, right?
If I test this out on bass,
I'll get the same effect.
And don't worry about
playing along for now.
You can just listen.
So here's just the thumb muscle.
[crappy slap notes]
Super wimpy.
Here's trying to do it with the wrist.
[stupid mess of sound]
It doesn't work at all, I just
end up banging the strings
with my fingers.
And here's rotating the forearm.
[good slap sound]
Boom, nice, juicy slap tone.
[funky slap bass]
When we did Slap the Table, did you notice
which part of your thumb
was hitting the table?
It was probably the outside
edge, just past the knuckle,
and that's exactly where
you wanna slap the bass.
MIYAGI:Show me Notice the Thumb.
Let's slap the table
just a little bit more
and notice which part of
your thumb you hit with.
You're probably hitting right there
where that Sharpie mark
is, on the outside edge
past the knuckle.
If I try to go further down
my thumb towards the hand,
then my palm starts getting in the way,
which is gonna be a problem on the bass.
And if I try to use the pad of my thumb,
it's hard to get the right angle.
So it's really all
about that outside edge.
The same thing applies on bass.
Again, you can just listen for now.
I'll have you slapping in a minute.
So if I just rotate my
forearm, it's the outside edge
of my thumb on the knuckle or just past it
that tends to wanna hit the string.
[yummy slaps]
If I try to go further back on my thumb,
then I get nothing, because
my palm gets in the way
and starts muting the string.
Outside edge for the win!
Before we get into actual
string slapping drills,
you need to get your bass
in the right position,
which brings us to the
great up-down debate.
There are two basic ways
to position your thumb when slapping.
There's thumb down, where your thumb
is pointing below the string.
[thumb down slapping]
And there's thumb up, where
your thumb is pointing
above the string.
[thumb up slapping]
There's a lot of debate about
which position is better.
JIN SHANZHAO: My thumb down style
defeats your thumb up style.
IP MAN: We will see.
I prefer the thumb up technique,
and that's what I teach to
my students for two reasons.
One is I think it's
easier to hit accurately.
Just hit one string at a time.
And two, it allows you
to learn the double thumbing
technique later on more easily,
where you go down and up with your thumb.
[double thumbing]
But the basics we cover in this lesson
will apply to thumb up and thumb down.
So here's how to position your
bass for either technique.
Thumb down positioning looks like this.
For thumb down technique,
adjust your strap length
so that your bass is low enough
that you can comfortably
get your thumb pointing down
somewhere between the
fingerboard and your neck pickup
if you have one.
So that'll be somewhere
around like waist height
or a little lower, a little higher.
It's pretty easy to find that
position for most people.
Here's thumb down in action.
This is Flea with the
Red Hot Chili Peppers.
He's got his bass strapped
a little below his waist,
which gets the thumb pointing down,
and he's gonna be slapping
right past the end
of the fingerboard.
And here's Kiyoshi.
Her bass is around waist height,
so the thumb's pointing down.
And again, she's slapping
just past the end
of the fingerboard.
Thumb up positioning looks like this.
It's a little trickier
to get the right position
for the thumb up technique.
The goal is to comfortably
point your thumb
just above parallel on the strings
somewhere between the
end of the fingerboard
and the pickup.
And there are three things you can adjust
to get in the right
position for your body.
Number one is strap height.
You need your bass high enough
that you can comfortably point your thumb
above parallel on the strings.
So if the string is 12 o'clock,
[clock dings]
you want your thumb at about 11 o'clock.
[alarm sounds]
So that'll definitely be
higher than waist height,
maybe somewhere just below the
right chest or ribcage area.
The second thing you can tweak
is the angle of your neck
to the floor, whether it's more
parallel or more tilted up.
The more parallel it
is, the easier it'll be
to get that thumb up angle on the strings.
The third thing you
can tweak, if your hand
is ending up in the
wrong part of the bass,
if you're too far onto
the neck or too far back,
is to adjust the horizontal positioning
of whether your bass is more
in front of you, like this,
or more off to your side, like this.
That'll adjust where
your hand naturally falls
on the string, as well
as possibly making it
more comfortable for you,
based on the size and shape of your torso.
Here's thumb up in action.
This is Ida Neilsen.
She's got her bass
strapped over her ribcage
and the neck pointed up a little bit.
So that's high enough to
get her thumb pointing
just above parallel, slapping past the end
of the fingerboard.
And here's Marcus Miller, same thing,
strapped over the ribcage,
neck pointed slightly up
so the thumb gets just above parallel,
slapping between the
end of the fingerboard
and the neck pickup.
There are two parts to a good slap sound,
note and percussion.
The note part sounds about the same
as if you were to just pluck that string.
Hear how that note continues
whether I'm slapping or plucking?
And the percussion part comes
from the strings smacking
against the frets from
the collision of the slap.
[super duper slo-mo slapping]
If you're not getting a good slap sound,
you're either missing the note part
or the percussion part,
so I'm gonna show you
how to be your own slap bass doctor
and diagnose these issues.
MIYAGI: Show me Slap the Bass.
So in Scenario A, let's say
you're getting only note
and no percussion.
You can recreate this issue like I'm doing
by just hitting too softly.
So the first thing you can try
is just hitting a little harder,
and make sure you're
using the forearm rotation
and not wiggling the thumb.
Having your action too high
may cause this issue, too.
The action is how far your
strings are from the neck,
and if you've got more
than about five millimeters
between your E string and the 12th fret,
you might need a setup,
which could entail
tightening the truss rod
or lowering the bridge saddles.
And if any of that
doesn't make sense to you,
please go let a professional do it.
It's not that expensive,
and you'll be surprised
what a difference a good setup can make,
especially for slapping.
So, onto scenario B.
What if you're getting all percussion
and no note, like this?
You can recreate this issue like I'm doing
by holding your thumb way too tense
and leaving it on the
string after the smack.
So this happens usually because your thumb
is too tense and it's
staying on the string
after the initial smack of the slap.
So you just need to relax your thumb.
You can also get this issue if your palm
is touching the string,
so make sure you're using the
outside edge of your thumb
past the knuckle, because
if you go too far back
towards the hand, your
palm gets in the way.
And also make sure there's
a little bit of space
between the strings and
your palm and wrist,
which you can do by just
adjusting the angle a tiny bit.
You might still be having some trouble
with that second scenario,
where you're getting all
percussion and no note
because it's really hard to
learn how to relax the thumb.
So that's what we're gonna focus on next.
The most frustrating part of slap bass
is trying to get your thumb to relax.
The faster you go and the
more complex you play,
the more you'll tend to tense up,
but that's actually the
opposite of what you want.
You want a really relaxed thumb.
So here's an away-from-the-bass
drill you can do
that's super simple that
you can use as a warmup,
and also as a way to
reframe how you're thinking
about the slap technique.
MIYAGI: Show me Relax the Thumb.
So let your arm hang by your side.
You can do both arms if you
want, but I'll just do one.
And then carefully but
loosely, flail your arm
with the same type of
rotation you'd use to slap.
But your thumb and fingers are
just hanging super relaxed.
And you just wanna make
sure you're only flailing
on this one rotational plane.
I'm kinda tensing up
to demonstrate for you.
You don't wanna be flailing
your wrist, like this,
or to the side, like this.
You just wanna be rotating the forearm.
And it's okay if the upper
arm starts rotating, too.
You're just trying to loosen up.
So check this out.
If I do that flailing exercise
and then I let my hand
move back to the bass.
[slapping magically occurs]
That's slapping.
Super relaxed thumb gives
me a nice, juicy tone.
And the coolest thing about that
is that if my thumb is relaxed enough,
when I twist my forearm down for the slap,
I don't have to twist it
back up to get my thumb
out of the way, because it
bounces off the string naturally
form the momentum of
colliding with the string.
If I tense my thumb up,
then it doesn't work anymore
and then I'm back to that situation
where I'm getting all
percussion and no note.
So the next step is to just do some slaps
on an open E string, keeping in mind
everything you've learned so far.
So you're rotating the forearm,
you're not wiggling the thumb,
hitting with the outside edge of the thumb
past the knuckle.
[bass notes ring]
Nice, relaxed thumb.
If you're hearing only
note and no percussion,
just hit a little harder.
If you're hearing only
percussion and no note,
then relax your thumb
and make sure your palm
isn't getting in the way.
Here's a simple but fun
slap tune you can start with
to practice all of these
variables, along with some music.
This is "We Care A Lot" by Faith No More.
One, two, three, four.
You probably notice that
I'm muting some of the notes
in between slaps to get it to sound right.
Don't worry if that's too hard for you.
We're gonna talk about that in a minute.
MIYAGI: Daniel-san, show
me Subscribe to Bass Buzz.
DANIEL-SAN: Wow, I find this content
informative and stimulating.
Now that you've got a good slap sound
and a relaxed thumb, the
next step is accuracy.
So first, let's make sure you
can get some nice, clean slaps
on single strings.
MIYAGI: Show me Nail the Accuracy.
The best way to do this is to do one slap
and then mute by just touching the strings
with your fretting hand so
that you can hear clearly
on every slap whether you
hit just the string you
were aiming for or if
you got some extra noise,
like I just hit the A string on accident,
accidentally on purpose.
So let's try doing this
together on the E string.
So you just slap the
E, mute it, slap the E,
and every time you slap,
you're listening for,
am I getting the note?
And I getting the percussion?
And am I hitting the
string I'm aiming for?
Let's do the same thing
now on the A string.
So just slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
Listening for note,
percussion, and accuracy,
meaning did I just hit the A string
and not the other strings?
And you are gonna miss and
hit the other strings a ton.
This is hard.
So look at your slapping
hand if you need to.
And keep in mind, this
takes a lot of practice,
unless you're like way ahead
of me when I first started.
MIYAGI: You beginner luck.
So now onto the D and G
strings, which are harder
to slap than the E and the A.
And no matter what you do,
they're gonna sound thinner.
This is the D.
This is the E.
Okay? They sound different,
but you're listening
for the same things.
You just want note and
percussion and accuracy.
So let's do that on a D string.
Slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
And diagnose the issue
if you're having one.
If you're getting only note, like this,
then just slap a little
harder or check your action.
If you're getting all
percussion, then relax your thumb
and make sure your palm's
not getting in the way.
And as you go down to your
higher-pitched strings,
make sure that your thumb
angle is staying constant.
So you still want, if you're
doing the thumb up technique,
you want that 11 o'clock
angle on the string,
whether you're on the
E, A, the D, or the G.
So now let's move on to the G
string and do the same thing.
Slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
Slap, mute.
And just listening for note, percussion,
and accuracy every time.
It might take you awhile
to get good at slapping
the D and G strings, so
you can focus on E and A
if you want to for starters.
So to start drilling your
accuracy in a musical context,
you can think of bass
lines that you already know
that just use one string and
do them with a slap technique.
Like, you know how
everybody likes to play the
"Smoke on the Water" guitar
riff, but in the wrong key
and do it on bass?
So starting on an E instead of a G?
Let's do that together.
Here we go, one, two, three, four.
Or we could play the actual
bassline to "Smoke on the Water"
in the correct key of G.
I'll just jiggle the
notes around a little bit
so they're all on the E string.
And please use the speed
controls to slow this down
if you're just starting,
because building thumb speed takes time.
BASSBOT: AFFIIIIIIRMATIVE
Ready?
Here we go, one, two, one, two, three.
By the way, if you're having any trouble
with the rhythms so far
in "Smoke on the Water"
or "We Care A Lot," I cover that kind
of eighth note syncopation in mega detail
in my Beginner to Badass
course at bassbuzz.com.
Isn't that right, Mr. Miyagi?
MIYAGI: It's a very good course.
Once you can get a good slap sound
on each string separately, it's time
to develop the next level of
accuracy with string crossing.
MIYAGI: Show me Cross the Strings.
An easy way to start with this is
to just go across the strings,
like E, A, D, G, G, D,
A, E, but do four slaps
on each string so you don't
have to change as often.
And also, you still wanna
mute in between slaps
so you can listen for note,
percussion, and accuracy
on every single slap.
Let's try doing this together a few times.
And again, use the speed
controls if you're just starting
to slow it down or speed it up.
All right, here we go.
And remember to mute
with your fretting hand
on those quarter note rests.
One, two, three, four.
E, mute, two, mute, slap, mute.
Every time, you're listening for note,
percussion, and accuracy.
And then back down, G again.
Two, three, four.
I missed!!!
You can make up your own
string crossing patterns
once that's easy.
You could try working towards
changing strings every slap.
E, A, D, G.
Or you can break up the order, too.
You go E, G, A, D, E, D, A, G.
Now you can try slapping
basslines that you know
that incorporate string crossing.
Like, how about a little
"Smells Like Teen Spirit?"
by Nirvana?
If this looks like too
much to concentrate on,
you can ditch the little slide at the end
of the first bar, and you
can also just stay on Db,
the fourth fret note for the whole end
of the second bar instead of going to C.
And please use the speed
controls if you're just starting.
Otherwise, this is gonna
feel way too fast for you.
It takes time to build thumb speed.
Okay?
Here we go, one, two, three, four.
Being able to control whether your notes
are short or long gives you
a lot more musical options
for fitting slap into
a song, so you're not
just doing it in your bedroom.
So for open string slaps, you just do
what we've been doing.
Just touch the string anywhere
with your fretting hand
to kill the vibration.
And if you're playing a fretted note,
just mute the string with the
finger you're fretting with.
So if I'm playing a G on the third fret
and I'm done with that note, I just lift,
but I stay in contact with
the string so it's muted.
That works pretty well, but
depending on where you are,
you may end up with some harmonic noise.
So if that's happening to you,
when you release the note,
let your other fingers rest
on the string at the same time
and that'll mute the string completely.
MIYAGI: Show me Mute the Notes.
Okay, let's drill this.
We'll do four short notes
and four long notes,
just on that G on the
third fret of the E string.
Nice and slow.
Let's do this together a few times.
Here's we go, one, two, three, four.
Short, short, short, short.
Long, long, long, long.
Short, short, short, short.
Long, long, long, long.
One more time, short, short, short, short.
Long, long, long, long.
The coordination for this
will be tricky at first,
so just be patient and start
at whatever tempo you need.
But eventually, you can
work your way to drilling it
where you just do like
short, long, short, long,
short, long, one after the other.
So if you're ready, let's try
doing that together a bit.
Again, just on G.
We'll just go short, long, short, long,
short, long, short, long, short.
And guess what?
This isn't just a wax on, wax off drill.
This is actually a classic
Larry Graham bassline
from Sly and the Family
Stone's "Everyday People."
Check it out.
Play it with me if you're ready.
One, two, three, four.
Being able to kick ass
with slap takes time.
Not only do you have to focus
on everything we just talked about,
rotating the forearm, using
the right part of the thumb,
getting your bass in the right position,
listening for note and
percussion, getting good accuracy
and clean tone on all four strings,
but there's a bunch of
other techniques associated
with the slap, especially
the pop technique.
And you're probably antsy to
start doing it super fast,
like all your bass idols, right now.
But slow down and take this advice
from Mark King of Level
42 from some live clip
that I downloaded from
LimeWire when I was 15
that I half-remember.
But he basically said,
"The trick to playing fast
"is to start slow and get faster."
And it sounds stupid,
but that really is it.
So don't rush it.
Find a tempo that you can
do these accuracy drills at
and work on bumping it up slowly over time
without sacrificing technique.
And keep in mind, it can take years
to be able to slap as fast
as your favorite slap bass players.
I used to listen to guys like Mark King,
and I would just go like, WHAT THE ***???
But now, I can actually
keep up with that stuff
after years of doing
the same kind of drills
that I just showed you.
["43" by Level 42]
[Miyagi is proud]
