Putting Them Together: The Slap and Pop
So you've learned how to Slap. You've also learned how to Pop the strings. What's next? How about putting them together! Yes. I know that this must be shocking and impossible sounding (I know, I think that sometime, someone, somewhere MAY have slapped AND popped) but it can be done! I assure you! ;) Since you already know how to do them individually (If not, you should check out those pages), I'm just going to give some ideas, tunes, and things for you to practice in order to get more fluid with putting them together. There are many tunes that have great slap riffs and a lot of them are built off of the octave. Two of my favorite octave slap lines are "Alright" (Jamiroquai) and "Higher Ground" (The RHCP cover of the Stevie Wonder tune). Some ways to practice this are: 1. Go slowly at first. There is no point in rushing when you're trying to get the basics down, so don't worry about going to slowly. Once you feel comfortable, go faster, but keep consistent and fluid time no matter what. 2. They can be overused. People get sick of hearing the same note over and over again, 200 times in a row, without a reason. Try mixing up octaves and patterns to re-freshen your lines. 3. Try slapping other intervals. You can try popping the fifth, the seventh or even the third. Just remember to articulate your notes properly and make them ring true. 4. Different Rhythms. How about slapping twice, popping once? Slapping once, popping three times? Just mix up the rhythms to get a feel for the technique overall. Cool lines and fills will happen easier as you get used to slapping. Want some Exercises? Ok. There should be some Exercises for you to work on up and ready to go. Just read them and use them to get used to Reading Music with Slap bass. If you can't Read Music or tab, why don't you take a look at those sections now? You'll definitely learn something useful and you'll gain a valuable skill.
|
