This column will focus on introducing bass players to the world of slapping.This is a technique that every bass player should have a go at. It’s great fun and puts the bass a little more upfront in the mix. It is essential to have some of this down, whatever your personal preference, as it is a technique that has infi ltrated many styles of music, not just funk.
It’s very important to understand that with this style you have to focus on rhythm, time and groove, rather than just licks and fi lls. There is nothing worse than hearing slap bass with no hook or groove – it then becomes what I call a guitar shop lick for testing an amplifi er! Check out some of the great slap players of our time – Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Mark King... the list could go on and on. With this in mind, you should always practise with a metronome, or even better a drum machine: at this point you are more of a drummer than a bassist.
I would like to begin with purely rhythm, so all of the examples this month are to be played with your fretting hand placed over all the strings to dampen them. Set your metronome to 80BPM and increase it to 120BPM as you improve your time and groove. On the notation, T means thumb and P means pluck. Remember, be ruthless with yourself and stay in the pocket at all times!
Example one is a single-string exercise using the thumb and index fi nger to pull off. Use the side of your thumb to hit the string and then pull away using your index fi nger and wrist. Don’t be tempted to use only your fi nger on your plucking hand: use your wrist and arm in a rocking motion to pull away from the body of your bass. Be consistent about where you hit the string; I fi nd the best place is just before the fi rst fret after your neck pick-up.
Here we can start to move on to two strings. Again, move across the neck, making sure you are in time and hitting the strings consistently. If you’ve tried this technique before, you may be fi nding it tricky to hit only single strings or two strings. This is great practice, as we begin to move on to fi lls and more melodic lines. Keep the quarter notes even, in time with the metronome, and work across the strings in groupings of EA, AD, DG.
Example three is the octave shape. This is your ‘bread and butter’ slap bass shape, using the E and D strings and A and G, across the neck. Again, make sure the eighth notes are consistent and even with the pulse. This will programme your fi ngers on your picking hand to remember the string spaces and develop into a motor skill that you don’t have to think about.
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario