Funk/Slap Bass

Bobon

Hey, i've been playing bass a good few years. I have always wanted to have a good grasp of slap bass, not to show off, but more because i love the funkiness of it. To give you an idea, i'd be more into the likes of the sound jamiriqoui have as opposed to the red hot chili pepers (flea), if that makes sense. Not all out slap bass, more funkiness. I decided to listen to travelling without moving as it blends both funk and slap and have been using bass tabs to try and learn some songs. However, I seem to be stuck in a rut and don't feel i am improving. Anyone have any advice for me as to how I could improve or what root you might have taken? Thanks

Dord

My advise, listen to more 70's music. Graham Central Station, Chic, Parliament-Funkadelic, even go earlier than that and listen to some of the Motown records. While the Motown records don't necessarily have slap bass they do have some funky basslines which could give you some ideas.

Along with this I'd recommend you get some lessons. Check out this thread for teachers.

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2054892511

eoin5

I recommend Slap Bass - The Ultimate Guide by Ed Freidland. I found it a pretty challenging DVD but never impossible.

Parsley

Those two guys said pretty much everything I was thinking as I was reading your post! But along with that, a good way to get comfortable funking/slapping is to take a standardish bassline you'd already know, try and slap it out instead of fingerstyle/pick, and mess around with the beat and try funk it up.

It wasn't me!

The one thing I learned about slapping, and I'm relatively useless, but this helped me no end, was to control the strings sonically, damping, muting and such. Once you actually have that down, it sounds infinitely better.

Dord

It wasn't me! wrote: »

The one thing I learned about slapping, and I'm relatively useless, but this helped me no end, was to control the strings sonically, damping, muting and such. Once you actually have that down, it sounds infinitely better.

Uhhh thats pretty much the main thing about slapping.
Not that I'm amazing at it either, I got the technique down but can't pull it off for the life o' me. It just ends up sounding like a pisstake.
Just not really my style.

The Volt

Try some of these tracks -
Aint No Stoppin' us now
Send Me Forget Me Knots
Blame It On The Boogie
Le Freak
Sir Duke or most by Steveie Wonder

Anything from that dance era usually has amazing bass lines

Doctor J

Just listen to Motown, early Kool & The Gang, Chic and anything Bernard Edwards has ever played, Sly and the Famliy Stone, pick up Headhunters by Herbie Hancock. There are lots of great funk players out there who rarely slap. Personally I've heard so many bad slappers (not just technique-wise but having the musical sense to use it approppriately) that I just can't listen to slap for any length of time without wanting to kill people, due to going to local gigs in Dublin in the early 90's when seemingly every prick was filling every song with totally uncalled for boink-boinks and dink-dinks. For me, funky playing is all about leaving space, about knowing what to play and when to play, it's about really tying in with the drummer and not overplaying. The odd pop and slap bit can sound good when used sparingly and there are enough vids of Larry Graham on youtube which will tell you everything you need to know about the technique, but musical sense is far more important in funk, IMO.

Yap Stam

If you're not going to bother reading any of this post at least read the following sentence; If you're going to practice slap try as much as possible to practice to a drum-machine/metronome, 'cos slap only sounds good when its in time (i'll be saying this twice in my post for good measure!)

Dave Crigger (he played with fog hat when they did 'Low Ride' which later featured on the 'Dazed and confused' soundtrack and has a great bass line) has his instructional video up on youtube as does Dave La Rue (La Rue has played with everyone from Santana to Satriani); both of these are good for learning slap.

Give Level 42 a listen, they're bassist, Mark King, re-popularised slap during the 1980's- some good tunes, a bit of crap too, but his playing is excellent.

Slap is fine on the open strings its when you start fretting notes and slapping them that it becomes increasingly difficult. Timing is everything, theres no such thing as a one-take slap bass recording because slap only sounds good when its perfectly in time (unlike grunge-style bass,for instance, which has laid backness as part of its style).

Light strings ('candyfloss' as the yanks call it) will sound good when you're playing away to yourself, its when you go to record it that you will notice that it loses alot of its thump and kick. So try and use medium to heavy strings.

eoin5

On the subject of strings, youll get a much slappier sound (if that makes any sense?) with stainless steel strings.

Bobon

Thanks for the info everyone. I am not really that big into slap bass myself for the same reasons as yourself there Doctor J. Every second bass player in bands i've seen in town think they're the next flea and in general has put me off in the past. However, i've been listening to jamiriquoi lately and they add in a little bit of slap every now and again. I would be more into the funky side of things and feel i could get a good grasp of it. I understand what you mean also about it being as much about where not to play as opposed to where to play. In the process of downloading some of the mentioned music now. Thanks people.

Yap Stam

I know this is off the point but what Jamiriquai albums would you recommend for good bass?

I'm only familiar with his stuff that was big years ago.

Doctor J

I think people generally go on about the first couple of albums with Stuart Zender playing bass. Dunno, I never really dug his playing but they're the ones you hear about the most. I think they put out a greatest hits package last year, maybe get that and use it to navigate through the chaff.

Yap Stam

Rite so, thanks for that.

fish-head

Get the album 'Headhunters' by Herbie Hancock... and everything James Brown has ever produced. Ever.