slapping fast
- Thread starter Isa
- Start date
3notesAbar
New member
Besides having constant practice to develop muscle memory, it'll be good to know why you want to slap fast. Reason is to know what you wanna play fast, not just any fast and senseless rhythm. Like, try to aim towards learning a Flea solo or something, god knows..
Treadmill theory: This is very simple and interesting. people who want to build stamina could use treadmills, but specifying the speed they wish to keep running at. Use a metronome or drum machine (internet can find), and set a simple groove at 100 bpm for instance, and keep drilling one groove. After youre comfortable, try improvising rhythms, to break that mental habit, or to test your mental ability to improv. But remember, one steady rhythm is usually more welcome to layman ears than a bunch of rhythms horribly put together.
Treadmill theory: This is very simple and interesting. people who want to build stamina could use treadmills, but specifying the speed they wish to keep running at. Use a metronome or drum machine (internet can find), and set a simple groove at 100 bpm for instance, and keep drilling one groove. After youre comfortable, try improvising rhythms, to break that mental habit, or to test your mental ability to improv. But remember, one steady rhythm is usually more welcome to layman ears than a bunch of rhythms horribly put together.
Mr_KeyboardMan
New member
Use a drum track and groove with it will help you a lot. Best if you have a drum machine then can programme the fills and increase tempo as well. This really helps me improve my groove and how fast I slap and pop.
Try to get into a steady groove at first and then increase the tempo along the way while maintaining the same groove.
Try to get into a steady groove at first and then increase the tempo along the way while maintaining the same groove.
lousybassist
New member
train your forearms! lol.
Isa said:
If your wrist locks up when you slap fast, there's a high chance that you're rotating your whole forearm, which causes you to tense up when you want to go faster, therefore freezing up the wrist.
Slapping should be a light rotation of the wrist. It's not so much mashing the thumb into the strings, which quite a lot of people do when they start it. The trick is to use your thumb like a whip.
The wrist just does a quick snap, and the thumb is loose. It's like when you snap a towel at somebody. This will ensure that your thumb bounces back off the string and ensures maximum resonance, and thus the best tone. It also relaxes you a lot more, and popping becomes easier, as it's just a function of rotating the wrist, instead of lifting the whole forearm away from the bass just to pop a string.
It helps to listen to stuff like Level42, as it'll give you ideas of how to slap. You can start to imagine your own basslines and shapes, and use those to practice. Remember, always start slow and simple. You have to learn how to walk before you learn how to run. Good luck.
Isa said:
No sweat. Just another word of advice: when learning anything, the only way you'll be able to play it properly, is when you have ideas of HOW you want to sound.
Like mentioned, listen to stuff, then before you play anything, try to hear what you want to play. It sounds stupid, but if you need to, sing it out to yourself, then try to match what you just sang.
