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LESSON
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Slap Bass

SlappS BSSsoSSa&SPlay
FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 2

Slap Bass
Join Ian Martin Allison as he shows you what everybody
thinks is the only thing bass players do—slappa da bass!
Rather than show you many different techniques as no doubt
found on the internet, let Ian demonstrate what he’s found
to be the best technique for beginner, intermediate or boss
players alike.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 3

Slap 101
Slap & Pop
The first thing to know when learning to play slap bass is...how to slap the string:

— Point your slapping thumb absolutely parallel to the strings.

— Strike through the string using the bone on the side of your thumb.
Don’t “bounce” your finger off the string.
— End the stroke on the small piece of the fretboard just after the last fret.
— Your goal should be a clear, consistent sound across all the strings as you
slap each string.
j

But slapping is only one part of playing slap bass. We also need to know how to pop a
string. Although you can use any finger that’s comfortable, try using either your index
finger or middle finger—or both. Hook your finger under the string and pull up to
produce a “popping” sound. (Ian prefers his index/first finger for the A and D strings,
and his middle/second finger for the G string.)

continued

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FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 4

Playing Octaves

A simple way to get your hands comfortable with the slap technique is to play
octaves. You can think of the slap stroke as the “bass (kick) drum” and the pop as the
“snare.” Start slowly and be sure the notes are even, then work up to a tempo that
you’re comfortable with. Don’t be afraid to add in some articulations (slides into notes,
muted notes, dead notes, etc.) to mix things up, too:

µ[F5]
?4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
4 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T P

¤
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

[G5]
5
? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T P T P T P T ¿ P T P T ¿ P T P T P
3 3 3 3 3 3 5 5
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3

9
? œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T P T ¿ P T T P T P T P T ¿ P T
5 5 5 5 5 5
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

[C5]
12 œ œ œ œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T P T P T P T ¿ P T T P T P
5 5 5 5 5 5
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

Next, let’s look at some actual songs...

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FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 5

“Thank You
(Falletinme
Be Mice Elf Agin)”

released 1969
artist Sly and the Family Stone
bassist Larry Graham

“If you’re gonna slap the

bass, you gotta start with
Larry Graham!”

While a “beginner-level” tune, the rhythm can be a little tricky. It

very well may be the first recorded example of the slap technique,
“thumpin’ and pluckin’” together:

q � 107
œ ≈ nœ œ œ ≈ nœ
? #### 44 ¿ œ nœ œ ‰ J ¿ nœ œ Œ ¿ œ
T ¿ P P P T ¿ P P T
9 7 9 9 7
¤
X
5 7 5 7
X 7 X 7

3 œ ≈ nœ œ œ ≈ nœ
? #### nœ œ ‰ J
œ
j nœ Ó
¿ œ
let ring ¿
T ¿ P P P T ¿ T P P
9 7 9 9 7
5 7 X 2 5
0

Notes:
— Play all the thumbed notes a little short, but not quite staccato.
— Be sure to let that low E note ring out in the last measure!

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FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 6

“Higher Ground”
album Mother’s Milk (1979)
artist Red Hot Chili Peppers
bassist Flea

An “intermediate-level” tune, this Stevie Wonder classic incorporates a

triplet feel, and ups the tempo a bit, too:

a3 b
q � 130 �Swing < __
q q= q e >
3 3 3

? # 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
3
T P T P T P T P T P T P T

¤
2 5 7 2 5 7
0 X 3 X 5 X 0 X 3 X 5 5

3
œ œ œ
œ
3
?# œ œ œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ w
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
3 3 3
T P T P T P T P T P T P T
7 9
2 5 7 2
0 5 0 7
0 X 3 X 5 X 0 X 0

Notes:
— Pay attention to the swing feel indicator in the tempo, or the first beat of Bars 1–4 won’t sound correct..
— You can also play the dead notes on beat 1 1/2 in Bars 1, through 4 as open E notes, too.

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FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 7

“Pretty Little Lady Groove”

album Bass Extremes Live DVD (1992)
artist Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten
bassist Victor Wooten

The final bass line is by Victor Wooten, so you know it’s beyond expert level,
it’s boss level! His playing is so smooth, you might miss what he’s doing on the
video: double thumbing—a technique where you rapidly play a string twice with
the thumb, once on a downstroke then again on an upstroke. It may look simple,
but that’s hardly the case! But note that if you play through the string on the
downstroke, you’ll already be set up to play the upstroke to sound the string again.

This tune also features a fret-hand slap: drop your finger(s) onto the string(s) to
create a percussive “click” sound; do not fret any notes.

Let’s look at this fantastic bass line on the next page.

continued

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FREE LESSON BOOK: SLAP BASS 8

q � 130

? #### 44 nœ œ œ œ n¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ. nœ ¿ ¿ œ œ n¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ.
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T T *S T T **T T T T S T ¿ T T T T T T T S T

¤
X 5 X 5
5 7 5 7 X X 5 7 5 X X 5 7 X X 5 7
0 X 0 X 0 X
*S=Slap down on string w/ fretting hand to mute, as indicated, throughout.
**Double thumb; strike string w/ an upward motion of the thumb, as indicated, throughout..

3
? #### œ œ. nœ œ
¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ n¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ.
œ ¿ œ ¿
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T S T T T T T T ¿ S
6 5 4
X 5
4 X 0 3 X 0 2 2 5 7 5 7 X X 5 7
0 X 0 X

5
? #### nœ œ œ œ n¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ. nœ ¿ ¿ œ œ n¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ.
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T T S T T T T T T S T ¿ T T T T T T T S T

X 5 X 5
5 7 5 7 X X 5 7 5 X X 5 7 X X 5 7
0 X 0 X 0 X

7 œ. nœ œ
? #### œ ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ œ nœ œ ‰ Œ Ó

T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
6 5 4
4 X 0 3 X 0 2 2 5 7

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