Slapping

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In music, the term slapping is often used to refer to two different though related playing techniques usually on the double bass and on the (electric) bass guitar.

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On double bass it refers to the technique that is a more vigorous version of pizzicato where the string is plucked so hard that when released, it bounces off the finger board, making a distinctive sound. A percussive sound is also made by smacking the strings with all four fingers on the right hand, usually in time with the snare drum. Notable slap style double bass players have included Jake Tullock, Bill Johnson, Wellman Braud, Milt Hinton, Pops Foster, Jimbo Wallace, Kim Nekroman, Scott Owen, Chester Zardis, Dick Mccarthy, Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau and Lee Rocker.

Slapping the bass is a technique used by many bands since at least the 1920s and came into popular use in the 1940s. Slap bass provides a strong downbeat when the string is plucked and a strong back beat when it slaps back onto the fingerboard of the bass. It creates a very percussive sound and adds a lot of drive that is particularly good for dance music.[1]

Slap bass was used by Western Swing and Hillbilly Boogie musicians, and became an important component of an early form of rock and roll that combined what was then called hillbilly music, and blues, a musical style now referred to as rockabilly.

The technique inspired the George and Ira Gershwin song, "Slap That Bass"

On bass guitar it usually refers to a technique that consists of hitting the string with the thumb of the strumming hand near the base of the guitar's neck, often combined with snapping the strings usually with the index or middle finger of the same hand, (the latter more specifically called "popping", i.e. "slapping and popping"). Some bassists use other fingers of the strumming hand to achieve this sound, such as bassist Abraham Laboriel, Sr., who conversely uses his thumb to pop the strings, and his other four fingers to slap the strings. The invention of slap is generally credited to Sly & the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham; Graham has stated in several interviews that he was trying to emulate the sound of a drum set after the band he used to play in with his mother had lost its drummer.

The unique sound of the slapping technique comes from the string hitting the fretboard with high force, and gives a much more percussive sound than regular fingering of notes with the strumming hand. The sound is also usually louder and more distinct than the sound of a bass guitar played using the usual plucking techniques. This feature combined with the fact that a bass guitarist using the slapping technique often looks and sounds appealing to the general public has contributed to the popularity of the technique both with players and listeners.

There are numerous variants of the slapping technique, which extend the basic actions by including other percussive strumming techniques, such as adding hammered notes, and repeating slap and pop patterns to effectively produce the equivalent of a drumroll on the bass guitar (see Victor Wooten).

A 'slap and pop'-related playing technique involves using the Funk fingers invented by world-renowned bass player Tony Levin.

Some bass guitar players known for their use of slapping in their playing , with notable bands and/or artists they have worked with:

Some songs with prominent bass playing using the slapping technique:

Look up slapping in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slapping"
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