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Slap Hand Position

Technique Intermediate 1 min read

Updated

Slap bass is one of the most physically demanding techniques on the instrument because both hands combine thumb slaps, pops, and muting in tightly coordinated ways. Building a reliable right-hand position is the first step — the goal is for both hands to know what to do automatically as musical ideas arrive. This post walks through that foundation.

Originally published June 7, 2013, lightly edited for clarity.

For me, slap bass playing is one of the most physically demanding and complex ways to play the bass because there are so many different combinations of ways that the hands work in contacting the strings. This includes both the right and left hands. Because of the many different ways of getting the notes out with this technique, I think it takes the longest to get internalized. With my own slap playing, I want to get my right and left hand to just know what to do as musical ideas come to me. The following video gets into the 1st basic steps of how I start this process. Slap is one of the styles I teach. If you want guided feedback on your slap technique, online bass lessons via Zoom are available.

  1. Right-Hand Form for 5-String Bass

    Technique Intermediate 5 min read

    The extra string on a 5-string bass makes string noise your biggest enemy, and clean playing depends almost entirely on your right hand. Here's how to set up your thumb, finger mechanics, and left-hand damping so the strings you aren't playing stay quiet — plus three exercises to drill the form on open strings.

  2. Left Hand Form

    Technique Beginner 2 min read

    I look at technique as simply the process of getting the music you hear in your head out through your hands onto the instrument. You only need enough technique to play what you hear. This post walks through the left-hand default position — the most relaxed place your hand can sit — and how to practice from there.

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