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    Ultimate Slap Bass - Advanced Level
    Ultimate Slap Bass - Advanced Level
    Ultimate Slap Bass - Advanced Level
    Ebook152 pages2 hours

    Ultimate Slap Bass - Advanced Level

    By Stuart Clayton

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    About this ebook

    Ultimate Slap Bass is one of the most popular books ever written on the slap bass technique. In this book, the third in the series of three, advanced techniques are covered. The book covers slapped shuffle grooves, double thumbing, open string hammer-ons, combining techniques and more. There are 91 exercises in this book and all have free backing tracks available to download from the publishers website.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherStuart Clayton
    Release dateJul 3, 2013
    ISBN9780957485983
    Ultimate Slap Bass - Advanced Level
    Author

    Stuart Clayton

    Stuart Clayton has been a professional musician and writer for over ten years. He has worked as a staff writer for Bass Guitar Magazine since its first issue, written seven bass instruction books for Sanctuary Publishing, including 100 Tips For Bass Guitar You Should Have Been Told, Crash Course: Bass, Bass Xtreme, Basic Bass Workout and Giants Of Bass and toured the world with Carl Palmer. He now runs his own company, Bassline Publishing, which publishes transcription books for legendary bassists such as Mark King, Stuart Hamm, Bernard Edwards and John Entwistle, as well as an acclaimed range of tuition books such as Ultimate Slap Bass and Solo Arrangements for Electric Bass. He is also Head of Bass at the British Institute of Modern Music (Bristol) and is an artist endorsee for Zon basses and Aguilar amplification.

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    Book preview

    Ultimate Slap Bass - Advanced Level - Stuart Clayton

    Ultimate Slap Bass

    Advanced Level

    By Stuart Clayton

    Published by Bassline Publishing at Smashwords

    Copyright 2013 Stuart Clayton

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

    Table of Contents

    Introduction

    Chapter 1 – The Shuffle Feel

    Chapter 2 – Open String Hammer-Ons

    Chapter 3 – Double Thumbing (Part 1)

    Chapter 4 – Double Thumbing (Part 2)

    Chapter 5 – Double Thumbing (Part 5)

    Chapter 6 – Combining Techniques

    Advanced Level Exercise Area

    Larry Graham Biography

    Louis Johnson Biography

    Stanley Clarke Biography

    Marcus Miller Biography

    Flea Biography

    Mark King Biography

    Stuart Hamm Biography

    Vail Johnson Biography

    Les Claypool Biography

    Victor Wooten Biography

    Ray Riendeau Biography

    About the Author

    Introduction

    It can be quite daunting taking your first tentative slaps on the bass. As likely as not, the first time you try the technique, it will feel awkward, clumsy, and it probably won’t sound that great either! However, while the slap and pop technique is a very exciting and seemingly complex way of playing the bass, that doesn’t mean that it has to be difficult to learn. When studying anything, be it a new technique or musical idea, the key to success is always through practice and perseverance. None of the best slap bassists were born as amazing players, but their efforts paid off - just as yours will if you persevere with the exercises in this book. Slap and pop is one of the most enjoyable techniques to learn and I can assure you that if you are newcomer to the style you’re going to have a blast learning it. I can also promise you that with a little patience, it won’t be long before you start getting results.

    I originally wrote Ultimate Slap Bass in 2005 and it quickly became a very popular title for bassists all around the world. Now, with the development of digital publishing, I am pleased to be able to present it as a series of ebooks, which can be read on a variety of digital tablets. I decided to spilt the original book (which was of considerable size) into three, with each part corresponding to the main sections in the printed book: beginner, intermediate and advanced. This allows for a more manageable download and has the added benefit that the reader can choose the level at which they want to begin their studies. This is the third book of the three and features more advanced techniques such as double thumbing, open string hammer-ons and combinations of techniques, all of which can be used to add some extra spice to your slap playing.

    I wrote the original book because I don’t believe a definitive slap and pop tuition book exists. Although there are several available, I have found that very few teach you how to play - most simply provide some vague descriptions of the technique and then bombard you with a barrage of exercises. Whilst you’ll certainly get a lot of exercises in this book - 91 to be precise - I also aim to illustrate the ‘how’s’ and ‘why’s’ of the style. My main goal in writing these books however, is to encourage bass players to use the technique in a more musical way - to quote the great Marcus Miller, ‘the technique of slap bass playing is at an all time high - although the musicality of the bass players using it is unfortunately at an all time low.’ My contribution towards rectifying this was to write the exercises in a variety of keys (other than E!) and tempos. Throughout each book you’ll also be encouraged to understand the theory behind what you are playing.

    The Ultimate Slap Bass ebooks have been developed to cater for all slap players, irrespective of their level. Whether you are completely new to the technique, or are just looking to add some new ideas to your playing there will be plenty in these books to keep you occupied. Please note however that this series is not intended for complete beginners to the instrument itself, rather newcomers to the slap and pop technique. I’m assuming that you know the fundamentals already, i.e. the notes on the fretboard, basic playing techniques, major scales in all twelve keys, how to tune up etc. If not, I strongly advise that you learn them. There are many books that can get you started with the basics - I’ve even written a few myself!

    All of the exercises in this book have an accompanying audio track for you to listen to/practice along with. Many of these files are recorded with a backing track so that you can hear how the basslines work in a musical context. By hearing them in this way you will be encouraged to slap in a more musical and creative way. Hopefully you’ll also be inspired to develop these lines further, and come up with some of your own. You can download these files free of charge by visiting the Bassline Publishing website and clicking on FREE Stuff on the main menu - you will need to log into the site to access this area. The audio files are in a zip file which is listed in the section for this book.

    Before I leave you to get started, a word of warning: while this book will teach you how to take the slap and pop technique to the next level, you should remember to use what you learn with taste and sensitivity. The slap technique can be a lot of fun, but it can also be very easy to overuse. There are times to use it, and times when not to. With that said, I hope you enjoy this book, and that it helps you to master the techniques that you want to learn. As usual, your questions and comments are welcomed, so please feel free to drop me an email at info@basslinepublishing.com.

    Stuart Clayton

    August 2012

    Chapter 1 – The Shuffle Feel

    So far, most of the exercises featured in this book have been based on a straight sixteenth note feel. However, in order to be able to apply the slap and pop technique to as large a variety of styles as possible, it is necessary to study the shuffle feel.

    Shuffle is a very loose term used to describe a groove that has a swing feel to it - an underlying triplet feel as opposed to a straight sixteenth note feel. Compare the following drum patterns. The first is a straight sixteenth note feel, the second is the same pattern but with the shuffle feel. You can hear these two grooves on the audio tracks - you’ll hear that there is quite a difference!

    Straight Sixteenth Note Groove

    tmp_920a7bb24d009417494065a52d7847a0_WCW3NI_html_3f5d4dcf.jpg

    Sixteenth Note Shuffle Groove

    tmp_920a7bb24d009417494065a52d7847a0_WCW3NI_html_40a3faf8.jpg

    Even without listening to the grooves, you can see just by looking at it that the shuffle groove has a very different feel. The elongation of the first sixteenth note and shortening of the second are the essence of the shuffle feel, although there are many degrees to which this can be done. Strict adherence to the rhythm above makes for a somewhat stiff and ‘quantised’ rhythm, which may well be what is required. Relaxing the rhythm however is often what really makes it groove. This feel is frequently used in many different styles of music, (notably funk and hip-hop) and you will play it many times throughout your life as a bass player.

    Unfortunately, you’ll find that most of your favourite sixteenth note-based riffs and licks don’t work over the shuffle feel, or at least will need to be adapted in some way. The aim of this chapter is to introduce you to the feel, and demonstrate the type of slap grooves and fills that work well within it. You should use them as starting off points for creating your own basslines.

    You’ll rarely see shuffle grooves written out with the sixteenth note triplet subdivisions as illustrated above. Most of the time shuffle grooves of this type are notated as sixteenth notes, possibly with a performance indication or metronome mark indicating that the part is to played with the

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