One of the newer additions to the bassist's vocabulary is a technique called slapping. This technique is also called thumbing. Not all bassists use this technique; it all comes down to personal style and musical context. Popularized in the 1970s and 1980s, slapping can be heard in the electric bass work of Stanley Clarke, Larry Graham, Flea, Mark King, and Victor Wooten.

The technique of slapping is based on an alternating motion between the thumb and the index finger of the right hand (assuming you're holding the bass right-handed). This technique is very percussive in nature and is used in funk, disco, soul, and fusion jazz to create bass lines and solos.

When slapping, the side of the thumb hits the strings like a mallet. This is called thumbing. Use a rotating motion in your wrist and forearm to strike the string forcefully. The thumb generally attacks the lower strings.

The second half of the technique is snapping on the higher strings. The snap is performed with the index finger of the right hand. Its goal is to pluck in such a fashion so that the strings snap back against the bass guitar. This is accomplished by using the index finger as a hook. First, shape the finger like a hook. Second, position your finger under the string. Third, pluck the string so that it smacks back against the neck and pickups. Both the thumbing and snapping aspects of slap bass need to be practiced quite extensively in order to achieve the funky sound that is the signature of this technique. It's also recommended that you watch a bass player do this in order to better visualize the technique (see Film/DVD in Appendix B).

A great way to get started is to play octaves up and down the neck. When you do this, use the thumbing technique on the low notes. On the high notes, snap the string with your index finger. A common slap bass pattern is illustrated in Figure 9-9. This bass line also uses chromatics to better connect the two chords.

Another technique that goes hand in hand with slapping is the hammer-on. As you slap, hammer-ons are performed with the left hand by striking the fretboard with your fingers. This means that in between thumbs and snaps you will hammer the string. If you're manipulating two notes with adjacent fingers, the higher finger literally bangs onto the fret so that it produces a new sound. In other words, after a thumb or snap, the higher finger in the left hand hammers the second note. The hammer-on is aided by the fact that there is already extra energy in the string due to the excessive force that thumbing and snapping provide.

Figure 9-9. Slapping octaves

Thumb downbeats (1, 2, 3, 4) and snap upbeats (+).

The whole process can be summarized in three easy steps:

• Press down a string using fingers one, two, or three in the left hand.

• Thumb or snap this same string using your right hand.

• Forcefully hammer-on the string using an adjacent finger in the left hand. The finger you use for hammering lies above the first note's finger. When you do this, a second note is produced. Remember, fingers are numbered one through four — index through pinky — respectively.

The hammer-on technique can also be used minus the thumbing/snapping aspect, but it requires you to apply more energy in the left hand. All in all, a hammer-on may be used in any appropriate passage of notes: fingered, picked, thumbed, or snapped. Generally, hammer-ons help to make musical passages more legato and smooth.

In Figure 9-10, you'll see a riff based on a minor pentatonic scale. Try thumbing the lower notes while snapping the higher pitched ones. Because the higher notes fall in quick succession, and because the fingering in the left hand makes it possible to hammer, you can easily employ the hammer-on technique in this exercise.

Figure 9-10. Slapping with hammer-on