Quick bass help

YosemiteSam

I've been playing playing electric bass for about five months, and I'm going to be playing in a show next Thursday. We're playing "Heart of Glass" by Blondie and I'd really like to incorporate disco elements into my bass playing. Primarily I want to know how you play two sixteenth notes in a row on the upbeat on a song of that tempo (off the top of my head, this rhythm is in the bass part of "Right on Time" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in the chorus). I tried just using my index and middle finger, like I normally do, but it was really hard to play that fast. Should I just keep practicing that or is there a better way to play that rhythm? I tried using a pick, but it sounded too staccato.

If possible, I'd also like to be able to slap. I can get an okay slap sound out of an open string, but I can barely get anything out of the string when its fretted. Granted, I'm lucky that the song is in E so I could just slap the E string, but I'm pretty certain I'm doing it wrong. Are there any good online instructions or videos anyone knows of so I can learn how to slap? Specifically I want to do slap and pop, but I'm pretty much satisfied with my popping technique as it is (although I'm not certain I know how to pop right after a slap). Thanks.

wmelon

YosemiteSam wrote:

I've been playing playing electric bass for about five months, and I'm going to be playing in a show next Thursday. We're playing "Heart of Glass" by Blondie and I'd really like to incorporate disco elements into my bass playing. Primarily I want to know how you play two sixteenth notes in a row on the upbeat on a song of that tempo (off the top of my head, this rhythm is in the bass part of "Right on Time" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in the chorus). I tried just using my index and middle finger, like I normally do, but it was really hard to play that fast. Should I just keep practicing that or is there a better way to play that rhythm? I tried using a pick, but it sounded too staccato.

This really just takes practice. I've been playing bass for almost 15 years now and it took me a little while before I had the coordination to move my fingers fast enough to do this. If you're really wanting to incorporate disco into your playing, I'd suggest listening to a lot of it and you'll start just doing it on your own. If that's too slow for you, you can take lessons.

YosemiteSam wrote:

If possible, I'd also like to be able to slap. I can get an okay slap sound out of an open string, but I can barely get anything out of the string when its fretted. Granted, I'm lucky that the song is in E so I could just slap the E string, but I'm pretty certain I'm doing it wrong. Are there any good online instructions or videos anyone knows of so I can learn how to slap? Specifically I want to do slap and pop, but I'm pretty much satisfied with my popping technique as it is (although I'm not certain I know how to pop right after a slap). Thanks.

Slap bass is one of the hardest types of bass playing imaginable. You could probably learn to do it by watching les claypool playing, but i'd probably suggest finding somebody to teach you how. I still have problems slapping after all this time.

EggyToast

YosemiteSam wrote:

I've been playing playing electric bass for about five months, and I'm going to be playing in a show next Thursday. We're playing "Heart of Glass" by Blondie and I'd really like to incorporate disco elements into my bass playing. Primarily I want to know how you play two sixteenth notes in a row on the upbeat on a song of that tempo (off the top of my head, this rhythm is in the bass part of "Right on Time" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, in the chorus). I tried just using my index and middle finger, like I normally do, but it was really hard to play that fast. Should I just keep practicing that or is there a better way to play that rhythm? I tried using a pick, but it sounded too staccato.

If possible, I'd also like to be able to slap. I can get an okay slap sound out of an open string, but I can barely get anything out of the string when its fretted. Granted, I'm lucky that the song is in E so I could just slap the E string, but I'm pretty certain I'm doing it wrong. Are there any good online instructions or videos anyone knows of so I can learn how to slap? Specifically I want to do slap and pop, but I'm pretty much satisfied with my popping technique as it is (although I'm not certain I know how to pop right after a slap). Thanks.

I've been learning upright for about a year and faster notes are definitely hard, both timing-wise and dexterity-wise. Practice will get you there, but next thursday? I would suggest making sure you peg that first note and let it go long, at least -- i guarantee that people at the show won't notice

You could also practice 2-finger plucking, although again, I don't know how much you want to try out new things if the show is in a week.

YosemiteSam

So, like, practice? Fuck, that wasn't the answer I wanted.

DynamiteKid

For a short-time, cop-out option, use a pick. Honestly if anyhting gets too fast for me to play with my fingers, I use a pick until I can do it.

redimpulse

That's the best way to get there. I've been bassing for about 10-12 years and the only advice I can give you is PRACTICE.

That and watch others play. Find another bassist that's been playing a great deal longer than you and see if they can teach you anything.

Shit dude, 5 months is nothing. Have you played any string instruments prior to picking up the bass? It seems pretty young to start playing gigs...

YosemiteSam

redimpulse wrote:

Shit dude, 5 months is nothing. Have you played any string instruments prior to picking up the bass? It seems pretty young to start playing gigs...

No, I'm a clarinetist and I recently took up saxophone. I feel comfortable enough with the show in general, that's not the issue. Today I tried playing an eighth note on the downbeat and then sixteenth notes on the upbeat, which is easier because I don't have to cut off the second sixteenth note (or the eighth note), and that was kind of hard but I could basically do it. I'll practice for the week and I think I'll be comfortable enough by Thursday. It's just a college Battle of the Bands, I'm not exactly playing the Village Vanguard anyway. Although I'd still appreciate any advice on slapping, if anyone knows of a particularly good online resource or can give me good instructions. In particular, if I opt to just slap the open E, how do I go about popping on the upbeat? It feels weird to me to pop without having my thumb resting on the E string.

coma white

DynamiteKid wrote:

For a short-time, cop-out option, use a pick. Honestly if anyhting gets too fast for me to play with my fingers, I use a pick until I can do it.

this might workk, but the sound you'll get will be entirely different and may not have the tone you're looking for

i play almost exclusively with a pick, though

gobassgo

Don't use a pick for that genre of music.
For Disco, use lots of heavy downbeats and 8th note octave patters.
Just bust out a metronome and go up and down the bass playing octave patterns heavily emphasizing the downbeat.

The primary difficulty in playing octaves really quickly is the skipping of strings. For this you just need to practice. I suggest learning "River People" by Weather Report, as the bass line is entirely composed of 16th note octaves.

YosemiteSam

I ended up playing the original bass line, which didn't include any faster rhythms or slapping. The whole show went well, (except when our lead guitarist got lost, but whatever it was our first show). You can watch Heart of Glass here, if anyone cares. Thanks for the help!

EggyToast

Since you asked, here's a video I found a while back about popping and slapping, since i was pretty damn confused about it:

http://www.howtoslapbass.com/slap-bass-tutorial/?=wiki

of course, if you already know what's going on, but just have a question about popping on the E, I can't help (you can't really do it on an upright).