Chords for Flea demonstrates how to "Slap" on a Fleabass!

Tempo:
86.55 bpm
Chords used:

G

E

D

A

Bb

Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Show Tuner
Flea demonstrates how to "Slap" on a Fleabass! chords
Start Jamming...
Next thing I'd like to talk about is slapping, which is a style that I think was originated by Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone,
but I'm not really sure who started it.
He's famous for it.
He's the first guy that's famous for it on the electric bass anyways.
And once again, this is a technique that is done several different ways, and I have a way that I do it, my flea way.
But I recommend, you know, the deeper that you explore the bass and the deeper that you explore the technique,
that you not only develop your own style, but study the styles of many people so you can see what is comfortable for you.
But the basic technique is you strike a low string with your thumb, with the bone that's in the middle of your thumb right here,
and say, if I'm striking the E string with my thumb, you go, [D] you don't go like this, you strike it, it's like you just pop it.
[E] You don't lay your thumb down on it like this, it just will stop, and you don't try to go like that or strike it any which way from any side,
you just pop down like that, just a quick little pop.
And so you start, first just get comfortable doing that.
Basically, those are all just, I mean I know I'm fooling around, but it's basically all just like that, and as you start to get more comfortable,
and you start to find rhythms that appeal to you, that's how you do it.
And the second half of this technique is the pulling up.
You pop down with your thumb, and then you pull it up with, I use my middle finger right here,
and if I'll go on the D string, and I'll make an octave between the Es, which are this note and this note, I will slap down with my thumb,
and then with my middle finger, it will go underneath the D string and pull up like this, pulling up like this.
[D]
[A] And [D] [E] [D] together, and once again, practice just pulling up [E] and finding the comfort [D] zone, [E] how that feels for you.
So then you pop down with your thumb, and then pull up with your finger, and if you do it together,
[G] [E] [G] [E]
[G] [A] [G] [E]
you start to learn how to do it, you start inventing exercises for yourself and bass lines that you like,
as your knowledge of the bass and your knowledge of the harmonics and the theory of music increases, you find different ways to do it.
But a technique that I have always used, and the way that I learned how to slap the bass, is I started making an octave, like this,
and I started playing a rhythm that goes like this.
I go
And I just kept doing that until I started to do it over and over and over again, until I began to find comfort and to find strength,
which is what comes from practice, is you start to find comfort and strength, and that's what you need to be a good musician.
So
And, you know, eventually you get faster and faster, and you're
Slower
And the exercise that I do, and what I still use to warm up every time before I play a show, is I start doing octaves like that,
and I start to move the octaves up and down the neck, playing octaves here with my left hand,
which is something that, you know, you're going to learn as you study the bass, and I go
[F] [Gb]
[G]
[Ab] [A]
[Bb]
[B] [C]
And I slow it
[Db] down
[Eb] [G]
[Eb] And I keep going
[E] And I go down [Eb] the neck
[G]
[Dbm] [G] And that's how I develop my particular slapping technique, which, you know, I do it my own way.
I have my own way.
I'm not saying it's the only way, but that's how I do it, and that is the exercise that I developed for myself,
which is kind of the building block of the style that I developed as my free way of doing it.
So that's slapping.
[Bb] [E] [G]
[N]
[Bb] And that's it.
[G]
Key:  
G
2131
E
2311
D
1321
A
1231
Bb
12341111
G
2131
E
2311
D
1321
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Next thing I'd like to talk about is slapping, which is a style that I think was originated by Larry Graham of Sly and the Family Stone,
but I'm not really sure who started it.
He's famous for it.
He's the first guy that's famous for it on the electric bass anyways.
And once again, this is a technique that is done several different ways, and I have a way that I do it, my flea way.
But I recommend, you know, the deeper that you explore the bass and the deeper that you explore the technique,
that you not only develop your own style, but study the styles of many people so you can see what is comfortable for you.
But the basic technique is you strike a low string with your thumb, with the bone that's in the middle of your thumb right here,
and say, if I'm striking the E string with my thumb, you go, [D] you don't go like this, you strike it, it's like you just pop it.
[E] You don't lay your thumb down on it like this, it just will stop, and you don't try to go like that or strike it any which way from any side,
you just pop down like that, just a quick little pop.
And so you start, first just get comfortable doing that. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ Basically, those are all just, I mean I know I'm fooling around, but it's basically all just like that, and as you start to get more comfortable,
and you start to find rhythms that appeal to you, that's how you do it.
And the second half of this technique is the pulling up.
You pop down with your thumb, and then you pull it up with, I use my middle finger right here,
and if I'll go on the D string, and I'll make an octave between the Es, which are this note and this note, I will slap down with my thumb,
and then with my middle finger, it will go underneath the D string and pull up like this, _ _ pulling up like this.
[D] _ _
_ [A] _ And [D] _ [E] _ [D] together, and once again, practice just pulling up [E] and finding the comfort [D] zone, [E] how that feels for you.
So then you pop down with your thumb, and then pull up with your finger, and if you do it together, _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [E] _ _ [G] _ [E] _
_ _ _ [G] _ _ [A] _ [G] _ [E] _
_ you start to learn how to do it, you start inventing exercises for yourself and bass lines that you like,
as your knowledge of the bass and your knowledge of the harmonics and the theory of music increases, you find different ways to do it.
But a technique that I have always used, and the way that I learned how to slap the bass, is I started making an octave, _ like this,
and I started playing a rhythm that goes like this.
I _ _ _ go_ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ And I just kept doing that until I started to do it over and over and over again, until I began to find comfort and to find strength,
which is what comes from practice, is you start to find comfort and strength, and that's what you need to be a good musician. _ _
_ _ So_
And, you know, eventually you get faster and faster, and you're_
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ Slower_ _ _
_ _ _ And the exercise that I do, and what I still use to warm up every time before I play a show, is I start doing octaves like that,
and I start to move the octaves up and down the neck, playing octaves here with my left hand,
which is something that, you know, you're going to learn as you study the bass, and I go_ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _
_ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [Ab] _ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _
_ [B] _ _ _ _ _ _ [C] _
And _ I slow it _ _ _
_ _ _ [Db] _ _ _ down_
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ And I keep _ going_
_ [E] _ _ _ And I go down [Eb] the neck_
_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ _ [Dbm] _ _ _ [G] And that's how I develop my particular slapping technique, _ which, you know, I do it my own way.
I have my own way.
I'm not saying it's the only way, but that's how I do it, and that is the exercise that I developed for myself,
which is kind of the building block of the style that I developed as my free way of doing it.
_ So that's slapping. _ _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [N] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Bb] And that's it.
[G] _ _ _

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