Top 10 Slap Bass Riffs for Beginners

start bass is awesome there is no denying it but if you are just starting out on this amazing instrument the base where do you even start with slap bass or if you've been playing a while how do you get into slap bass well in this video I'm going to be talking about the top 10 slap bass risks to get you started so with that said let's jump into it I just want to cover off a couple of quick things about the slapping technique so we're all on the same page okay first of all is the thumb there's a couple of different ways of doing it first of all is thumb down like this okay you can see my thumbs pointing down players like flea use this Tim Comerford use this a bunch of other players using and then there's thumb up or kind of thumb parallel almost right where you're not actually bouncing off the string you're playing through the string like this okay now the biggest differences between these two techniques for me is the sound check it out thumb down thumb up [Music] thumb up has a slightly thicker sound and also if you're doing the thumb up when you go through you can also pluck up as well with that thumb giving you the double thumb so now it's time to get playing some slap bass and the first track is a killer Track by Lenny Kravitz called Fly Away the verse has just this amazing slap Bass with this great effect on it it's just really pretty killer check this out just like a dragonfly here we go [Music] so the first thing with this track is to understand where the root notes are okay there's four notes it's just a which is the fifth fret of the E string C which is a third fret of the a string then we hop down to the G third fret of the E string and then D up here which is fifth fret of the a string so it's like this kind of like a rectangle shape right now once you've got those notes down the next step is to play the rift so what we're going to do is do a slide into each of those notes and it's a semitone slide one fret okay we're gonna go okay just dab and then we're gonna pop now that pop all we need to do is get our index finger put it under the string and pop and what we're doing here the movement is important is we're not like I'm not pulling away from the instrument I'm almost peeling my hand away like a just a like a peeling off a stamp okay peeling the hand away and then that gives me the the pop okay so it's not here it's a pop so it's a again now let's get that movement down just on that note there okay and then we'll take it around the rest there is a a ghost note in between this note and this note and it's it's the hand hitting the bass okay check it out here that little thud in between okay now let's get that and take it around each of the notes to the C [Music] so the G to the D one more time foreign now that'll be good enough okay just playing that but if you want to take it to that next level just like the original you're going to want to add two ghost notes in between each of the roots okay so you're gonna go and then and then laughs now that was out of time in time it sounds like this now the next track is actually the first track ever to have slap bass on it ever in history Larry Graham was the bass player the band was slying the Family Stone and the track is called thank you for letting me be myself again check this out hey there's pops thumb up [Music] so I like to splitting this riff into two sections the first section starts up here it is all it's just using the thumb for the whole thing in fact Larry Graham's awesome right Larry Graham I'm just like [Music] that's kind of like his Vibe right just this this thumb thing going on but this particular track it's it's got these three notes b d and e or the seventh fret on the E string five and then seven on the a string and then and those are just like real popped out it's the ninth fret to the seventh and then back again again so we've got this [Music] that's kind of the first section for me again slow down two three four now the second section repeats the start of the first again so you've got this and then the last bit of the second section is actually a you've got a slide open E which you let ring out and then okay so the whole thing together sounds like this [Music] thank you what the heck are you doing in my fridge anyway while I've got you if you want to get the tab and the notation for this lesson that you're watching right now we've put together a beautiful workbook for you he's completely free all you need to do is click that link in the description and go get it and with that said enjoy the lesson so this third track is one of my favorites in the list it's Grover Washington Jr with Marcus Miller on base playing just the two of us and it's the end section of the song that Marcus [Music] a real jazz bass slap sound right foreign [Music] so let's slow that down the first note is the d flat fourth fret on the a string and then obviously the octave then we move down a fret to the C and then we've got right up here it goes down chromatically so f e e flat a flat and then we've got back to the slap again to the Sea and then it just like grooves out on the F there now one thing to point out is on the first two notes it's got a it's got that little ghost note in between the that root and the octave okay so look out for it check it out this is it in slow two three four foreign thank you now the next one is Jungle Man by the Red Hot Chili Peppers recorded in check this out 1986 obviously Fleet on base and it's just a really great riff for getting that flea slap sound and slap technique it's a great Riff to get that down check it out foreign Place thumb down as well [Music] [Music] so obviously the first thing to get down on this riff is that beginning section [Music] it's pretty simple actually just like many of the slap lines that we're learning today it's the octave pattern right it's got that we actually we play the uh we thumb that E string we hammer on the second fret of the e and then we have like a ghost note and then we've got that pop it honestly I would just really concentrate on that to begin with get the hammer on nice and nice and sharp once you've got that down you can add in the okay two and three and four and foreign [Music] develops then you get onto this [Music] see it's a or the fifth fret of the AE string and then same on the seventh fret and again both with the octave [Applause] [Music] so on this next track we're actually going to tune down our E string to a d so what I'd like you to do is play the harmonic of the D string and then take that E string down so it matches there you go now the track itself is take the power back by Rage Against the Machine Tim comma foot on base has that E string obviously tuned down to a d and just the crunchiest awesomest best bass Stone you've ever heard check this out oh [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] that riff thumb down like Tim does it but if you are an up thumber if that feels more comfortable to you you can do it that way now let's look at the Riff itself obviously it starts off with this two Big D's right but then you've got this now all that is it's you're really fingering wise okay I'm using my first finger and my little finger okay and I'll hammer it on from the third fret to the fifth fret then putting a dead note so and then pop in that third fret on the D string there get that move down first that's a hammer on remember so you got that's it [Music] that's worth noting as well that there's a couple of little ghost notes in there that you might want to catch check it out did you hear that so it's you've got a this downward thumb thing really lends itself to this movement over and over again so like so that you know you're playing lots of notes but as you're playing lots of notes this movement is just kind of repeating like you'll see the same thing with chili peppers obviously we've got Tim common here and a bunch of other like Les Claypool stuff as well a lot of it next up is another Chili Peppers track it's higher ground you Chili Peppers fans you know this one already now I thought about not putting this in because it is a little tricky to play up to speed but it's a great one to play a little down Tempo just again to get that get that motion down check it out [Applause] good right so let's slow that down up to Tempo so the next song is actually a mix between traditional plucked thumb to not slapped plucked thumb but it's got some pops in and I just don't think that I can make this video without adding it in it's Bruno Mars it's treasure check this out it's so funky [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] so let's slow that down a little bit check this out two three four [Music] the trick is obviously to incorporate that thumb plucking with that pop so it sounds like this when you speed it up thank you [Music] next up dark Necessities another Chili Peppers track with obviously Flea on base [Music] just so roll this time [Music] now let's slow that down [Music] again flee playing with that downward thumb there and the trick to this is again really getting that rocking motion just like we discussed on the Rage Against the Machine track it's that getting that so it's thumb slap slap block that's how it begins and then you've got a rock a couple of rocks and then you've got that now when you're starting out with this riff I'd actually recommend just focus on the first bit of it right [Music] just focus on getting the movements down first and just stay on that first bit [Music] and then when you're ready [Music] down to the a flat next up we've got another Chili Peppers one I do apologize but flea just writes great slap bass Rifts which are great to get started out on right this track is called tell me baby the reason I chose this is because it doesn't start out with the thumb if you look at all of the stuff that we've learned so far it's all starting out with that thumb this one it starts out with a plug check it out [Music] great tone as well [Music] so check it out let's slow that down so you can get it down okay one two three four [Music] foreign now let's go on to the last track the last and certainly not least it is Muse Panic Station check it out [Applause] [Music] just hurt you too so let's break that down a little bit so you can see what's going on okay it starts out with the thought three Big E's and then we've got a double stop which is you hold down the uh the D string and G string at the fifth fret seventh fret even and like you pull it so and then you slide up a whole tone to the ninth fret [Music] that's the first section now after that we've got this this chord appear which is I think it's either these two notes here but I think it's also got the in there as well okay really cool fourth right so it is the what my 15 16 is only 18 19 19th fret so that chord so again slowly [Music] then the same thing again next bit is it goes down to a and plays three Big A's let's break that down so it just goes a a a and then you hold down two notes Here which is E flat and a flat or the uh 13th fret on the D and the g string and slide down one fret what have to slid that down you go you've got those those four Big G's so so let me play it for you super slow so you can see all in its entirety okay check it out thank you all right [Music] so now it's time for you to grab your base and give all of these songs a run through in fact honestly I'm hoping that you have your base already and if you have good luck with these remember to grab that free download down below check out scottsbasslessons.com and that's where you'll find myself and the team and some of the best base Educators on the planet if you've not checked it out you can grab a 14 day free trial and take the entire platform for a test drive and let us help you get your bass plane to that next level with that said take it easy and I'll see you in the shed

Channel: Scott's Bass Lessons

Views: 323,022

Keywords: bass guitar, bass lessons, bass riffs, bass slap tutorial, beginner, beginners, best slap bass lines, clinic, cover, easy slap bass riff, funk, groove, jazz, masterclass, scott devine, slap, slap bass lines, slap bass riffs, slap bass tutorial, soloing, tuition

Id: WnxLCFUpW-A

Length: 21min 39sec (1299 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 05 2022