How To Play Guitar Slap Bass

how to play guitar slap bass
Maniac Mansion – Slap bass guitar C64 intro music theme

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Could someone help me with these bass (Guitar) terms?

I got this tab for a song I wanted to play on my bass but I’m not familiar with these terms for moves on the bass. Could anyone explain what they are and how to do them the right way?

Hammer on
Pull off
Let ring
Rest (I think this is just a normal rest but wasn’t sure if it had a special meaning in bass terms)
Slap
Pop

And any other terms that I haven’t mentioned but you could think of are appreciated. Thanks.

Hammer On – After a note is played normally by some sort of strumming, you take a finger on your fretting hand and play another note without any means of strumming. In other words, you “hammer on” with your finger to another note instead of strumming another note.

Pull Off – Usually goes hand in hand with Hammer Ons. After a note is played normally, using the finger being used to play the current note, you take the finger off of the fret by “pulling it off” so it play a new note.

Let Ring – This means you play a note and let it keep playing until the sound dies out.

Rest – This isn’t a bass or guitar term that I know of. This is a music term (for any musical instrument, really). It’s when you don’t play anything for a certain amount of time within a measure.

Slap – This is when you use the side of your thumb of your strumming hand to quickly hit, or “slap” downwards on the string to make it sound.

Pop – Usually goes hand in hand with Slapping. It is the exact same thing as Slapping, except you hit the string upwards instead of downwards. EDIT: I should have been more specific. This is actually a bit different then Slapping. Although it does go hand in hand with slapping, they way it is does is different. Popping is when you use either your first and/or second finger to pull up on the string after you slap the string.

Some other terms you might need:

Natural Harmonics – When you use your fretting hand to gently touch a specific fret. You do not press down on the string like a regular note, you simply touch the string. You have to touch the string right on top of the fret (rather then behind the fret like you would normally play) to make the harmonic sound. Also, the “best sounding” harmonics are on frets 5, 7, 9, and 12, although you can technically play a harmonic on any fret.

Pinch Harmonics – These are incredibly hard to do on a bass and is not used very often. The easiest and probably only way to do this on a bass it by using a pick. When you pick a note, you must, at the same time, touch the string with your thumb (the SAME thumb that is holding the pick). It is very hard to do on thicker strings, which is why it is more commonly used on a normal guitar on its higher strings.

Slide – Probably the simplest technique. All you do is play a note any way you want, and move, or “slide” your finger that was on the note up or down to another note. Remember that during the slide, you have to keep your finger pressed down on the string to make is sound correct.

Bend – This is when you play a note any way you want, and you pull the string downwards (or push the string upwards) to “bend” the string to a higher note.

Release – After you bend a note, some music might want you to release. This simply means you bring the note back to its original position.

Tapping – This is when fret a note using your picking hand. You take one of your fingers on your picking hand (usually your first or second finger) and “tap” a note on the fret board. This technique applies Hammer Ons and Pull Offs on the picking hand.

Hope that all helps! =)

how to play guitar slap bass