We can’t say for sure who was the first to “slappa da bass,” but the technique is generally credited to William Manuel “Bill” Johnson. Abandoning their bows and adding vigor to the traditional pizzicato, double bassists began really going to town on their string attacks, and slap bass popped into existence. Then, sometime in the early 1900s, a fascinating new technique started to spread throughout New Orleans.
Though some musical passages called for a plucked pizzicato technique, the bow was, by and large, the most common means of tickling out bass lines. This standup bass was usually played with a bow, even in early jazz and swing music. Where Did it Come From? New Jazz in New Orleansīefore the mid-20th century appearance of Fender’s Precision bass, the deepest notes of ensembles were typically delivered either by the tuba or by the large and low contrabass. Over the years, players have developed variations of these slap and pop techniques, but the underlying principle has remained the same-that is, the strings are struck with enough force to send them into the fretboard, resulting in a distinctly percussive attack. This means that the thumb generally is used on the lower strings, delivering a downward snare-like spank-a SLAP, if you will-while one or two fingers work to pull up and release the higher strings so that they impact-or POP-the fretboard. Second, a slap is often accompanied by a pop. To pull this off, the player might slap the strings nearer to or even directly above the end of the fretboard, but it’s not uncommon to see the slapping hand situated close to the bridge. This gives the style its trademark sound-a sharp, direct SNAP that adds punctuation to each note. There are, however, a couple elements that join them under the same umbrella.įirst, rather than bowing the strings or simply plucking them with a pick or the fingertips, slapping involves a percussive strike that sends the string against the fingerboard. Since it’s double bass beginnings, slap bass has split off into several different distinct techniques. But, we’ll take a look at the players who helped bring the skill to the mainstream through their improvised innovations and daring readiness to break from bass traditions. Like most musical techniques, it’s a playing style with a murky history and unclear origins. You’ve heard it in funk, you’ve heard it in disco, you may have even heard it in country, but have you ever heard of where it came from? From early jazz to modern metal, slap bass has had an impact on music that cannot be overlooked.