Rock Slap Bass Technique: How (And When) To Use It

Today, we’re talking all about rock slap bass technique – the kind of slap technique that tons of rock bassists use.

Now usually, when I ask people to think of famous slap bass players, 2 names always come up again and again and again:

1. Flea
2. Victor Wooten

It makes sense – they’re both great musicians, both have amazing catalogues of music and they’re both huge influences on thousands of bassists around the world.

But they each have very different styles (even though it’s still slap bass), very different approaches, and most importantly, they each use a very different slap bass technique.

Check out Victor’s right hand:

And now look at Flea’s:

They’re doing very different things here – so what’s going on? Is one ‘right’ and the other ‘wrong’?

And if you want to learn slap bass, should you use a Victor Wooten kind of technique? Or a Flea-style slap bass technique? Does it even matter?

Well in today’s lesson, we’re going to do a deep dive into what I call the ‘rock slap bass’ technique. Of course Flea uses it, but players like Metallica’s Rob Trujillo and The Aristocrat’s Bryan Beller and a host of others also use it whenever they need to slap.

You’ll learn:

• How to get started playing this technique using a pretty easy Flea bass line
• The most important difference when using a ‘rock slap’ technique vs. the ‘standard’ slap technique
• 2 reasons you absolutely should use this technique, plus 2 reasons you shouldn’t (it’s a real double-edged sword)

Check out the lesson here:

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If you’re looking to actually give this rock slap bass technique a try, make sure you fill out the form above to get the tabs, tracks and notation of the example bass line. It will make a lot more sense if you apply this technique to actual music, plus it’s a great bass line and a ton of fun.

Spoiler: this rock slap bass technique isn’t ‘wrong’ and the other way ‘right’. A lot of it will come down to your own personal preference and what feels most natural to you. Some people feel right at home using the rock slap technique, but for others it feels like brushing your teeth with the wrong hand and vice versa.

So give each one a try and see what feels best to you! Good luck with the lesson and happy slapping!

Cheers,