Slap Accelerator

01
With Scott Devine & Ian Martin Allison
WEEK 01
Core Skill #1 — Thumbing
COURSE BOOK
S C OTTS BA S S L E S S ON S .C OM
CORE SKILL #1
Thumbing
SC OTTS BA S S L E S S ON S .C OM
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 01 / CORE SKILL #1 THUMBING 3
Lesson 1
Parallel Thumb Position
Welcome to the Slap Accelerator! In this first lesson, we’ll be covering the
thumb, and the different techniques you can use to strike the string.
Thumb Techniques
The “Down” Technique
Popularized by the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea, this

technique involves striking the string with the “bony” part (where
your thumb bends at the knuckle) straight down on the string, with
your thumb angled down relative to the string itself, then bouncing
off the string to sound the note.
← Figure 1A. “Down” Thumb Slapping Technique
The “Parallel” Technique

The “parallel” technique involves pointing your slapping thumb parallel to the
strings, and striking through the string using the bone on the side of your thumb.*
“You don’t need to
Here, you don’t “bounce” your thumb off the string. End the stroke on the adjacent emulate anybody else;
string and the small piece of the fretboard just after the last fret.** Your goal we all have completely
different...thumbs.
should be a clear, consistent sound across all the strings as you slap each string. What you’re really
looking for is getting
This is the technique we’ll be focusing on throughout this Accelerator: the right sound.”
Strike through the

string, don’t bounce!
j
Figure 1B. ”Parallel” Thumb Slapping Technique
*You can also use the “fleshy” part nearer the end of the thumb.
**While ending the stroke on the small piece of the fretboard isn’t mandatory—you can also use this technique closer
to the bridge—it’s recommended. SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
LESSON 1 (continued)
You’ll notice that, in comparison to the “down thumb” approach, striking through
the string rather than bouncing off of it creates a much fatter sound by causing
the string to resonate differently; it’s especially noticeable on the higher strings.
“Down” VS “Parallel” Thumb and Wrist Movement
If you’re used to playing “down” thumb,

your wrist movement is much like turning a
I doorknob.
I I I Or think of the “hang loose” sign. Visualize that,

and you’ll see that you rotate your thumb (and
r
r
pinkie) around your forearm; in fact, your entire
forearm rotates:
← Figure 1C. “Doorknob” Wrist Turning & “Down” Technique
While there is still rotation of the wrist when using the parallel technique, it’s much
more subtle, and has a different feel to it.
01. Subtly rotate your wrist

as you bring your wrist down
on the strings
02
02. Strike through the string
01
“[The parallel technique]
is something that you
really need to practice and
experiment with to get
your own approach to it...”
Figure 1D. “Parallel” Technique
SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
Fine Tune Your Aim!

It may sound obvious, but as you start using the parallel thumb technique, your
first “goal” should
Lesson 1: Basicbe to hit
thumb the string you’re aiming for and “make the sound.”
technique
You might miss the string at first! Try hitting random strings, making sure you get
? 44
the proper sound and the “feel” of the thumb going through the string. Unlike the “Give yourself some
œ. œ. technique,
œ. œ. there’sœ. notœ.as much
œ. surface
œ. œarea œ. œ.the string,
œ. œ. œ. œ. freedom to suck at this
œ.
“down thumb” . hitting so and make mistakes.”
your aimT is more important! Start on just one string. And don’t even worry about ¿
your fretting hand—play an open string. Pick any tempo you’d like, and once you
¤
find yourself
0 0getting
0 the0proper0 sound,
0 gradually
0 0 increase
0 it.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lesson 1: Basic thumb technique (Closer to as played)

Lesson Exercise 1–1 Basic Thumb Technique
Faster
Repeat as desired Repeat as desired
? 44 ™™ ™™ ™™ ™™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T ¿ T ¿
™ ™ ™ ™
¤ ™ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
™ ™ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
™
Slower Faster
5 Repeat as desired Repeat as desired
? ™™ ™™ ™™ ™™
œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.
T ¿ T ¿
™ ™ ™ ™
™ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
™ ™ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
™
Notes:
— In Bars 5–8, shorten the notes by deadening the strings by placing your fretting hand
fingers against the strings immediately after you slap the string with your thumb.
— As noted earlier, you don’t need to slap over the end of the fretboard. You can slap just
behind the fretboard, too. “It’s so fun to have a
bass buddy, dude!”
— Work on your aim! Don’t worry if you miss the string. Keep on playing.
“Enjoy the simple
— Repetition will help your body learn the movement.
process of making
— Of course, feel free to play this exercise using any other note you’d like, too! a nice sound on one
string.”
But at least for now, stick to just one string.
Lesson 2
Single-String Exercise and Muting
In this lesson, we’ll play a simple one-string exercise, with an emphasis on rhythms,
“Really, what you’re
using quarter and eighth notes, as well as rests. There’s perhaps nothing more
doing when you’re
important to playing slap bass than rhythm. We’ll use “Funk No. 3” from the playing slap bass is
SBL Groove Trainer* as the backing drum groove for this lesson. Let’s dive right in: you’re playing drums.”
Lesson Exercise 2–1 Single-String Étude

FUNK NO. 3
? 44 ™™ Œ Ó ™™ ™™ Œ Œ ™™ ™™ ™™
œ œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ.
T T T T ¿
™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™
˚ ™ 3
™ ™ 3 3
™ ™ 3 3 3 3
™
5
? ™™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™™ ™™ ™™
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ ™ ™ œ. œ. œ. œ. ™ ™ œ
Œ Œ Œ Ó
œ œ
T ¿ T ¿ T T T
™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™
™ 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 ™ ™ 3 3 3 3 ™ ™ 3 3
™ ™ 3
™
Muting
It’s equally important to mute the strings as applicable, so that the string doesn’t
just ring out across the entire measure. Listen to (or watch!) someone like Victor
Wooten or Marcus Miller, and you’ll get an appreciation for all the muting they do.
A lack of muting is a common mistake beginner “slappers” often make!
It’s muting that makes the notes sound clean, “punchy, and polished.”
For slap bass, the fretting hand provides most of the muting.
Get the FREE

SBL Groove Trainer App
*The SBL Groove Trainer is a totally FREE app featuring countless

drum grooves, a tuner, and a metronome! Available for mobile or
tablet on the App Store or Google Play, and for your desktop at
https://groovetrainer.scottsbasslessons.com
GET IT ON
Lesson 3: Two-string riff
? 44 ™™ j. j . ÍÍÍÍ
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 01 / CORE SKILL #1 THUMBING
j j 7
œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ j
œ œ. ‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ. ‰ œj œ ‰ œ œ. œ ™™ œ
. .
T T ¿ T ¿ T ÍÍÍÍ ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
™ ™
Lesson 3
˚ ™ 5 3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3
™ 5
Two-String Slapping*ÍÍÍÍ
? 44 ™™ . . . .
œ. ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ. ¿ œ œ œ œ. ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ. ¿ œ œ œ œ
Let’s just dive right on in. But first, simply try this “pre-exercise” to get
accustomed
T
to playing on two ÍÍÍÍ Pick any two adjacent strings, ¿ T
strings.
“You are gonna mess
™ this up. Sleep easy! ...
˚ work
and ™ 5 onX your
3 5 aim:
X 3 5 3 5 X 3 5 Over time, [your aim]
3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 will become
less challenging.”
Lesson 3: Pre-Exercise
Video Example 3–1. Simple Two-String Slapping
? 46 ™™ Œ œ œ Œ 7
4 œ Œ œ œ œ 5 46 A ™™
œ œ œ œ
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ etc.
™ ™
˚ ™ 5 5
5 5
5 5 5
5 5 5 ™
Notes:
— There’s no tempo or time signature necessary; the point is to get comfortable slapping two strings
that are next to each other!
— Be sure to change up the strings and rhythms.
Once you’re feeling confident slapping adjacent strings, move to the exercise:
Lesson Exercise 3–1 Two-String Riff

Lesson 3: Two-string riff
FUNK NO. 3
j j ÍÍÍÍ
*
j j
**Play 4 times
? 4 ™™
4 . . . . ™
œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ. ‰ œ œ œ œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ. ‰ œ œ œ ™ œ
j j
T T ¿ T ¿ T ÍÍÍÍ ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
™ ™
˚ ™ 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3
™ 5
*The “Added Sauce” ... vibrato! **As with this and
all exercises, feel free
to play as many times
as you'd like.
Notes:
ÍÍÍÍ
— You don’t need to limit yourself regarding how many time you play that groove!
? 44 ™™ œ .
œ ¿ œ .
œ œ . ¿
œ
Keep it going as long as you’d like... 5 minutes? Why not! Make sure you feel the groove, and œ .
œ
œ. ¿
lock in with the drums. œ œ. ¿ œ œ. ¿ œ œ. ¿ œ œ
T
— Don’t be afraid
ÍÍÍÍ
to look down at your thumb as you play: make sure your aim is exactly spot on. ¿ T
™ the number of repeats indicated in any example simply refers to the number of
— Note that
™ 5 inXthe3video.
˚ times played 5 X
3 5 X
3 5
3 5 X
3 5 X
3 5 X
3 5
3 5
*With “AddedLesson
Sauce” 3: Pre-Exercise SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
Ghost Notes
Slap bass playing is very percussive. It’s natural to “keep the beat” by striking
down on a muted string with your plucking/slapping hand on the downbeats!
In Lesson Exercise 3-1, this happens to coincide with where the rests are in the
music. Lesson 3: Two-string riff
j ‰ j this ‰ghost
j ÍÍÍÍj œ. ‰ j the beat
? 4 ™™times,
Often
4 œ ‰ we
œ œ.create œ œ. note when
‰ œkeeping ‰ œj by
œ. lifting™™ off
œ œ. œ œ. œ œ œ œ
the note. (all fret-hand fingers lightly touching the string,. but not fretting it),
T T ¿ T ¿ T ÍÍÍÍ ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
then allowing
™ your plucking/slapping hand to drop onto the string, creating
™ a
˚ ™ 5 sound
percussive 3 5 without
3 5 actually sounding
3 5
3 5 a
3 note:
5
3 5
3 5
3
™ 5
Video Example 3–2. Two-String Riff with Ghost Notes

ÍÍÍÍ
? 44 ™™ . ¿
œ .
œ . .
œ. ¿ œ œ œ. ¿ œ œ œ. ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ. ¿ œ œ œ œ
T
ÍÍÍÍ ¿ T
™
˚ ™ 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 3 5
Lesson 3: Pre-Exercise
? 46 ™™ Œ œ œ Œ 7
4 œ Œ œ œ œ 5 46 A ™™
œ œ œ œ
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
“A lot¿ of these ghost notes actually just
™ happen ™because of the way that your hands
˚ ™ 5 5
5 5
5 5 5
5 5
are
5 ™ on the bass.”
landing
Lesson 4
Three-String Riff with Fill
Three-String Slapping
This lesson builds off Lesson Exercise 3–1 by expanding to three strings, and
adding a fill in Bar 4. Before you try this next example, of course make sure you
can play Lesson Exercise 3–1 without any mistakes.
Lesson Exercise 4-1

Lesson Lesson
Exercise 4–1 Three-String
4: Three-string riff Riff
Added ﬀill
FUNK NO. 3
j . ÍÍÍ
Play 4 times
? 44 ™™ ‰ œj œ. ‰ j j. j œ œ œ œ œ ™™
œ. œ œ. ‰ œ œ œ œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ. œ
¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
T T
ÍÍÍ
™ ™
˚ ™ 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
7 5
7 5 3 ™ 5
Notes:
Repeat as desired
œ gettingŒ a nice, œsolid sound
4 ™™ œ it’s allœ aboutœyour aim.
œ Beœsure you’re ™™
?Once
— 4 again, œ onœthe D œstring! Œ
œ œ
— We’ve added an eighth-note fill in Bar 4 that crosses three strings; the rest is the same as
in LessonTExercise 3–1. ¿ T ¿
™ ™
˚ It avoids™ 5the “pingy” ™
— The “parallel” thumb technique really makes
5 a7 difference on the upper
7 strings—the
5 D and G strings.
3 5 7 7 5 3
sound that the “down” thumb technique often produces. 5
— Feel free to embellish the fill by adding a slide or a hammer-on into the first note!
— Your goal should be a consistent sound on each string. Practice slowly and increase your tempo
as you progress. It can take some time!
Why That Fill?

Although we4:won’t
Lesson berifflooking at much theory in this course, sometimes it’s good
Three-string
to know why what you’re playing sounds good. So why does that fill work? The
ÍÍÍ Play 4 times
riff
? is4 a™ portion
‰ j of
œ. the
‰ jA Minor
‰ jPentatonic
œ. Scale.
‰ j œ. As
‰ its
j name
œ œimplies,
œ œ the ™ minor
™
4 œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. 5th, andœ b7th. ™ œ
pentatonic scale consists. of five notes: .the Root, b3rd, 4th, In A
¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
T T
Minor, the key of our example, those ÍÍÍ notes are A, Cª, D, E, and Gª, respectively.
™ ™ E A D G
Try ™ 5 this
˚ slapping 3 5 exercise to get
3 5
3 5 acquainted: 3 5
3 5 3 5
7 5
7 5 3 ™ 5
Video Example 4–1. “A Minor Pentatonic” Exercise C

Repeat as desired
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ Œ ™™
œ œ œ œ A DG 5fr
T ¿ T ¿
™ ™
˚ ™ 5
3 5 7
5 7 7 5
7 5 3
5
™ E A
“Typically, a fill or figure at the end

of a four-bar phrase is derived from
Note! some theoretical concept. In this case,
pentatonic minor all day long.”
Resist the urge to jump ahead

in the Course if you are not
comfortable playing this
exercise—we’re only going to be
adding complexity to this exercise
in future lessons!
Lesson 5
Rocking All Four Strings
Four-String Slapping
This lesson builds off the last by expanding to four strings, but you already figured
that out, didn’t you?! We’ll add in the final string (of a 4-string bass), the G string.
As before, slapping the G string with the thumb using the “parallel” thumb
technique produces a much fuller, fatter sound than the thumb “down” technique,
which can sound a little “pingy.” Be sure you have a solid tone when slapping the
G string before you try to play the exercise; it’s the most-difficult string to slap!
Lesson Exercise 5–1 Four-String Riff

FUNK
LessonNO. 3
5: Four-string riff
j .
œ œ œ. œ œ. ‰ j œ. ‰ j j
Play 4 times
? 44 ™™ . œ . ™
œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ J ‰ J œ œ œ. ‰ œ œ œ ™ œ
T T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
™ 5 7 ™
˚ ™ 5
3 5
5 7 5 7
3 5
3 5
3 5
3
™ 5
Notes:
— When you strike through the G String, your thumb will necessarily land on the body of the bass,
since there’s no other string to stop it. (For example, when striking through the
D String with your thumb, it should end up stopping on the G String.)
— Practice the movement of striking through the string first, then try playing an actual note, and
make sure you’re getting a nice, fat sound. Do this for both the D and G Strings before even playing
the exercise.
— Notice that we’re playing the same riff as we have throughout this week (Bar 1), but the addition of
the G String allows us to play it an octave higher (Bar 2). SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
Lesson 6
String Skipping
It’s crucially important that you’re able to play the exercises in the previous
lessons accurately; if you’re having any difficulty, know things will only get more
difficult. Are you having trouble getting a nice, full sound slapping the G string?
Are you still missing a string here and there? It’s OK! There’s no shame in going “You want to push
back and revisiting the previous lessons—you’ll be a better player if you do, and yourself, but you
don’t want it to
you’ll avoid a lot of potential frustration!*
feel like ‘Oh, this
isn’t going to
String skipping is just what it sounds like: you skip over one or more strings to happen’... because
play another string. And as before, your aim is critical; this is tricky! Before we get it will happen!
into the actual exercise for this lesson, let’s look at another “pre-exercise” to get This is about brain
training...”
your fingers and aim in shape, using an “octave figure” featuring the Root and b7,
played over a basic 12-bar Blues progression. But the point is to be creative, and
practice going from the E String to the D String, then the A String to the G String:
Video Example 1–1. ("Pre-Exercise"

Lesson 6: String skipping String-Skipping
@ 2:04) “Pre-Exercise”
A7 A7
? ### 44 j nœ œ. j nœ œ. ‰ j nœ œ. ‰ j nœ œ. ‰ j
œ
nœ . ‰ J ‰ nœ .œ ‰ J œ
nœ . ‰ J œ
nœ . ‰ J nœ
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
˚
5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7
3 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3
n œ œ. n œ œ.
D7 A7
œ. j j nœ œ. ‰ j
? ### ‰ nœ
J ‰ nœ œ. ‰ J ‰ nœ .
œ ‰ J ‰ j ‰ J
œ. nœ œ. œ
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
5 7 5 7
5 7 5 7
3 5 3 5
5 3 5 3
# nœ œ. E7
œ œ. j
D7
n œ œ. A7
nœ œ. ‰ j ˙
? ##
œ. ‰ J ‰ œ . .
œ ‰ J ‰ nœ œ ‰ J ‰ j
nœ œ ‰ J nœ œ ‰ nœJ
J . .
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿
5 7 7 9 5 7
5 7 5 7
5 5 7 3 5
3 5 3 5
*This is especially true if you’ve changed our thumb technique to the “parallel” method of striking through the string!
Putting String-Skipping In Context

Let’s get right to it, and put string-skipping into context with our next exercise:
Lesson Exercise 6–1 String Skipping

Lesson 6: String skipping (@3:27)
FUNK NO. 3
Play 4 times
. 4œ œ . œ œœ
? 44 ™™ ‰ 1 œJ4 œ ‰ œj 4 œ. ‰ J 1 4 œ4 œ œ œ j .
‰J ‰œ œ ‰J œ ™™
4œ 1 œ œ œ 4œ
. 1 .
sim.
T T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
™ 7 5 7 5 ™
˚ ™ 5
5 7
3 5
7 5
3 5
5 7
3 5
7 5
3
™ 5
Notes:
— As with all exercises, fingerings are just suggestions. You can just as easily use
Finger 3 instead of Finger 4 throughout if you find it easier or more comfortable.
— Watch your fingering for the fill in Bars 2 and 4. It’s recommended you shift position by playing
the A and G notes, on Beats 3 1/2 and 4 respectively, with your fourth finger (or third instead,
if you prefer). You can play the G with Finger 1, but it makes for an awkward shift to play the lower-
octave G note on Beat 4 1/2. But as noted, it’s up to you to decide what works best for you.
Lesson 7
Bringing It All Together
Now it’s time to combine all the lessons (and strings) into one final exercise.
Putting String-Skipping In Context

Never miss an opportunity to add something new in an exercise, right? This final
exercise starts with a very Larry Graham-esque riff in Bars 1 and 2.* The riff
is just one note (a G in this case) played as a series of staccato eighth notes,
building tension before the main exercise starts in Bar 3:
Exercise 7–1 Putting It All Together

Lesson 7: Bringing it all together
FUNK NO. 3
? 44
œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ.
>. >. >. >. >. >. >. >.
T ¿
˚ 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
? ™™ j. j j. j. œ œ. 4 œJ 1 œ 4 œ 4 œ
œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ ‰ œ œ œ. ‰ œ œ ‰ J ‰
œ œ. œ 1œ
T T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
™ 7 5
™ 5 3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
3 5
5 7 7 5
3
7
j œ. œ œ. œ 4œ œ ™™
1
?
œ. ‰ œ œ. ‰ œJ ‰ J œ
1
œ 4œ 1 œ 4 œ œ
0 œ
1 4
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T
5 7 5 7 ™
5
3 5
5 7 5
3 5
5 7
0 3
™ 5
*Larry Graham is a pioneer of slap bass playing, and is credited with the first recorded example of slap bass
on the Sly and the Family Stone classic “Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” in 1969. Be sure to check
out the Larry Graham Deep Dive coming up later in the Accelerator! SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
WEEK 02
Core Skill #2 – Pops
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 02 / CORE SKILL #2 POPPING 3
Lesson 1
“Popping”
Although you can “pop” a string with any finger other than your thumb, it’s
primarily accomplished with either the index or middle finger of your plucking
hand, or perhaps a combination of both, depending on the string to be popped.*
But regardless of the finger used, the technique stays basically the same: hook “Everybody has a
your finger under the string and pull away from the bass to “pop” the string different approach...
It just depends what’s
against the fretboard. We can accomplish this in one of two common ways: gonna work for you.”
01. Pop via Forearm Rotation
— Pop is produced by a “see-saw”

rotation of the arm, not the
finger itself.
I — As you rotate the arm, your

“hooked” finger will naturally
snap off the string.
I
— Hook string ajacent to fingernail
of the popping finger.
← Figure 1A. Pop via Forearm Rotation (Scott)
02. Pop by Pulling Away with Finger
— Pop is produced by rotation

of the last two sections of the
finger at the knuckle.
— Hook string under the very end
(tip) of the popping finger.
← Figure 1B. Pop by Pulling Away with Finger (Ian)
Both techniques work equally well, but it’s ultimately up to you to decide
which one works better. Of course, it’s the sound being produced that’s most
important—it should be consistent throughout and a bit “raspy.”
*For example, in the video, Ian mentions he pops every string with his index finger except the G String,
which he pops with the middle finger (Finger 2); Scott always pops with his index finger. SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
Lesson 2
Octaves
We’ve already played them, and you no doubt know what they are, but let’s talk a
little bit more about octaves—one of the best and most powerful tools in the slap
bass vocabulary. Simply put, an octave is the distance between one note (say G)
and the next note of the same name as you play up (or down) a scale. Think of the
way the notes of a scale are sometimes sung: “Do–Re–Mi–Fa–Sol–La–Ti–Do.” The
“Do–to–Do” is one octave. This is true starting on any note.
One Octave
One Octave
œ œ œ œ œ
?# œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ
œ
Note: G A B C D E F# G A B C D E F# G
Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do
Figure 2A. Octaves
One Octave
The Octave Shape

In slap bass lines, octaves are everywhere, so it’s important to know where to find
them on the fretboard. Fortunately, it’s easy! From any note, just go up one whole
step (two frets), then up two strings (that is, moving from the E towards the G
string) to find the octave “up.”
How to find the upper (“high”) E A D G E A D G

octave on any fret:
1 Choose a starting note

2 Go up 2 frets & over 2 strings 1 1
3 This is the upper octave!

“Octaves are so
important when it
2
2 3 2
2 3 comes to slap bass!”
→ Figure 2B. Finding the Upper Octave
Similarly, moving a whole step down, and then down two strings (moving from the
G to the E string) locates the octave “down.” continued
While not necessary—you can use whatever fret-hand fingers are best for you—
we’ll play the “low” octave with the index finger (Finger 1) and the “high” octave
with the pinkie (Finger 4). It just seems a natural fit over the fretboard. We’ll slap
the lower octave with the thumb (T) and pop (P) the high octave with our index
finger.* (You can almost think of the low and high octave notes as the kick and
snare, respectfully.):
q�60
1:22 Video Example 2-1
Video Example 2–1. Playing Octaves
.
? 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œJ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ ‰
. . œ. œ œ œ œ. J œ œ œ bœ
T P T ¿P T ¿ P T ¿P T P P P T
5 5 5 5
¤
5 5 5
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 2
5
? œ. œ. œ. œ œ. œ. œ. Ó
œ. œ œ œ.
œ. œ œ œ. œ œ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T P
5 5
3 3 3 3 5
3 3 3
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3
Notice that no matter the octave being played, the shape remains the same! This
is the key point. Think about those classic disco bass lines. Octaves rule:
Video 2:33
Example 2–2.
Video“Disco
ExampleOctaves”
2-2
? 44 œ #œ œ #œ œ #œ nœ #œ
œ œ #œ ¿ #œ œ #œ nœ #œ œ
T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T
7 4 5 6 7 4 5 6
3 5 2 X 4 5 2 3 4 0
3
? œ #œ nœ #œ œ #œ nœ #œ
nœ œ #œ œ #œ #œ œ #œ nœ œ nœ #œ œ
T ¿ P T P T P T P T P T P T P T ¿ P T cont. sim.
7 4 5 6 7 4 5 6
4 5 2 3 4 4 5 2 3 0 3 4 4
*As noted on page 4, use whatever finger works best for you to pop a string...
and it might be different for different strings.
Octave Exercise
Learning how to play octaves with a pop is a key first step in mastering
slap bass. Let’s now look at a simple (or is it?) exercise that predominantly
features octaves, played over a cool drum groove from the SBL Groove “It’s so important to
get this octave shape
Trainer, called “Disco 4”: into your playing.”
q �120 “Experiment, and use

Lesson Exercise 2-1 Octave Riff [the fingering that’s
most] comfortable
Lesson Exercise 2-1 @ 3:43 for you.”
DISCO 4
œ œ 4 œ
? 44 ™™ 4 œ 4
bœ
j ‰ Œ œ
4
Œ 1œ Œ
1œ 1
œ 1
T P T P T T P T P
™ 5 7
¤ ™ 3
5
5
7
6
3 5
3 œ
? œ œ j ™™
œ œ bœ ‰ Œ œ Œ œ
œ œ #œ œ
T P T P T T P T ¿ T
5 ™
3
5
5
7
6
3 5
0 1 2
™ 3
Walkup
Notes:
— Play the “low” octave with the index finger; the “high” octave with whichever finger you prefer, but
as mentioned, the pinkie (Finger 4) generally speaking will leave you in the best position for the
rest of this, or any, riff.
— The Bb on Beat 2 of Bars 1 and 3 can either be played with Finger 1 or Finger 2.
— The “walkup” in Bar 4 is a little tricky: there are a number of ways you can finger these notes,
but you need to be ready for the octave starting on Beat 1 of the next measure, which should be
played with Fingerfingerings
Alternate 1. A few for
options:
Bar 4
? œ œ Œ œ ™™ ? œ œ Œ œ ™™
0 œ 1 œ1 #œ 1 œ 0 œ 1 œ 2 #œ 1œ
T P T ¿ T T P T ¿ T
5 ™ 5 ™
3 5
0 1 2
™ 3 3 5
0 1 2
™ 3
— With repeated playing, you may find yourself using a different fingering, say, the second time the
exercise, when compared to the first.
— Be sure you’re locking in with the drums in the groove.
— Work to get comfortable playing octaves!

Lesson 3
Adjacent-String Slapping and Popping
In this next lesson, we’ll build on our previous example by adding in some
additional slaps and pops on adjacent strings. Hopefully at this point, you’re very
comfortable with playing octaves. If not, please return to the previous lesson and
get them under you fingers! Things will only get a bit more difficult going forward!
As you of course know, octaves aren’t the only notes that get slapped and
popped. Next, we’ll look at slapping and popping on adjacent strings—strings right
next to each other—which makes the idea a little more challenging. (Your aim will
need to be spot on!) Let’s now add in a little riff at the end of our last example to
highlight what we mean:
Lesson Example 3-1

Lesson Example 3–1 Adjacent-String Riff
q�120 Lesson Exercise 3-1
DISCO 4
œ œ œ
? b 44 ™™ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ
b œ œ œ
T P T P T T P T P
™ 5 7
¤ ™ 3
5
5
7
6
3 5
3
?b œ œ Œ 4
œ 1œ œ 1œ œ œ œ ™™
b œ œ œ 4 4
1œ
T P T P T T P T ¿ P T T
3 ™
3
5
5
7
6
5 5 3
5
3
5 ™ 3
Please see next page for Example Notes
Notes:
— Note the added slides out of the Bbs in Bars 1 and 3. Just be sure you get back to the next
C note on Beat 1 of the next bar in time!
Bar 4 with slides
— For a little additional flair, add in a slide or two in Bar 4. The fingerings remain the same:
ÍÍÍÍÍ
? bb 4 #œj œ 1 œ œ 1 nœ 4 œ œ 4 œ ™™ ? bb 4 #œj œ 1 œ œ 1 nœ #œj œ œ 4 œ ™™
4
T P T ¿ P T T P T ¿ P T
ÍÍÍÍÍ ™
3 ™ 3
4 5 5 3
5
3
5 ™ 4 5 5 3
4 5
3
5 ™
— These aren’t the only two places we can add slides or embellishments, of course.
Add some vibrato, for instance, as on the last note in the second idea above. Get creative!
— In the added riff in Bar 4, you’ll notice there are only two pops.
— Work specifically on the riff as necessary. By playing it over and over, you’re giving yourself
the chance to absorb the movements and learn the line.
“If you’re struggling with a line, just loop that

section. You don’t need to play the whole
thing ‘round and ‘round.”
“It’s so fun to isolate something because it

might actually spark other ideas...
These are really just jumping off points. The

more you really isolate [and] slow down ...
the more ideas it will springboard you to.
And that’s the really fun thing about music.”
Lesson 4
Tenths
E A D G E A D G
Simply put, a tenth is the 3rd above the root,
played an octave higher. b3
To find the tenth, you’ll need to skip two strings, 3

so the root will be on the E String for four-string
basses). Tenths, because they’re really just 3rds R R b10
an octave up, come in both major and minor.
10
Even though the 3rd and tenth are the same
note of the scale, the pitch difference has a huge
Major 10th Minor 10th
impact on how they sound when played (together
Any fret Any fret
or back to back): the tenth is so much more “open”
in comparison. And note that we need to skip over
Figure 4A. Major and Minor 10ths
two strings to play a tenth.
Let’s continue to build on our riff from the last lesson (“Lesson Example 3-1” on
page 7), and replace the octaves with tenths.
Lesson Example 4–1 Adding Tenths

2:55 Lesson Exercise 4-1
DISCO 4
œ œ œ œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ œ Œ œ Œ œ Œ
œ œ
T P T P T P T P T P
™ 3 5 7 8 10
¤ ™ 3 5 6 8 10
Play 4 times
3
œ œ œ œ œ
? bb
œ œ Œ œ Œ Œ ™™
œ #œ œ
T P T P T P T P T P
3 5 7 5 2 ™
3 5 6 5 2
™ 3
Notes:
— There are a couple ways you can approach fingering the tenths. (You’ll note from the video that Ian
and Scott both play them differently!) One option is to use Fingers 1 and 4 to play the
Alternate
Alternate fingerings
fingerings
Root and 10th, respectively (à la Ian):
œœ 44 œœ 44
œœ 44 œœ
?
? bbbb
4
4 œœ 4
4
ŒŒ ŒŒ œœ ŒŒ
œ œœ 1 œœ 11
œœ 1
1
1œ
1 1 1
1
T
T P
P T
T P
P T
T P
P T
T P
P T
T P
P
3
3 5
5 7
7 8
8 10
10
3
3 5
5 6
6 8
8 10
10
— Another option is to use Finger 3 to fret the Root notes on the minor 10ths, but Finger 1 for the
major tenths (à la Scott):
œœ 44 œœ 44 œœ 44 œœ
?
? bbbb
4
4 œœ 4
4
ŒŒ ŒŒ œœ ŒŒ
œ œœ 1 œœ 33 œœ 33
3œ
3 3 1
3
T
T P
P T
T P
P T
T P
P T
T P
P T
T P
P
3
3 5
5 7
7 8
8 10
10
3
3 5
5 6
6 8
8 10
10
— Of course, Finger 1 and 3 might work for you, too. Choose whichever is best for your playing style!
Lesson 5
Leading with the Pop
It’s most common to play the thumb first, followed by the pop, when playing
slap bass. Let’s look at what happens when we play the pop first:
Lesson Example 5–1 Starting with the Pop
DISCO 4 Lesson Exercise 5-1
œ œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ œ ‰ J œ œ ‰ œ Œ œ Œ
œ œ
P T P T ¿ P T P T
™ 5 7
¤ ™ 5
3
7
5 6
5 3 5
Play 4 times
3 œ
? bb œ œ ™™ œ
œ
‰ J œ œ œ. œ Œ œ #œ.
œ
œ #œ
P T P T ¿ P T P T ¿ P P T
5 ™
5
3
7
5 6
5 3
3
1 2
4
™ 5
3
Please see next page for Example Notes
Notes:
— If you find it difficult to start a riff with a pop, you’re not alone! It can seem a little
“unnatural” at first.
— Start the riff by slowing it down. You may find it helpful to loop the first measure by itself.
Focus on consistency.
— You also might find it helpful to play the riff fingerstyle, or just clap along, to get the “To do something that
rhythm down. If you can’t clap it, you may find it difficult to play it!* pops you out of your
comfort zone is a
w/ ghost
— Feel free to add notesghost notes where the rests appear if you’d like:
in some wonderful thing to do.”
œ œ œ
? b 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
b œ ¿ œ œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
™ 5 7
™ 5
3 X
7
5 6
5 X 3 X 5 X
3 œ
?b œ œ œ #œ ™™ œ
b œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ ¿
œ #œ . œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P P T
5 ™
5
3 X
7
5 6
5 X 3 X
3
1 2
4
™ 5
3
— Play the pop on the F# on Beat 4 1/2 of Bar 4 short. You might also want to play the G (on Beat 1 of
the next bar) short as well. Every note should be articulated clearly.
Note!
Resist the urge to jump ahead

in the Course if you are not
comfortable playing this
exercise—we’re only going to be
adding complexity to this exercise
in future lessons!
*Especially true if you find your fingers and thumb and pops are “getting in a higgledy-piggledy mess.”
Lesson 6
Putting It All Togther
We’ve focussed on the “mighty pop”, octaves, tenths and leading with the
pop so far. You know what that means—time to put them all together in the
final exercise for this week!
Lesson Exercise 6–1 Putting It All Together

q�120
DISCO 4 Lesson Exercise 6-1
***
? bb 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ˘
œ œ œ œ œ
œ ¿
*T P T P T ¿ T ¿
** T P T P T P T P T ¿ P ¿
˘
™ 7 5 3
¤ ™ 3
5
X
3
5
5
3
3
6 5 3
*Scott ***Optional
**Ian
3
?b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ ™™
b œ ¿ œ œ œ œ #œ
T P T P T ¿ †P
T P T P T P T P T ¿ †P
2 3 ™
3
5
X
3
5
5
3
3
6 5 3
1 1 2
™
†Refers to
G-string only.
WEEK 03
Play-Along Technique Breakdown — Larry Graham
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 03 / PLAY-ALONG TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN — LARRY GRAHAM 3
Lesson 1
Introduction and Background
In this group of lessons, we’re going to take a deep dive into the
style of the great Larry Graham.
A true pioneer, Larry Graham is largely credited with inventing

the slap bass technique as we know it—slapping the lower
strings to mimic a kick drum and popping the upper strings to
mimic a snare. It revolutionized the world of the electric bass
guitar. He was also the first to introduce fuzz (and other wild
effects) on the electric bass in the late 1960s.
He’s renowned for this “thumpin’ and pluckin’ ” funk playing, and
recorded the first electric slap bass line on the tune “Thank You
(Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” while playing with Sly and the
Family Stone in 1969.
“As a community of bass players,

we owe a lot of what we do
today to Mr. Larry Graham.”
Lesson 2
The Larry Graham Vibe!
When Larry Graham was busy inventing the slap technique on the electric bass,
he was playing on flatwound strings, not the roundwounds that are so common
today—they hadn’t been invented yet.
Winding/Wrapping
Flatwound Roundwound
Core
Figure 1A. Flatwound VS. Roundwound Strings
Wanna sound like Larry? All you need is one note.

Play it short → long → short → long → etc.:
Video Example 2–1 Larry Graham Thumping Style
Chromatic Notes
Repeat as desired
? 44 ™ ™
œ. œ œ #œ ™ œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ- ™ œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ œ #œ œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ-
w/ thumb etc.
™ ™
¤ 5 0 3 4
™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ 5 5 5 5 5 0 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
Notes:
— Play all “down thumb.”
— Alternate short eighth notes (staccato; played short, indicated by a dot below the notehead) and
long eighth notes (tenuto; held for it’s full length, indicated by a line below the notehead, and in
this case simply acts to remind you not to play those notes staccato).
— To play the “short” eighth notes, lift up with your fretting hand to deaden the note just after you
strike the string with your thumb.
— Make sure to play the groove steady. You should be creating a pulse.
— The added chromatic notes are just there for a little context and flair.
Of course, adding in some pops always livens things up, too,

but the idea is still to generate that pulse as you play:
Video Example 2–2 Adding in Pops
Repeat as desired
? ™™ œ œ ™™
œ. œ. œ- œ. œ. œ- “Endeavor to be the bass player that
T P T ¿ P T ¿ makes people fall in love with you
™ ™ for just playing one note.”
¤ ™ ™
7 5
5 5 0 3 3 0
Fuzz and Other Effects
Larry Graham was also instrumental (pun always intended!) in adding

pedals and effects to the electric bass, most notably perhaps in adding
fuzz. Be sure to check out the 1968 classic “Dance to the Music” from
Sly and the Family Stone, which highlights Larry’s ability to blend funk
and rock ‘n’ roll.
In our next lesson, we’ll play a track called “Sky High.” It’s heavily
influenced by the 1969 classic “I Wanna Take You Higher” (also from Sly
and the Family Stone) and features some “thumping” and “plucking,”
while adding in some fuzz as well.
Lesson 3
Lesson Exercise 3–1: “Sky High” Song Breakdown
A Intro WK03-LarryGraham-Sky-High
? 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ j #œ œ #œ
J œ œ œ #œ . œ . #œ .
w/ fuzz
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T P T P T P
¤
10 7 5 5 7 5 4 5 6
7 7 7 6 5 3 5 3
5 0 2 3 4
B Verse
5 Play 3 times
? ™™ ™
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ #œ ™ œ œ nœ #œ œ œ nœ #œ
T
™ ™
™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0 3 4
™ 5 0 3 4 5 0 3 4
1.
C Chorus
8
? ™™ #œ œ #œ ™™
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œbœ œ. œ œ. œ œ. nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ.#œ . œ . #œ .
. . . ¿P T P T P T P
T
™ ™
™ 5 5 5 5 5 2 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 2 2 4 3 5 4 6 ™
2.
A
12 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? ‰ Œ ™™ œ œ œ bœ œ
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. nœ œ œ. œ. œ
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿
™
1 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 0
™ 10 7 5
7
5 7 5
7 7 6 5
16
? œ œ œ œ j #œ. œ. #œ. ™™ Ó
J œ œ œ #œ œ #œ ˙
T ¿ T P T P T P T
™
5 3 5 3
5 0 2
4
3
5
4
6
™ 5
Notes on Lesson Exercise 3–1:
— To mimic the tone, use a fuzz pedal, but it’s not necessary. E A D G
— The opening riff is based on the pentatonic scale, in this tune, it’s an A Minor Pentatonic Scale
(see diagram at right).
— Start by playing each part separately, only moving on to the next when you’re comfortable.
— Feel free to add in any embellishments you’d like. For example, in the video, Ian routinely uses
“hammer-ons” and “slides” in the line, and sometimes adds vibrato, too:
R 5fr
A Intro
j ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
? 44 4 œ 4 œ 1
œ 4 œ 1
œ 1
œ4 œ œ 1
œ œ
j œ œ bœ œ R
w/ fuzz
T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ T ¿ etc.
˚
10 7 5 5 5 7 5
7 5 7 7 6 5
— Shift down with your pinkie (Finger 4) from the tenth to the seventh fret on the D string to
allow your fretting hand to get into the correct position for the rest of the riff.
— There are really only two shifts in hand position in that Intro riff:
Chromatic
Figure
A Intro
? 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ j #œ œ #œ
J œ œ œ #œ . œ . #œ .
w/ fuzz
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T P T P T P
¤ A
10 7 5 5 7 5 4 5 6
Intro
7 7 7 6 5 3 5 3
5 0 2 3 4
Shift hand position
B œVerse
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ
5?
4
4 œ œ Play œ 3œtimesœj œ #œ. œ. #œ.
? ™™
— The Intro riff ends with that cool, climbing chromatic figure in Bar 4. ™ œ #œ
œ.w/ œfuzzœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ #œ ™ œ œ nœœ #œ œ œ nœ #œ
J #œ
— Then, weTsit on that A note¿ in the Verse,
T ¿
or B Section, (fret
T 5 of String ¿ 4) in Bar
T 5 andP Tthe
P T P
first halfTof Bar 6, before adding another chromatic line, all while generating the “Larry
¤ ™™ Pulse,” alternating ™
10 7 5 5 7 5 4 5 6 “If you hear some
Graham
5 5 5 5
7
5 5
short and long
5 5 5
7 7 eighth
5
6 5 notes: 3
5 5 5 0 3
5 3
4
™
5
5 0
0 2
3 4 5
3
0
4
3 4
opinions like “Oh, you
can’t slap on flats” or
B Verse 1.
“You can’t slap on a
hollow-body”...None
5 C Chorus Play 3 times of that stuff is true.”
? ™™ ™
8
œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ #œ ™ œ œ nœ #œ #œœ œœnœ #œ
? ™™ . . . ™
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ™ œ œ œ . #œ . œ #œ ™
œ
œT œ œ œ œ œ œbœ œ. œ œ. œ œ. nœ œ œ
™T . . .
™™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ 5 0 3¿ P 4T P5 T0 P 3T P4 ™
™ 5 5 5 5 5 2 5 4 ™
5 5 5 5 5 5 5 0 3 4
2 4 5 6
3 3 3 3 3 5 3 0 1. 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 2 3 4
2.C Chorus
continued
8 A
? ™™
12 œ œ. #œ. œ. #œ. ™™
œ œ œ œ œ œ b œ œ n œ œ
. . . Œ œ ™™ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œœ œ œ #œœ œœ œ#bœœ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? . . .
n™Tœ. œ œ. œ œ. nœ œ
‰
œ. œ. œ ¿P T P T P T P SCOTTSBASSLESSONS.COM
™T 2
¿ T ¿ T ¿ 2 T 4 5 6 ¿ ™™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bœ œ œ
? 44 œ œJ œ œj œ #œ#œ. œ œ. #œ#œ.
œ
w/ fuzz
COURSE BOOK: ¿ ¿
T SLAP ACCELERATOR —T WEEK 03 / PLAY-ALONG
T ¿ T P T —
TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN P LARRY
T P GRAHAM 8
¤
10 7 5 5 7 5 4 5 6
7 7 7 6 5 3 5 3
5 0 2 3 4
B Verse
5 Play 3 times
? ™™ ™™ œ
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ #œ œ nœ #œ œ œ nœ #œ
Notes on T Lesson Exercise 3–1 (continued):
™ ™
™ 5 us5 right
— That gets 5 into
5 5the5 Chorus,
5 5 or 5
C Section:
5 5 5 5 0 3 4
™ 5 0 3 4 5 0 3 4
1.
C Chorus
8
? ™™ œ #œ œ #œ ™
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œbœ œ. œ œ. œ œ. nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ . #œ . œ . #œ . ™
. . . ¿P T P T P T P
T
™ ™
™ 5 5 5 5 5 2 5 4 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 2 2 4 3 5 4 6 ™
2.
A
? ‰ Œ ™™ œ œ œ bœ œ
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. nœ œ œ. œ. œ
T ¿ T ¿ T ¿ T ¿
™
1 1 1 1 1 3 1 0 0 0
™ 10 7 5
7
5 7 5
7 7 6 5
16
œ œ #œ . œ . #œ . ™™ ˙
? œ œ œ œ j #œ œ #œ Ó
J œ
T ¿ T P T P T P T
™
5 3 5 3
5 0 2
4
3
5
4
6
™ 5
— Take advantage of the open string on Beat 4 1/2 in Bar 9 to shift your hand to play the
F note at the start of Bar 10.
— We end the Chorus with three big thumps on the open “E” in Bar 13, before moving back to
the A Section riff, played twice.
Lesson 4
Lesson Exercise 4–1: “No, Thank YOU” Song Breakdown
A % WK03-LarryGraham-No-Thank-YOU
Half-time feel
nœ œ nœ œ œ
? #### 44 j nœ œnœ ≈œ‰ œ ‰ ‰ J j nœ
‰ nœ œ ≈ œ‰ œ Œ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ œ œ œ J nœ œ
T ¿ P P P T ¿ P ¿T T ¿P P P T P T P TP T
7 9 7 6 4
¤
5 5
5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 4 2
7 0 3 0 0 7 3 7
 To Coda
5 nœ œ nœ œ
? #### nœ œnœ ≈œ ‰ œ ‰ ‰ J j nœ
‰ œ nœ œ ≈ œ‰ œ Œ nœ œ œ
œ nœ œ œ J œ nœ#œ
T ¿P P P T ¿ P ¿T T ¿ P P P T P T P T
7 9 7 6
5 5
5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 4 2
0 3 0 0 7 0 1 2
B
9
? #### nœ œ
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ. œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ nœ. œ œ. œ œ œ#œ œ. œ œ. œ œ nœ#œ
T ¿P T ¿PT
5 7
2
3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 0 1 2
D.S. al Coda
13
? #### . œ œ. œ œ. œ#œ. œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ. œ œ ‰ œj
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ . . . œ .
T ¿ T
6 6 7 7 8 8 9
6 6 9 9
3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 6 7 7 7
 Coda
17 nœ
? #### nœ œ œ œ Œ Ó
œ nœ œ
T P T P T P T ¿
7 6 4
5 4 2
3 0

— “No, Thank YOU” is of course heavily influenced by the Sly and the Family Stone classic
“Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin).”
— The tune has a slow, half-time feel to it, a trademark style of Sly and the Family Stone, and later in
Larry’s playing with his own band, Graham Central Station.
— For this tune, Ian is using “dead” round wound strings on his 1978 Fender Jazz Bass. “It’s really difficult to
slap the bass at a
— To mimic the tone, roll off the bridge pickup slightly, allowing the neck pickup to be slow tempo. You
more pronounced: have to commit.”
Figure 4A. Volume and Tone Settings
— Play the “pops” very short, essentially staccato.
— Feel free to add some ghost notes during that aren’t necessarily in the song playback.
For example:
Half-time feel
?#### 44 j nœ œ nœ œ ‰ œ ‰
œ
¿ œ
T ¿ P T P P T
5
5 7 5 7
7 X 0
— Work to get the rhythm “in your body”—always have your toe, heel, or leg tapping the beat!
Feel the quarter-note pulse, with or without a playback track, and before you even try to play the
track.* Note that the notes are not always on the downbeat, so it makes feeling the pulse even
more important.
continued
*Ian gets his right-foot heel tapping the quarter notes, and his left leg tapping the eighth notes—
essentially mimicking the drums and getting the rhythm and tempo “in his legs” right from the start.
Notes on Lesson Exercise 4–1 (continued):

— We repeat the opening riff twice, ending on a chromatic walk-up to the “G” note that starts the
A Section.
A %
Half-time feel
nœ œ nœ œ œ
? ###A# 44 œj%nœ œnœ ≈œ‰ œ ‰ ‰J ‰ œj nœ œnœ ≈ œ‰ œ Œ nœ œ œ
œ nœ œ œ J nœ œ
Half-time feel
nœ œ nœ œ œ
? #### 44 Tœj nœ œ¿ nœP ≈œ‰P œ
‰ nœ ¿ ‰ JP7 9¿ T ‰ Tœj nœ œ¿nœP ≈ œ‰
P T P œP
Œ nT P T P TP T
œ
J 7 œ 6 œ 4 nœ œ
¤ 5 7
5
5 7
œ œ œ 5 7
5
5 7 5 4 2
¿ P P P T ¿ P ¿T T ¿P P P
7 0 3 0 0 7 3 7
T T P T P TP T
7 9 To Coda  7 6 4
5
¤ 5 7
5
5 7 n œ œ 5 7
5
5 7 5n œ 4œ 2
# 7 n œ
? ## # nœ œ ≈œ ‰ œ ‰ 0 3
‰ J
0
‰ 0 j n7
œ n œ
œ ≈ œ‰ œ Œ nœ œ œ 3 7
œ nœ œ œ œ J œ nœ#œ
To Coda 
5 n œ œ n œ œ
? #### Tnœ œn¿ œP ≈œP ‰ œP ‰ T ¿ ‰ JP ¿ T ‰ Tj nœ œ¿ nœP ≈ œ‰ P œ P
Œ nTœ P7 Tœ P6 œT
5 œ nœ œ 7 9
œ œ 5 J œ nœ#œ
5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 4 2
¿P ¿ ¿ ¿
0 3 0 0 7 0 1 2
— The B B
T P P T P T T P P P T P T P T
Section features the Larry Graham 7pulse,
9 along with a few chromatic walk-ups
7 (and
6 a
9
5 5
chromatic walk-down),
5 7 5 highlighted
7 in yellow: 5 7
nœ5 7 5
œ0 1 2
4 2
? #### 0 3 0 0 7
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ. œ œ. œ œ œ#œ
B nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ . .
œ. œ œ. œ œ nœ#œ
n¿ œP T ¿ œP T
9
? #### T
œ
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ. œ œ. œ œ 2 œ œ nœ. œ œ. œ 5 œ œ#œ œ. œ œ. œ 7 œ nœ#œ
¿P T ¿PT
3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 0 1 2
T
5 D.S.
7 al Coda
13
? #### 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5
œ
2
œ œ. 2œ 3œ. 4œ
5 4 3 3 3 3 5œ. 5œ#5œ. 5œ œ 0 ‰1 j2
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ
œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ . .œ œ
D.S. al Coda
13
? #### T œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ#œ. œ œ ¿ ‰ Tj
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ. œ œ6. œ6 9 9 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 œ
¿ T
3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 6 7 7 7
T
 Coda 6 6 7 7 8 8 9
6 6 9 9
## nœ n œ œ œ
17 3 3 3
3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 6 7 7 7
—
?
A great way
## to play a walk-up Œ Ó
œ œ to naœnote that’s just one full step higher is to start from the note one
 Coda œ
half step below your starting note. For example, in Bar 9, we’re playing a “G” note and walking up
17
to the? “A”#note T n œ
P T œ
P T
## innœBar7 10. Start œ walk-up¿ on a Gb/F#, as on Beats 3 1/2, 4, and 4 1/2 in Bar 9. This
P
the T
#
motif gets repeated œ 6
œ2 4 this
throughout
Œ Ó
nœ Section.
5 4 œ0 A more “mild-sounding” walk-up (and walk-down)
might be played like this:
¿
3
T P T P T P T
B
7 6 4
5 4 2
9 3 0
? ####
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ #œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ
etc.
T
3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4
continued
¤ 7
5 7 5 7
0 3 0 0 7
5 7 5 7 5 4 2
3 7
 To Coda
n œ œ 12
j nœ œ nœ ≈ œ‰ œ Œ nœn œ œ
5
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 03 / PLAY-ALONG TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN — LARRY GRAHAM
? #### nœ œnœ ≈œ ‰ œ ‰ ‰ J ‰ œ œ œ nœ#œ
œ nœ œ œ J œ
LESSON T
4¿ P(continued)
P P T ¿ P ¿T T ¿ P P P T P T P T
7 9 7 6
5 5
5 7 5 7 5 7 5 7 5 4 2
0 3 0 0 7 0 1 2
B
Notes
9 on Lesson Exercise 4–1 (continued):
? #### nœ œ
nœ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ
— . .onœthe V chord*,
We end the.B Section . . in Bar œ15. To build. a B7. chord,œ we
. in. this case a B7 chord, nœ#œ
play the Root,
T 3rd, 5th and b7th of the relevant scale. Here, we’re ¿ in T Key of E Major, ¿the
P the P TV chord
is B7, so the R–3–5–b7 of the B Major Scale are B–D#–F#–A. We add5 in a 6th as a passing 7note, and
the natural 37th3 to3 add
3 3 in2tension, which
5 5 5 resolves when
5 4 we
3 play
3 3 the root
2 3(the
4 B note)
5 5 5on5 Beat0 3 1in 2
2
3 4 5 5 3
Bar 16:
D.S. al Coda
13 . .
? #### œ œ œ. œ œ. œ œ œ#œ œ œ ‰ j
nœ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ. œ œ. œ œ. œ œ#œ œ. œ . œ
R R 3 3 5 5 6 6 b7 b7 ª7 ª7 R ¿
T T
6 6 7 7 8 8 9
6 6 9 9
3 3 3 3 3 2 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 6 7 7 7
 Coda
— We close out the song by repeating the A Section in its entirety. To get back to the beginning of
17 nœ œ œ
the song, we follow the D.S. al Coda instruction, which means we jump back to the Segno sign ( )
? #### nœ œ Œ Ó $
œ nœ
and play until the To Coda Þ i sign, then jump ahead to the Þ Coda marker.
œ
— Don’t be afraid to
T hit
P down
T P hard
T P on ¿
T the strings to give the notes some added emphasis. In fact,
Ian drops his entire 7arm on
6 the 4bass to sound the slapped notes; it’s not a wrist rotation that gives
the big “thump,” but rather the weight of0 the arm as it falls on the bass. Try this exercise to get
5 4 2
3
comfortable:
? #### 44 ™™ nœ
nœ œ œ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ¿ ¿ ¿
œ œ ™™ ™™ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
nœ ¿
T P T P T P
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
T T P T P T P T
™ 7 6 4 ™ ™ X X X ™
™ 5 4 2
3
™ ™ X X X
X
™
Aim for a big sound on the slapped notes. Choose a tempo that you’re comfortable with.
— Break the tune into pieces, slow it down, and practice piece-by-piece.
“It doesn’t have to be fast; it doesn’t have

to be flashy. It just needs to be right in the
pocket and groovy.”
Lesson 5
Lesson Exercise 5–1: “When Did You Lose All Your Hair?” Song Breakdown
WK03-LarryGraham-When-Did-You-Lose-All-Your-Hair
A
Half-time feel
? #### 44 œ nœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ nœ ù ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ‰ Œ
œ nw œ œ ¿ œœ ¿ œ
P T * T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿ P T ¿ P
5 û
¤
2 5 7 7 5 7
0 w 0 3 X 0 5 X
5 7
5 7
7
X 0 3 X 0 5
*Mute string by dropping fret-hand fingers onto fretboard,
producing a percussive sound, as indicated, throughout.
3
? #### œ nœ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ nw œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
œ ù ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ T ¿ ¿ T ¿
T ¿
P T T T P P P T
5 7 7 5û 5 7
0 w 0
7 5 7 7 4 2 0
3 X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5 X 3
5
? #### nœ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ‰ Œ
œ œ nw œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
œ ù ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ
T T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿ P T ¿ P
5 7 7 5 û 5 7
3 0 w 0 3 X 0 5 X 5 7
5 7 7
X 0 3 X 0 5
7
? #### œ nœ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ
œ nw œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ù ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ
P T T P T ¿ PT ¿ T P T ¿ PT ¿ PT ¿ T ¿
2 5 7 7 5û 5 7
0 w 0 3
5 7 7 4 2 0
X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5 X 3
continued
Lesson Exercise 5–1 “When Did You Lose All Your Hair?” (continued)
B
9
r
? #### ‰ Œ ‰ ™ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ œ ™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T T T ¿ T T ¿ T T ¿
4 2 0 5 4 2 0
3 0 0 2 3 3
11
r
? #### ‰ Œ ‰ ™ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ œ ™
T T T ¿ T T ¿ T T ¿
4 2 0 5 4 2 0
3 0 0 2 3 3
13
? #### ‰ Œ ‰™ r
œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ œ ™
T T T ¿ T T ¿ T T ¿
4 2 0 5 4 2 0
3 0 0 2 3 3
15
? #### ‰ Œ ‰™ r
œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ ˙
T T T ¿ T T ¿
4 2 0 5
3 0 0 2 3
continued
Lesson Exercise 5–1 “When Did You Lose All Your Hair?” (continued)
C
17
# nœ œ œ nœ œ œ n œ œ.
? ## # œ œ nœ œ œ nœ ¿ œ
œ wœ
n œ ¿œ œ ¿ œ ù ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
P T T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T P
5û
7 7
2 5 7 7 5 7
0 w 0 3
5 7 7 0 5 X 5
X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5 X
19
? #### œ nœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ nœ ù œ œ œœœœ
œ nw œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ ¿
P ¿T T PT ¿ PT ¿ T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T ¿
5 7 7 5û 5 7
0 w 0 3
7 5 7 7 4 2 0
X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5 X 3
21
n œ. œ. œ. œ. œ.
? #### nœ œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œœœœ
œ œ nw œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ù ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ≈
T T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿ P T ¿ P ** ≥
5 û
12 12 12 12 12
5 7 7 5 7 X X X X X
3 0 w 0 3
5 7 7 10 10 10 10 10
X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5
**Strum strings with
nail of plucking-hand
index finger.
˘
23
n œ œ
#
? ## # n œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
œ œ œ nœ ù œ œ œœœœ œ ‰
œ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ ¿ œ
≥ ˘ ¿T PT ¿ PT ¿ T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T ¿ T
5û
12 9
X 5 7 7 5 7
10 7 5 7 7 4 2 0
0 3 X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5 X 3 0

— This tune is heavily inspired by the Graham Central Station classic “Hair” from the band’s
eponymous release in 1974.
— The feel is another example of a great half-time Funk groove.
— The bass leads the way in this tune, featuring lots of syncopation.
— As in Lesson 3, Ian is playing his 1978 Fender Jazz Bass with “dirty” round wound strings, and
rolling back the bridge pickup a bit to emphasize the neck pickup.
— On a difficulty scale, this one may be troublesome if you’re unfamiliar with the techniques* used
2�37
throughout
4�38the song. Fair warning!
— This song doesn’t waste any time getting started! Let’s just look at the first half of the first
measure:
# 44 ™™ œ
? ###2�37 nœ œ ‰ Œ ™™
4�38 œ nw œ œ ¿ œ œ
P T T P T ¿ P
™ 2 *
™
˚ # 4 ™ ™
5 7
? ## # 4 ™™ œ 0 w 0 3 nœ X 0 5 œ ™™
fretboard, ‰ Œ
œ n*Mute string by dropping fret-hand fingers onto
wproducing œ
œ a percussive sound, œ œthroughout.
¿ as indicated,
P T T P T ¿ P
™
— Notice that the “note”
*
on Beat 1 1/2 (highlighted)5 is not a traditional dead 7 note—it’s created by
™
˚ ™
2
letting your fret hand drop
0 w
onto the
0 strings/fretboard
3 Xto mute
0 the strings,
5 while at the same time ™
creating a percussive sound. No note
*Mute stringshould actually
by dropping ring.fingers
fret-hand It mayonto
take some practice to get the
fretboard,
5�15 producing a percussive sound, as indicated, throughout.
correct sound. Only light pressure
5�33 is required.
— Once you get that little riff down, add the next part, which features almost all hammer-ons. You’ll
‰™ œ œ nœ ûœ ‰
notice the last note is seemingly out of place, but it’s a hammer-on from nowhere. Strike the string
? #### 44 Ó r
œ œ nœ Œ Ó
with enough force at the fret indicated using only your fretting-hand finger (as though fretting the
note 5�15
normally) to sound the note. It’s not plucked! The hammer-on from nowhere is indicated by a
5�33in both notation and tablature:
half slur T T P
5 û
˚? # # 4 nœ û7œ ‰
7
‰™ r 7 nœ œ œ
5 7
5
# #4 Ó œ œ Œ Ó
T T P
û7
˚
7 5
5 7
5 7
— There’s nothing wong with slapping that last “E” note (highlighted above) if you prefer.
continued
*Don’t worry, we’ll be covering these techniques, including “open-hammer-thump-pluck,” “hammer-ons”,

“pull-offs” and more, in future lessons.

5�50
— We’re6�09
almost through the first two measures! So how can we finish the second bar with some flair?
5�50
Simple. Leave some space and let the other instruments shine:
6�09
? #### 44 œ nœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ‰ Œ
œ nœ œ ù
œ nw œ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
œ
œ nœ œ ¿ œ nœ œ ¿ œ œ œ
? #### 44 œ nœ œ
œ T P ù T¿ ‰ Œ
œ nw Tœ œ P ¿T œ ¿ œ P ¿T œ¿
P T œ ¿ nœ P ¿T œ¿ œ P
5 û
˚
2
0 w 0 3
P T T
5
P T ¿ P7 TX 5 ¿
X 0 5 7
5 7
7
T 7 P T
X 0
¿ 3 P5 TX 0 ¿ 5 P7
û7
˚
2 5 7 7 5 5 7
— w 0 3 a repeat
Bars 3 and 4 are0 essentially X 0 5
of theX 5 7
5 7
first two bars, but we endX 0
Bar3 4 with a little riff that
X 0 5
hints at the B Section:

3
? #### œ nœ œ nœ œ œ nœùœ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œœœœ œ ‰
3 œ nw œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ nœ œ ¿ œ nœ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
? #### œ nœ nœ œ œ ‰
œ nwTœ œ P T¿ œ¿ œ P ¿T œ¿ œ T P ù ¿T œ¿ nœ P ¿T œ¿ œ P ¿T ¿ œT œ œ ¿ œ Tœ
PT
œ œ
0 w0 3
P7 T T
5
P T ¿ P7 TX 5 ¿ 7 T5 7 P7 5 û7 TX 0 ¿ 3 P5 TX 0 ¿ 5 P7 TX 4 ¿ T2 0 3 ¿ T0
X 0 5
5 7 7 5û 5 7
0 w0 3
7 5 7 7 4 2 0
X 0 5 X 5 7 X 0 3 X 0 5 X 3 0
— Bars 5–8 are essentially just a repeat of Bars 1–4.
— The B Section gives us a bit of a break! It’s essentially one riff repeated four times. Use the thumb
on every note in this section, and be sure to slide into the notes as indicated. There’s a lot of
“space” between the phrases! (Here, the notation has been condensed):
B
Play 3 times
9
? #### ™™ ‰ Œ ‰™ œr œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
<n>œ œ œ œ nœ œ ™
T T T ¿ T T ¿ T T ¿
™ ™
™ 3 0
4 2 0 5
0 2 3
4 2 0
3
™
15
? #### ‰ Œ ‰™ r
œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ ˙
T T T ¿ T T ¿
4 2 0 5
3 0 0 2 3
continued

— While practicing, you may want to consider adding in some ghost notes to help keep time. In
fact, you may find to harder to play just keeping the beat in your head! Consider this practice
approach*: alternate between using ghost notes and remaining quiet to help you focus in on the
beat:
B
9
? #### 44 ™™
<n>œ œ w w ¿ œ œ œ œ
‰ ‰ nœ œ œ
œ œ nœ œ ™
œ œœœœ
7�50 T * T T ¿ T T ¿ T T ¿
™
™ 3 0 w w X 4 2 0 5
0 2 3
4 2 0
3
# r
? ## # 44 œ œ ™ ™
*Strike string with r
backs of fingernails, producing a percussive sound, ™
œ œnœ ™ œasœindicated, œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œnœ œ ™ œ œ œ œ œ ™
‰ Œ ‰throughout.
10�12 œ
? #### ‰ ¿Œ ‰™T œr œ œ Tœ . nœT ¿ œ T œ ¿ ¿ ™
œ™ ™
T T T T
œ œ n œ ™ œ. œ 4 œ 2 0 5 n œ œ œ.œ nœ œ ™ œ œ .œ œ
? 2 0 ™
˚ # ## 4 nœ nœ 3 œ 3 0 œ œ œ
4
œ 4
œ2 0 ™
# 4 œ T œ T T ¿ T œ nœ œ œT
0 2 3
œ ¿ œ œ T œ T œ ¿
3
œ
™
T 3 0 T P T P T
4 2 0
T P T P T
5
T P T0 P2 T3
4
T P T P T 3
2 0 ™
7 7 9 9 5 5 7 7
— 9�52
0 5 5 5 0 7 7 7 0 3 3 3 0 5 5 5 0 5
The C Section is a repeat of the A Section, but instead of leaving that “space” at the end of the
second bar, when we play Bar 18 we add in a killer little “open-hammer-thumb-pluck” fill:
nœ œ. œ œ. n œœ n œ. œ.
? #### nœÓ œ œœ œ ‰™ œ nœ
œ
œ . nœ ¿ . œœ nœ œ
œ œ œ œœ œ nœ œ œ œ
T T P T P
T P T P T T P T P T T P T P T T P T 7P T T P7 T P
˚
7 7 9 9 7 7
7 0 7 5 X 5 5 5
5 5 0 7 7 7 0 5 5 5
0 5 5 5 0 3 3 3
— While that’s a great lick, it’s by no means mandatory. Feel free to replace this or any fill with
10�37 strikes your fancy in the moment. Here’s another impromptu fill in Bars 22 and 23:
whatever
n œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. n œ ˘
œ “If you take anything
? #### 44 Ó ‰™ nœ œ œ œ œ nœ œ ≈ Œ
R Ó away from Larry
Graham...it’s about
*≥ ¿ the groove way more
˘ than it is about the
12 12 12 12 12 12 9 notes [and] the fills!
X
10
X
10
X
10
X
10
X
10
X
10 7 It’s about how you
make the notes feel...”
*Strum strings with nail of
plucking-hand index finger.
10�52
n œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. n œ ˘
œ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. n œ ˘
œ
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WEEK 05
Core Skill #3 – Thumb Ghost Notes
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 05 / CORE SKILL #3: THUMB GHOST NOTES 3
Lesson 1
Thumb Ghost Notes:
Learning the Basic Technique
You’ve likely heard the term ghost note (or dead note) before, but have you
wondered just what one is? Far from being scary and mysterious, all it means is
to play a note (or group of notes on adjacent strings) with no particular pitch; it’s
mostly a percussive sound.
Ghost notes are written with an “X” notehead in both notation and tablature:
r j
¿ ¿ ¿ ≈ ‰ Œ
? Figure 1A. Ghost Notes
∑
Ghost notes can be created with your thumb or a pop on any string. Use your
fretting hand to deaden the string so that no pitches ring out, and strike the
string normally. You’ll produce a percussive sound—a ghost note.
Ghost notes are very powerful within a groove or rhythm. Think drums. Try this
almost “kick-snare” pattern to get started. We’ll play in the Key of G (Minor), and
the idea in this exercise is just to get familiar with the idea of playing ghost notes
(highlighted below) in a simple rhythm:
Lesson Exercise 1–1. Playing Ghost Notes Lesson Exercise

Added 1–1
Chromatic Walk-up D.C.
(Repeat as desired)
? bb 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ ™
œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ ™ œ œ n œ œ œ œ #œ œ
T ¿ P T ¿P T ¿ P T ¿P T T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 3 X
5
3 3 X
5
3 3 X
5
3 3 X
5
3
™ 3 3 0 0 1 1 2 2
Building the Groove

You can think of ghost notes as a kind of “filler.” Percussive filler. If we imagine a
simple kick-snare pattern being played on the bass, rather than the drums, it might
look something like this:
Video Exercise 1–1. “Kick-Snare” Pattern on the Bass

“Kick” “Snare”
? bb 44 ™™ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ ™™
œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰
™ T P T P T P T P
™
¤ ™ 3
5
3
5
3
5
3
5
™
Think of ghost notes perhaps as the percussionist filling in the “gaps” on the “&s”
of each beat:
Video Exercise 1–2. “Percussionist” Pattern on the Bass
? bb 44 ™™ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ‰ ™™
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
™ T T T T T T T T
™
¤ ™ X X X X X X X X
™
2�07
To play this yourself, combine the two patterns:
Video Exercise 1–3. Combining Patterns
? bb ™™ œ œ ™™
œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿
T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ ™
™ 3 X
5
X 3 X
5
X
™
In Lesson Exercise 1–1, we have a similar groove. To build it, start with the “kick-
snare” pattern below, where your thumb plays the “kick drum” on the “&” and on
the beat; you pop the “snare” on Beats 2 and 4:
Video Exercise 1–4. “Kick-Snare” Pattern No. 2
? bb 44 ™™ j ‰ œ j ‰ œ j ‰ œ j ‰ œ ™™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 3
5
3 3
5
3 3
5
3 3
5
3
™
? bb 44 ™ j ‰ œ œ ‰ j ‰ œ œ ‰j ‰ ™ œ
™ œ ¿ ™ j ‰ œ ™™
œ œ
Fill in the “gaps” with ghost notes
œ œ œ œ œ
œ on¿the “&” of Beats 1 and 3, skipping playing
anything™ on T ¿ PofP Beats
T the “&” T ¿ T 4Pfor
2 and ¿ now:
TP ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 33 X 5 5 3 3 3 5X 3 5 3 ™
5
3 3
5
3
™
Video Exercise 1–5. Adding in Ghost Notes
? bb 44 ™™ œ ‰ œ ‰ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿
T ¿ P T ¿ P
™ ™
™ 3 X
5
3 X
5
™
To get to the full pattern in Lesson Exercise 1–1 (please see page 3), replace
the rests with another low G note (String 4, Fret 3):
Video Exercise 1–6. Lesson Pattern3�14
? bb ™™ œ œ ™™
œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ ™
™ 3 X
5
3 3 3�14
X
5
3
™
continued
Notes:
— Don’t strike through the string when playing the ghost notes. Instead, allow your hand to
come to rest on the string itself to produce a percussive sound.
— Practice slowly and build up speed. Consistency is the key.
— As you increase the tempo of the exercise, be sure to keep your thumbing hand loose.
— There’s no need to slam down on the strings; a nice, relaxed posture with nice,
relaxed hands is what you should strive for.
— Experiment with the overall volume of your playing (relying on your technique only—
not the volume knob!)
“The whole things is about groove ...

Video Exercise 1–7. Lesson Pattern with Ghost Notes you wanna feel it in your body. You
are the drummer in this context.”
? b ™™ ¿ ¿ ™™
b ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ “If you can find another bass
T ¿ P T ¿ P T player to do ‘this’ with, it’s a
™ ™ ton of fun!”
™ X X
X
X X X
X
X
™
Note: As with all lessons, do not jump ahead to the next

until you are comfortable with this lesson in its entirety.
Future lessons build on the previous material.
Lesson 2
Basic Ghost Notes on a Gospel-Style Riff
In Lesson 2, we’ll be building on the bass line in Lesson Exercise 1–1 by moving the
shape around the fretboard. And since there’s perhaps nothing more important to
playing slap bass than rhythm, we’ll use “Pop 1” from the SBL Groove Trainer* as
the backing drum groove for this lesson. Here’s the exercise:
Lesson Exercise 2–1 Groove with Backing Track
POP 1 Lesson Exercise 2–1
œ œ #œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ #œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ 5 6 7
¤ ™ 6 X
8
6
3 X 3 4 X 4 5 X 5
Repeat as desired
3 œ œ
? bb œ ¿ œ #œ ™™ œ
nœ œ ¿ œ #œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T T
8 ™
6 X
0 3 X
5
3 4 X
6
4 5 X
7
5
™ 6
continued
*The SBL Groove Trainer is available on the App Store or Google Play, and for your desktop. Get the FREE
It’s free, and features countless drum grooves, a tuner, and a metronome! SBL Groove Trainer App
Visit https://groovetrainer.scottsbasslessons.com for the desktop version of the app.
GET IT ON
Building the Groove

All in all, a fairly straight-forward little groove. Let’s break it down: it’s the
same pattern as Lesson Exercise 1–1, but now we’ll we take it through the notes
Bb → C → C# → D → Eb → G → G# → A, with a passing note (the Eª) added in,
then repeat the whole thing.
To start, get the pattern under your fingers by just playing the Bb:
Video Exercise 2–1. Lesson Foundation Video Exercise 2-1

? b 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ ™™
b œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 6 X
8
6 6 X
8
6 6 X
8
6 6 X
8
6
™ “Bb is just a different
tension [and] feels
different on the bass,
You’ll find the foundation of the groove on the “&” of Beats 2 and 4, and so hanging out there
Beats 1 and 3 themselves (highlighted above). is cool.”
Make sure you really feel those two consecutive notes before trying to
move the pattern around. In fact, if it helps, end each pattern on the pop to
get started, replacing last note of the pattern with a rest:
Video Exercise 2–2. Simplifying the Pattern

œ œ #œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ ‰ œ ¿ ‰ #œ ¿ ‰ œ ¿ ‰
œ ¿
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P
™ 5 6 7
¤ ™ 6 X
8
3 X 4 X 5 X
Repeat as desired
3 œ
?b œ ¿ ‰ œ ‰ #œ ‰ œ ‰ ™™
b œ ¿ #œ ¿ œ ¿
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P
8 ™
6 X
3 X
5
4 X
6
5 X
7
™
Once you’re comfortable, add the appropriate note back in place of the rest,
and you’re playing the entire lesson rhythm pattern as in Lesson Example 2–1.
continued
Notes:
— Notice there’s a “cheeky” low E note in Bar 3 of the Lesson Example:
Repeat as desired
3 œ
? bb œ ¿ œ #œ œ ™™ œ
nœ œ ¿ œ #œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T T
8 ™
6 X
0 3 X
5
3 4 X
6
4 5 X
7
5
™ 6
— The transition from the high Eb to the low G can be tricky—it’s a quick shift from Fret 6 on
String 3 to Fret 3 of String 4—but by adding the open E natural, we allow ourselves a brief
moment to easily change hand position.*
— If you prefer to keep strictly to the notes of the pattern and avoid the open string, try this
exercise to help in the position change. Practice your aim:
? bb 44 ™™ œ ‰ ‰ j
œ œ ‰ Œ œ ‰ ‰ j
œ œ ‰ Œ ™™
J J J J
T T ¿ T T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 6 6
3
6 6
3 ™
— Then, add in ghost notes and the octaves, Get your first finger used to moving the large
distance. As always, work at your own pace, then gradually increase the tempo:
Repeat as desired
œ œ œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ ™™
“When a slap track
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ 5 5 ™ is really locked into
¤ ™ 6 X 8
3 X 3
8
3 X 3 ™ the drums, to the
groove? It’s hard to
6 6 X 6
deny it.”
— Throughout this and all exercises, your goal should be to keep the dynamic range between
your thumb and pop sounds in the same relative space; one should not be appreciably
louder (or softer) than the other. Practice at varying volume levels (don’t touch the Volume
knob; change volume by changing your attack).
— Experiment with dynamics. Strive to stay “in the pocket” regardless of your volume. “Absolutely.”
*Although not “in the key” of Eb, our ears allow us to hear that note in context; it serves as a
leading note to the G on Beat 3. “The coolness overrides the harmonic content.”
Lesson 3
Adding 16th-Note Ghosts
As we continue down the slap path, let’s next look at a sixteenth-note ghost-note
groove in the same context as our previous exercises. Let’s start by playing our
basic pattern, this time on a C note (and upper octave):
Video Exercise 3–1. Lesson Pattern on C

œ œ œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ ™™
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ 5 5 5 5 ™
¤ ™ 3 X 3 3 X 3 3 X 3 3 X 3 ™
Start slowly. As is pointed out, “It’s harder to do things slower, sometimes, but in
the very beginning that’s what you need.” You may find it more difficult! (Playing
each note correctly, with proper articulation and an evenness across each note, is
harder than it looks, especially on the ghost sixteenth notes.)
Once comfortable, change the single eighth-note ghost note to two sixteenths:
Video Exercise 3–2. Adding Sixteenth Ghost Notes

“If you are struggling
œ œ œ œ with this stuff in any
? bb 44 ™™ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ ™™ way, the best thing to
do is slow it down and
T ¿ P T ¿ P T T ¿ P T ¿ P T play it in time ... Make
™ 5 5 5 5 ™ sure you can play it
¤ ™ 3 X X 3 3 X X 3 3 X X 3 3 X X 3 ™ slow and soft—in time.”
Don’t start moving this new pattern around until you have the ghost sixteenth
notes under your fingers on a single note. Then, add them into our groove:
Example 02 Groove with Sixteenth-Note Ghost Notes

POP 1
œ #œ œ
? bb 44 ™™ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ #œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
™ 5 6 7
¤ ™ 6 X X
8
6
3 X X 3 4 X X 4 5 X X 5
3
œ
? bb œ ¿ ¿ œ #œ œ ™™
nœ œ ¿ ¿ œ #œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T
8 ™
6 X X
0 3 X X
5
3 4 X X
6
4 5 X X
7
5
™
Notes:
— Play through the string on the thumbed eighth notes; bounce off the string for the first ghost
sixteenth note, then “flop” your thumb onto the string (end the stroke on the string itself) for the
second ghost sixteenth note with the strings deadened, to create a percussive sound.
— Breaking that down, try playing this example first:
Video Exercise 3–3.

? b 44
b ™™ ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ¿ ¿ ¿ Œ ™™
™ ™
¤ ™ X X X X X X X X X X X X ™
— Next, add in the pop:

¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
? bb 44 ™™ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿ J ‰ ™™
T ¿P T ¿P T ¿P T ¿P
™ X X X X ™
¤ ™ X X X X X X X X X X X X ™
Lesson 4
More Ghost-Note Practice
(with Another Killer Groove)
In this lesson, we’ll look at a slightly different way of playing sixteenth-note ghosts
with the thumb. Remember the Larry Graham-esque riff that featured a string of
eighth notes played short → long → short → long back in Week 3?
Week 3 Video Example 1–1 (Revisited) Larry Graham Thumping Style

Chromatic Notes
Repeat as desired
? 44 ™ ™
œ. œ œ #œ ™ œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ- ™ œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ œ #œ œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ- œ. œ-
w/ thumb etc.
™ ™
¤ 5 0 3 4
™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ 5 5 5 5 5 0 3 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
We don’t need to play every note as an actual note. Here’s a similar example
adding in sixteenth-note ghost notes, where we emphasize the downbeats:
Video Exercise 4–1. Graham-esque Riff Incorporating Sixteenth Notes
? 44
œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿
T
¤ 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X
3
?
œ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œœœ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T ¿
3 X 3 X X X X X 3 X 3 X X X X X 3 X 3 X X X X X 3 0 3 X X X X X
continued
Notes:
— As you play, you can decide which notes to emphasize. They don’t need to be the particular ones
above, but that’s a great place to start.
— To play the “dead” (ghost) notes, simply rest your fretting hand across the strings to deaden them.
To sound a note, press down on the correct fret.
— Again, your aim needs to be spot on: only strike the intended string.
— Start practicing by placing the emphasis on Beat 1:
? 44 ™™ ™
œ¿¿¿œ¿¿¿œ¿¿¿œ¿¿¿ œ¿¿¿œ¿¿¿œ¿¿¿œ¿¿¿ ™
T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X ™
3
? ™™ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
T ¿
™ ™
™ 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X ™
5
? œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ
œ bœ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ #œ
T
3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 2 0
6 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 0 1 2
7
?
œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ¿ ¿ ¿ œ
T ¿
3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3 X X X 3
Lesson 5
Bass Line Development, Part 1
In this next lesson, we’ll be developing the bass line from Lesson 4. We’ll be
looking at four different types of development:
01. Adding an octave pop

“Once you have the
02. Pushing notes exercise, [and] you
have the exercise
03. Adding the b7
‘under your fingers’...
04. Changing the string a note is played on. change it. Make it
your own thing. Add
something to it.”
The Octave Pop

Drawing on our drumming analogy, we generally think of “pops” where we might
expect to hear the snare drum: on Beats 2 and 4. And generally, we expect that
pop to be an octave.
In Exercise 03, there are already notes played on Beat 4, so let’s add pops
on Beat 2:
Video Exercise 5–1. Development Idea #1: Adding Pops
œ œ
? bb b 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
bb œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ œ nœ œ nœ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
™ 8 ™
¤ ™ 6 X 8 X 4 X 8 6 X X X
4 3 4 5
™
Pushing a Note (or Two)

To “push” a note means to play it a bit early. Generally, this means playing a note
on the “&” of the previous beat (an eighth note early), rather than directly on the
beat itself. Let’s look at pushing the pop on Beat 2 of Bar 2:
Video Exercise 5–2. Development Idea #2: Pushing Notes
œ œ
? bb b 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
bb œ ¿ ¿ œ nœ œ nœ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
™ 8 ™
™ 6 X 8
X 4 X 8 6 X X X
4 3 4 5
™
Popping a b7
As noted earlier, the “go-to” pop is generally an octave higher. But what if we
instead popped the b7, which is found a whole step lower than the octave
(or, alternatively, two strings “up” on the same fret)? (You can consider the
“secondary go-to” for a pop.)
E A D G E A D G
R b7 Any fret R b7 Any fret
R R
Figure 5A. Finding the b7
The b7 adds a bit more funk to the bass line:
Video Exercise 5–3. Development Idea #3: Popping the b7

b7
œ œ
? bb b 44 ™™ œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
bb œ nœ œ nœ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
™ 6 ™
™ 6 X 8
X 4 X 8 6 X X X
4 3 4 5
™
Change the Tone by Changing the String

Carol Kaye* once pointed out that while the notes are of course important, where
they’re played can be equally important. The tone of a note changes depending
on the string and fret it’s played on; a note played on a lower string will have a
rounder, fatter sound than the same note played on a higher string—it’ll sound
“bass-ier”.
Let’s look at this by moving the b7 we just added from the G string to the D string:
Video Exercise 5–4. Development Idea #4: Changing a Note’s Tone

j .
œ œ œ
? bb b 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
T ¿ P T ¿P T ¿
™ ™
™ 6 X
8
X 4 X 8 6 X
10 11
X X
4 3 4 5
™
Notes:
— Note that in addition to moving the b7 to the next-lowest string, we’ve added a grace-note
slide into the note, too. The slide should take almost no time at all, with the actual note still
landing on the proper beat (in this case, a Db on the “&” of Beat 1). Think of a flam on the
drums (two nearly simultaneous hits on the same drum head).
— Playing a note on a different string will change its tone regardless of the bass guitar you’re
playing—J-Bass, P-Bass, cheapest bass on Amazon, doesn’t matter.
*Carol Kaye, the “First Lady of Bass,” is one of the most prolific studio bassists ever, including time as a member of the
famous Wrecking Crew, her bass lines are featured on recordings by Frank Sinatra, Simon & Garfunkel, Stevie Wonder,
The Temptations, The Beach Boys, and The Supremes, to name only a few.
Lesson 6
Bass Line Development, Part 2
In this lesson, we’ll continue our development of the bass line from Lessons 4 and
5. But now, we’ll add in some ghost-sixteenth-note subdivisions. Let’s pick up
where we left off in Lesson 5:
Video Exercise 5–4. Development Idea #4: Changing a Note’s Tone (Revisited)
j .
œ œ œ
? bb b 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
T ¿ P T ¿P T ¿
™ ™
™ 6 X
8
X 4 X 8 6 X
10 11
X X
4 3 4 5
™
Now, let’s build on that line by adding sixteenth-note ghost notes. We can start
right at the beginning in Bar 1 by changing the “&” of Beat 1:
Video Exercise 6–1. Adding Sixteenth Notes, Part 1

? bb b 44 ™™ œ
bb œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿
œ œ ∑ ™™
T ¿ P T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 6 X X
8
X
4 X 8 6 ™
(This should look and sound familiar; it’s essentially what we did in Lesson 3. Repeat
this until you have the feel of the added ghost-sixteenth-notes under your fingers.)
01:29
continued
Of course, we can add in even more, but this one is a little more challenging since
it falls on the downbeat of Beat 1 in Bar 2:

j . œ.
œ œ œ
j
? bb b 44 ™™ ¿ ¿ Œ Ó ¿ ¿ Œ Ó ™™
bb
T ¿P T ¿P
™ ™
¤ ™ X X 10 11
X X
10 11
™
Here is that riff in context. Note that the shift from the E-flat ghost notes on Beats
1 and the “e” of Beat 1* to the slide on the “&” of Beat 1 is tricky; your hand has to
move quickly:
Video Exercise 6–3. Adding Sixteenth Notes, Part 2 (continued)

j .
œ œ œ
? b b 44 ™™ œ œ œ ¿ ¿ Œ Ó ™™
bbb œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T ¿ P T ¿P
™ ™
¤ ™ 6 X X
8
X
4 X 8 6 X X
10 11
™
An alternate way to play this riff would be to use the G String:

02:44
Video Exercise 6–4. Alternate Fingering “You’re not gonna get

j .
œ œ sent to jail if you play
? bb b 44 ¿ ¿ Œ Ó it down there...It’s
bb about the rhythm;
making sure that you
T ¿ P
get the rhythm right.”
5 6
¤ X X
continued
*When counting sixteenth notes, it’s common to count “1-e-&-a, 2-e-&-a, etc.”
Our last embellishment is to add in a sixteenth-note pop, in this example on Beat 3:
? bb b 44 ™™ j ‰ Œ n¿ j n¿ ™™
bb œ n¿ œ œ nœ œ ‰ Œ n¿ œ bœ nœ
T T P T ¿ T P T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 6 X
X
3 4 5 6 X
X
3 4 5
™
All that’s left is to put it all together:
Example 04 Exercise Description

POP 1
œ œ
j œ.
? bb b 44 ™™ œ œ ™
œ œ nœ ™ œ
bb œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
n¿
T ¿ P T ¿P T ¿ P T ¿ T
™ ™
¤ ™ 6 X X 8
X
4 X 8 6 X X
10 11
X X
X
X
3 4 5
™ 6
We’ve come a long way! As a reminder, here’s the original, un-embellished line:
Video Exercise 4–2. Simplified Bass Line (Revisited)

? b b 44 ™™ œj ‰ Œ œ ‰ œ œ Ó ™™ œ
bbb J œ nœ œ nœ
T T T ¿ T ¿ T
™ ™
¤ ™ 6
4 8 6
4 3 4 5
™ 6
Hopefully, the utility of breaking down the individual pieces of a bass line and
learning the pieces first—before taking on the entire line itself—has shown its
importance in these last few lessons. Experiment. Who knows? You might just
come up with an even better line than what’s written!
WEEK 06
Core Skill #4 – Hammer-ons & Pull-offs
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 06 / CORE SKILL #4 – HAMMER-ONS & PULL-OFFS 3
Lesson 1
Introduction to Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
In this next lesson, we’re going to be adding in some sauce to our bass lines—
articulations—that will add life to the music. We’ll start with hammer-ons and
pull-offs, two terms you’ve likely heard of before. But let’s make sure you know
exactly what we’re talking about just to be sure.
Hammer-Ons
Simply put, a hammer-on is when we strike a note (lower in pitch), then sound a
higher note on the same string with another finger by fretting it without picking. In
notation and tablature, they look like this:
? œ œ
¤ 3 5
Figure 1A. Hammer-On in Notation and Tablature*
It’s important that both notes sound even, although you’re only picking, plucking,
or slapping just the first note. It can take a bit of force to sound that second
note—you’re relying on the initial energy of the first (plucked) note to help ring
the second. Hammer-ons generate a completely different tone in comparison to
plucking both notes, which sounds more authoritative and percussive.
continued
*You may sometimes see the letter “H” above and/or between the notation and tablature staff to indicate a hammer-on, too.
Video Example 1–1. Fret-Hand Hammer-Ons Across the Strings
œ bœ œ
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ™™
œ œ œ œ
™ 3 5 ™
¤ ™ 3 5
3 5
3 5 3 5
3 5
3 5
™
SRC TC 15:15:08:01
Notes:
— As stated, strive for both notes to be equal in dynamic—the hammered-on note should not be
appreciably louder or softer than the plucked note.
— As you move across the strings, use your “non-hammereing fingers” to mute the other strings.
— If necessary, start on just one string before moving to the others. For example:
? 44 ™™ œ 4 œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ ™™
1
™ ™
¤ ™ 3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 X 3 5 X ™
— Of course, hammer-ons are not limited to whole steps: half-steps, 1 1/2 steps, etc. can all
be used, too:
“Two for the price of one;
you strike [the string]
? 44 ™™ œ 2 bœ ¿ œ œ ¿ ™™ ™™1 œ 4 bœ ¿ œ œ ¿ ™™ once, you get two.”
1
™ ™ ™ ™
¤ ™ 3 4 X 3 4 X ™ ™ 3 6 X 3 6 X ™
— As with almost any bass line, use a fingering that you are comfortable with; the fingerings shown
above are just suggestions.
— Focus on your timing, and again, your aim. Challenge yourself to make up your own exercises.
Pull-Offs
What gets hammered-on can also get pulled off. As you may have guessed, a
pull-off is the opposite of a hammer-on: we strike the first note (higher in pitch)
and without picking, pull the fretting finger off the string to sound a second note
lower in pitch on the same string, which is fretted by a different finger. In notation
and tablature, they look like this:
œ bœ
?
5 3
¤
Figure 1B. Pull-Off in Notation and Tablature*
Notice that these are called pull-offs, not lift-offs. To sound the second note,
you’ll need to apply some force to the string to make them sound even. As with
hammer-ons, evenness of the two notes is paramount. Simply lifting your finger
off the string will give the second note much less volume. Again, you’re only
picking, plucking, or slapping just the first note.
Video Example 1–2. Fret-Hand Pull-Offs Across the Strings

3 3
? 42 ™™ œ bœ ‰ œ œ ‰
3
œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ ™™
3 3 3
™ 5 3 ™
¤ ™ 5 3
5 3
5 3
5 3
5 3
™
Note:
— Although the video examples for the pull-offs and hammer-ons show evenly-spaced notes
(i.e., the same note values), this does not have to be the case. Pull-offs and hammer-ons can be
executed on any combination of notes, including more than two notes.
*Just like the hammer-on, you may sometimes (in other notation) see the letter “P”
above and/or between the notation and tablature staff.
Lesson 2
Isolating Hammer-ons
Next, let’s look at hammer-ons in context by using them in a groove, incorporating
some classic hammer-on funk slap bass in the key of E Minor.
? # 44 œ œ Œ œ œ Œ
œ œ
T T T T
5 7 5 7
0 0
Figure 2A. Everyone’s Favorite Hammer-On lick.
Let’s take a look at the groove itself. We’ll again be using a drum track from the
SBL Groove Trainer:
Example 01 Hammer-On Funk Slap Groove

Funk 1
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ ‰ œ ‰
œ œ w œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ w œ œ œ œ œ
w
T T ¿ * P T T T T ¿ P T T T
™
¤ ™ 5 7
0 3
w 5
5 7
5 7 w 5 7
0 3
w 5
5 7
5 7 5
*Without picking, drop plucking-hand finger(s) onto

already-deadened strings to produce a percussive sound.
3
œ ¿
? œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ w œ ™™
œ œ w œ œ œ œ œ œ
w
T T ¿ P T T T T T T T T P T
™
w w w
X
5 7
0 3
5
5 7
5 7
5 7
5 7
5 7
5 7
5 7
5 7 5 ™
Notes:
— There’s a lot going on in this short groove, so let’s break things down phrase-by-phrase.
— We start out with “the move.” Be sure to get this one easily under your fingers;
you’ll use it everywhere. It’s fundamental to classic funk slap bass:
Video Example 2–1. “The Move” “If you have to break this
stuff down, enjoy it.
Each phrase is so cool
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™ on its own; you could
œ w œ w œ w œ w have a whole tune be
T T * T T T T T T that bass line.”
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
0
w 5 7
0
w 5 7
0
w 5 7
0
w ™
“The Move”
— Add in the next short phrase:

E A D G
Video Example 2–2. Breaking Down Bars 1–3, Part 1
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ Œ ™™
œ œ
œ w w œ w w
T T ¿ * P T T ¿ P
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
0 3
w 5
w 5 7
0 3
w 5
w ™
— Pay particular attention to the footnoted notes in the previous two examples. They’re not the same
ghost notes we’ve encountered earlier. Rather, we’re allowing the plucking hand to drop onto the
already-muted string(s), which generates a percussive sound, all without plucking, picking, or
slapping. It’s another way to create a percussive element in the music. And although only one note
may be indicated, you’ll likely land on more than one string as you drop your hand. This is perfectly
acceptable—just be sure all the strings need to be muted; no actual note should sound in the process.
continued
*The SBL Groove Trainer is available on the App Store or Google Play, and for your desktop. Get the FREE
It’s free, and features countless drum grooves, a tuner, and a metronome! SBL Groove Trainer App
Visit https://groovetrainer.scottsbasslessons.com for the desktop version of the app.
†The SBL Groove Trainer is a totally FREE app featuring countless
GET IT ON
Notes (continued):
— Next, let’s add in a box-shape hammer-on lick. Here it is by itself:

E A D G
? 44 ™™ ™™
œ œ œ œ œJ ‰ œ œ œ œ œJ ‰ œ œ œ œ œJ ‰ œ œ œ œ œJ ‰
5fr
T T T T T T T T T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
5 7 5
5 7
5 7 5
5 7
5 7 5
5 7
5 7 5 ™
— We can add in the percussive element, too:
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ ™™
œœœ œœœ œœœ œœœ
w w w w
T T * T T T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
5 7 w 5 7
5 7 w 5 7
5 7 w 5 7
5 7 w ™
*Drop plucking-hand fingers onto muted
strings to produce a percussive sound.
— Moving on to Bar 2, you’ll notice it’s very similar to the first; the only difference is on the “&”
of Beat 4. All the other elements are the same:
Video Example 2–4. Breaking Down Bars 1–3, Part 4 E A D G
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ
œ œ w œ œ œ œ œ w œ œ œ œ
w
T T ¿ * P T T T T ¿ P T T T
™
¤ ™ 5 7
0 3
w 5
5 7
5 7 w 5 7
0 3
w 5
5 7
5 7 5
*Without picking, drop plucking-hand finger(s) onto 5fr

— Bar 3 is a repeat of Bar 1.
Lesson 3
Isolating Pull-offs
It’s time to put some hammer-ons and pull-offs to good use in a more-challenging
riff. Let’s have a look at the riff itself, and be sure to pay attention to the timing.
Then, we’ll break it down:
Example 02 Off-Beat Funkiness

Funk 1
1., 2., 3.
? 44 ™™ œ œ ≈ œ. œ. œ œ œ ¿ œ œ ™™
œ w w w œ w
w œ
P T ¿ T T P P P T P
™ * ™
¤ ™w 7 5
7 5 7
0 3
w 5
w 3
w X
5
w 7 5
™
4.
D.C.
(take repeats)
3
œ œ œ
? œ œ ‰ ≈ œ œ œ ™™ Œ Ó
œ w w œ
T P P P P T
™
3
w 5 3 9 7 5 7 5
7 ™ 0
Notes:
— The first thing you may notice is that the riff actually starts on the “e” of Beat 1 — with a pull-off;
the downbeat is a fret-hand slap that produces a percussive sound.
— Let’s break things down, piece by piece. The first element of Bar 1 is a ghost-sixteenth note on the
downbeat! And as in Lesson 2, it’s not a “traditional” ghost note: we drop the fret-hand finger(s)
onto the strings to create a percussive sound, without picking, plucking, or slapping:
Video Example 3–1. Beginning of Bar 1
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ. ™™
≈ œ. œ Œ
w
P T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ w 7 5
7 5 7 ™
— Then, add the slide on Beat 3 and end on the low E on Beat 4:
œ œ œ.
? 44 ≈ œ. œ
w œ
P T ¿ T
¤ w 7 5
7 5 7
0
— Bar 1 isn’t particularly difficult, but its “fruity” timing is done on purpose to add a little pressure!
— Moving to Bar 2, we start on a G note (Fret 3 of String 4), pop the octave, then pop the b7th:
Video Example 3–2. Beginning of Bar 2
? 44 ™™ 4 œ 1 œ œ œ ™™
1 œ w w w œ w w w
T P P T P P
™ ™
¤ ™ 3
w 5
w 3
w 3
w 5
w 3
w ™
— Try the “see-saw” fingering above, moving your fret-hand index finger from String 4 to String 2
when fretting the relevant notes.
continued
Notes (continued):
— All that’s left for Bar 2 is to add the pull-off:
Video Example 3–3. Bar 2
? 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ œ ™™
œ w w w œ w
T P P P T P
™ ™
™ 3
w 5
w 3
w X
5
w 7 5
™
— Go through the string for the first G note on Beat 1, then use a “see-saw” motion with your plucking
hand to alternate between the dead notes and the popped notes.
— Try adding a little “sauce” on the last note, with a shake if you’d like. A shake means rapidly
alternating between the indicated note (here, a G) and the note a half step above or below on the
same string with the same finger. It’s indicated like this in notation and tablature:
? 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ œ˘ ™™
œ w w w œ w
™
T P P P T P ˘ ™
™ 3
w 5
w 3
w X
5
w 7 5
™
— Now, let’s put togther the first two bars. Including the repeats, we’ve covered the first six bars:
Video Example 3–4. Bars 1 and 2

1., 2., 3.
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
≈ œ. œ. œ œ ¿
œ w
w œ œ w w w
P T ¿ T T P P P T P
™ * ™
¤ ™w 7 5
7 5 7
0 3
w 5
w 3
w X
5
w 7 5
™
Lesson 4
Hammer-ons and Pull-offs Combined
In our final lesson of the week, we’ll dive into more “saucy shenanigans” featuring
hammer-ons, pull-offs, and more. We’ll again use a drum groove from the SBL
Groove Trainer, this time “Funk 6.” Let’s dive right in:
Example 03
FUNK 06
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ ≈
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ Œ
w œ œ œ œ w œ œ wœ œ
* P T P T T T T P T P P
™
¤ ™ w 7 5
0 3
5
0 5 7
5 7
5 7 5
w 7 5
0 3
5
w 0 5
7

already-deadened string(s) to produce a percussive sound.
3 œœ œœ ÍÍÍÍ
œœœ œœœœ
œ œ œ ™ ™™ œ
? œœ œ
œœ ≈œœœœœ w w w
w
P T P T T T T P P P T T T
ÍÍÍÍ
™
w7 w w9 w7
9 7
5
0 3
5
0 5 7
5 7
5 7 5 7 5
7 5
7 5 3
™ 0
continued
Notes:
— As before let’s break this line down to bite-sized chunks.
— The bass line starts on the downbeat, but with a sixteenth “ghost” generated by dropping the
plucking-hand finger(s) onto the strings to create a percussive sound. This is immediately followed
by a pop and an open-hammer-pluck. This beat-and-a-half is a cool little riff, and one you need to
get under your fingers:
Video Exercise 4–1. Open-hammer-pluck
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ ‰ Ó œ œ œ ‰ Ó ™™
w œ œ w œ œ
P T P P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ w 7 5
0 3
5
w 7 5
0 3
5
™
— Next, a bunch of hammer-ons featuring the box shape, which you can work on individually:
E A D G

? 44 r ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ‰™ r œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ Œ ‰™ r ™™
œ œ œ œ
T T T T T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
5 7 5
5 7
5 7 5
™
0 5 7 0 5 7 0
5fr
— The first of the hammer-ons is a 3-for-1 deal; only slap the first note. (Feel free to add a “delicious
squiggle” [a shake] on the G note on “&” of Beat 2!)
— Moving on to Bar 2 of Example 03, we see it starts the same way as Bar 1, but adds another
open-hammer-pluck starting on the “a” of Beat 2. Let’s practice those back-to-back open-hammer-
plucks on their own:
? 44 r ™™ œ œ œ œ ™™
œ œ w œ œ w œ œ w œ œ w œ
T P T P T P T P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 5
w 7
w 5
w 7
w ™
“That’s a
0 3 0 5 0 3 0 5 0
cool bass line!”
continued
PLAY-ALONG
TECHNIQUE
BREAKDOWN
Flea
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 07 / PLAY-ALONG TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN : FLEA
3
Intro
The Funky Monk
Who in the bass community hasn’t heard of Michael Peter Balzary? Of course,
you know him by the name Flea, one of the founding members and bassist for the
Red Hot Chili Peppers, and he’s one of the most notable bass players of the past
three decades. His bass riffs are as iconic as he is. In addition to the Red Hot Chili
Peppers, he’s played with the likes of the Mars Volta, Alanis Morissette, Johnny
Cash, Tom Waits, Jane’s Addiction, and countless others. His originality and
energy set him apart— bringing together funk/slap, punk, psychedelic and hard
rock—resulting in a truly unique style.
But have you ever critically listened to his bass lines? His work with the Chili
Peppers is a must-listen. And for examples of Flea’s slap bass playing, be sure to
give “Higher Ground,” “Aeroplane,” “Can’t Stop,” and “Dark Necessities” to whet
your appetite.
In this lesson, we’ll take an in-depth look into into Flea’s approach to playing slap
bass, and learn some killer Flea-inspired bass riffs along the way.
4
Lesson 1
Flea-Style Riff #1 Breakdown
Our first Flea-style riff is heavily influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song
“Aeroplane,” and serves as a great example of Flea’s slap-bass style of playing,
in particular the use of the “down thumb” technique* and his “see-saw” slapping
approach. Let’s take a look: “[Flea’s] a cool kid—
he’s a ‘low slinger’.”
Example 01 Flea Riff #1

FLEA RIFF 1
Play 12 times
œ
? #### 4 ™™ œ¿œœ œ ¿ ¿œœ œ œœ
œ œ ™™
#4 œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿
œœ œœ œ œ
T ¿P T P T ¿P T P T ¿P T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T T
™ 9 8 6 4 6 ™
¤ ™ 4 X
6
X
4
6 7 X X 6 4 X X
0 2
4
0 2
4
0
™ 4
Notes:
Slap Bass Accelerator
— You can still play this riff using the “through-thumb,” or “parallel thumb” technique we’ve previously
Flea Riff 1
covered, but it’s the down-thumb technique that is used almost exclusively by Flea—plus, you’ll
get a better “Flea vibe” that way.
— It is, of course, important t0 strike the note properly when using the “down thumb” approach;
there’s a lot of bounce. Think of turning a door knob or giving the “hang loose ” sign—it’s all about
rotating your lower arm around itself:
I
I I I
r
r
Figure 1A.
“Doorknob” Wrist Turning & “Down” Technique
*Please refer to the Slap Accelerator Week 1: Core Skill #1—Thumbing for more information on the “down thumb” technique.
5
Notes (continued):
— You can practice this motion using the back of your bass, slapping your thumb on the instrument
itself, focusing on the movement itself, which all comes from the arm rotation. You can think of it
like a “seesaw,” with your thumb as one side and your pinky as the other.
— Moving back to the front of your bass, keep the same seesaw motion, but now use your thumb and
index finger as the end points of your “seesaw,” keeping your forearm as the pivot point. Use your
fret hand to mute the strings, then slap any string with the thumb, then quickly pop the
G String using this motion to help yourself get used to it. (It doesn’t particularly matter which string
you slap for the moment—you can even hit multiple strings.)
01. Rotate your forearm

counter-clockwise (towards
01 the fretboard) to slap any
string with the thumb
02. As you rotate clockwise

02 (back “up” with the thumb),
pop the G String with your
index finger.
Figure 1B. “Seesaw” Technique
— If you want to play like Flea, this is the motion that’s the key. But although this motion is nearly
continuous, you don’t always strike a note; you choose when to pop a note, when to thumb a note,
or when to strike a string—the rotational motion continues either way.
— And as before, be sure you can get your aim correct. With the down-thumb technique, you’ll find it
easy to strike more than one string at a time, so your fret-hand muting is equally as important! For
example, if you were playing a C note:
Muting on
Strings
X
X X
XX
C Note
Figure 1C. Fret-Hand Muting
Can you strum all the strings and only produce a sound from the C note?
If not, double-check your muting!
6
Notes (continued):
— The “boney” part of the thumb—just near the knuckle—can be a good place to strike the strings,
although you should find a spot that works for you. There is no “correct” spot for everyone.
— Next, let’s play octaves using this Flea-style movement:
Video Exercise 1–1. Octaves, Part 1

? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. ™
T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T
™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™
¤ ™ 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
3
5
3
5
3
5
3
5
3
5
3
5
3
5
3
™
— When playing the octaves, keep each note short; do not let them ring out over each other. Try
moving the octaves around in whole steps next:
Video Exercise 1–2. Octaves, Part 2

Play entire example twice
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ¿
T P T P T P T T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 3
5
5
7
7
9
X
™ 3
5
5
7
7
9
5
7
3
5
5
7
7
9
X
Key’s to playing the Flea Style:

01. Strike the notes clearly with the thumb. “Remember:
with Flea’s style,
02. Near-constant rotational movement of the forearm. the thumb is going
down...if you are a
03. Be sure you can play “simple octaves” ‘through-thumber,’
as in Video Exercises 1-1 and 1-2. you can experiment
with this Flea style
as well.”
continued
7
Notes (continued):
— Now, let’s break things down in more detail.
— The riff is in the key of Ab Minor, which has seven flats in the key signature. Alternatively, we can
simplify that a little by writing it in G# Minor (the enharmonic equivalent):
“[This Flea-style bass
Ab Minor G# Minor line] is almost a melody
? bbb ? #### unto itself; there’s
bbbb is equivalent to # something really,really
musical about it.”
Figure 1C. Ab Minor VS G# Minor
“If you are ever having
issues learning a slap
riff, [playing the riff
— Consider initially playing the bass line fingerstyle to help you better understand what’s going on
fingerstyle first ] is
rhythmically. It will also help you learn the fingering. The “slap stuff” comes next. Let’s start with something else to
the first two beats. Concentrate on getting the rhythm under your fingers: consider.”
Video Exercise 1–4. Fingerstyle Riff Breakdown, Part 1
? #### 44 ™™ ≈ 4œ ≈ 1œ 4œ Ó ≈ œ ≈ œ œ Ó
# 1œ œ
w/ fingers
™
¤ ™ 4
6 4
6
4
6 4
6
— Now add in the next two beats, and note that it’s the same rhythm. Let’s loop it:

4 œ 4 œ œ œ
? #### 44 ™™ 1 œ ≈ ≈ 1 œ œ ≈ ≈ œ ™™
#
w/ fingers
™ 9 8 9 8 ™
¤ ™ 7 6 7 6 ™
— Then move down a whole step, essentially keeping the same rhythm on Beat 1 in Bar 2. Here are
the first two bars. Be sure to play that hammer-on on the “e” of Beat 2 in Bar 2:
? #### 44 ™™ œ ≈ 4 œ ≈ 1 œ œ ≈ Ó œ ≈
4 œ
≈1
œ œ
≈ Ó ™™
# 1 1
w/ fingers
™ 6 4 6 6 4 6 ™
¤ ™ 4 4 ™
8
Notes (continued):
— The rhythm changes up on Beats 3 and 4 of Bar 2. Those low E notes are important:
? #### 44 r ™™ 4 œ œ Œ ‰™ r œ œ Œ ‰™ r ™™
# œ 1œ 0 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
w/ fingers
™ ™
¤ 0
™ 2
4
0 2
4
0 2
4
0 2
4
0
™
— Now put it all together*. Remember, we aren’t slapping yet:
Video Exercise 1–8. Full Riff, Fingerstyle

œ œ œ œœ
? #### 44 ™™ ≈ œ ≈ œ œ œ ≈ ≈ œ œ ≈ ≈ œ œ ™™
# œ œ œ œœ œ œ
w/ fingers
™ 9 8 6 4 6 ™
¤ ™ 4
6 4
6 7 6 4
0 2
4
0 2
4
0
™ 4
— Next, let’s get out our thumb. Think of every two beats as a “cell” and practice each individually
at first. Notice the placement of the ghost note: Remember, although the rotational motion is
continuous, we choose where to add in the notes:
Video Exercise 1–9. Ab “Cell”

No ghost notes
? #### 44 ™™ œ≈œœ œ≈œœ œ≈œœ œ≈œœ ™
™
# œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T ¿P P T ¿ P P T ¿ P P T ¿ P P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 4 X
6 4
6
4 X
6 4
6
4 X
6 4
6
4 X
6 4
6 ™
— Repeat the same idea for the “cell” on the E on Beat 3:
Video Exercise 1–10. E “Cell”

œ œ œ œ
? #### 44 ™™ œ ¿ ≈ œ œ ¿ ≈ œ ™™
#
T P P T ¿ P P T
™ 9 8 9 8 ™
¤ ™ 7 X 6 7 X 6 ™
continued
*In the video, Scott adds a few pluck-hand slaps to the riff. These are produced by dropping the plucking hand onto
an already-deadened string to produce a percussive sound, but are not shown in the notation since they’re not part of
the original riff itself.
9
Notes (continued):
— And next, the C#/Db “cell”:
Video Exercise 1–11. C#/Db “Cell”
? #### 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
# ¿ ≈ œ ¿ ≈ ™™
T P P T P P
™ 6 4 6 6 4 6 ™
¤ ™ 4 X 4 X ™
— Now put all the cells together:
Video Exercise 1–11. First Three Cells of Riff
œ œ œ œ œ
? #### 44 ™™ œ œ œ ¿ ™™
œ ¿ ≈ œ ≈ œ
# œ ¿ ≈ Ó
T P P T ¿ T P P
™ 9 8 6 4 6 ™
¤ ™ 4 X 6 4 6 7 X 6 4 X ™
— For the final two beats of the riff, we move away from the continuous rotational motion and play
with more of a free-flowing motion:
Video Exercise 1–11. Final Part of Riff
? #### 44 r ™™ œ œ ≈ Œ ‰™ r œ œ œ œ ≈ Ó ™™
# œ œ œ œ œ œ
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P
™ ™
¤ 0
™ 2 4 0 2 4 0 2
4
0 2
4
™
— Put it all together and start by playing at a slower tempo to get the motions under your fingers.
Once you’re comfortable, play it to the backing track at the proper tempo.
10
Lesson 2
Flea-Style Riff #2 Breakdown
Our next Flea-style riff is an aggressive riff that sums up Flea’s slap style—all in.
It’s in the Key of F# Minor, and has two rhythmic ideas in it. You’ll again be using
the “seesaw” technique from Lesson 1:

FLEA RIFF 2
? ### 44 ™™ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ˘
¿ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ™
œ œ œ
œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P
™ ˘
¤ ™ 0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
2 4 X
2
X
2
Play 8 times
3 œ ¿
? ### œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ ™™
œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿
T T P P P T T P T P T P T T P T P T T P T P T T P
9 X ™
0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X 9 11 11 X
7 9 9
7
X
X
7 9 9
7 ™
5
? ### œ œ ¿ œ œ
œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿
T T P T P T P T T P
4 2 X 4 4
0 2 X X X 0 2 X
11
Notes:
— To get the seesaw rotational motion down, as before you might want to start by turning your bass
over and practice using your thumb and fingers against the rear of the bass, rotating your hand
along the length of your forearm. Then turn your bass back over, and while muting the strings
completely with your fret hand, play the E and D Strings using the same motion:
Video Exercise 2–1. Seesaw Muting Practice
? 44 ™™ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
™
— Notice that the pops are not being produced by pulling away from the strings but rather as part of
the rotational “seesaw” motion of your arm—it is not an “up and down” motion.
— Here we can see how Video Exercise 2–1 is found in the riff itself.
? ### 44 œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ ˘
œ œ œ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ™
œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿
P T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P
˘
¤
4 2 X 4 2 X 4 2 X 2 2
2 4 X X
0 2 X X X 0 2 X X X 0 2 X X X
3
? ### ™™ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™ œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
œœœ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T T P T P T P T P T P T P T P
™ ™
™ 0 2 2
4
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
™ 0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
5 ˘
? ### œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ™ œ
œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ w œœ¿
T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P T T P
˘
4 2 X 4 2 X 4 2 X 2 2 4
2 4 X X
0 2 X X X 0 2 X X X 0 2 X X X 0 2 X
— Remember, the motion is continuous and we choose when to play notes. For example, on Beat “1 e”
we hammer-on the F# rather than play a pop but we continue the rotational motion throughout.
continued
12
Notes (continued):
— Let’s look at the the first beat itself. Be sure to play the high F# short; it should not ring out into the
next note:
Video Exercise 2–3. Beat 1 Hammer-On
? ### 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ ™™
œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿
T T P T T P T T P T T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0 2 X
4
0 2 X
4
0 2 X
4
0 2 X
4
™
— You’ll notice this riff has a lot of ghost notes. They are almost incidental; they’re produced from
that rapid, continuous motion of the plucking hand, using the pattern in Video Exercise 2–1. In “You almost don’t
almost every instance, if we don’t play a note, it’s ghost note! need to worry about
the ghost notes
— Beat 2 highlights the seesaw-motion-ghost-note production. Be sure to end with the ghost notes. because they’re
These two beats make up almost the entirety of the riff: going to come
naturally [with proper
‘seesaw’ technique].”
Video Exercise 2–3. Beats 1 & 2
? ### 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ Ó ™™
œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
™
— The riff changes on Beat 3 of Bar 3 with a hammer-on from B to C#. Consider practicing just beats
3 and 4 isolated. The last E note can be played with a shake or vibrato as desired:
Video Exercise 2–4. Beats 3 & 4
? ### 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ™ Ó ™™
T T P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 2 4 X
2
X
2
™
— Putting it all together:
Video Exercise 2–5. Beginning of Riff
? ### 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ™ ™™
œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œœ¿ ¿ ¿ œ
T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P T P T T P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
0 2 X
4
X
2
X
X
2 4 X
2
X
2
™
— Instead of a ghost note after the hammer-on in Beat 3 of Bar 2, you can also play the C# twice.
continued
13
Lesson 3
Flea Style Riff #3 Breakdown
Our final Flea-style riff again highlights the “seesaw” approach to slap bass that
characterizes Flea’s style.

FLEA RIFF 3
? bb 44 ™™ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ
œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P T T ¿ P T P T
™
¤ ™ 1 3 X
5
X
3
X
5
X
X
3 3
3
X
5
X
Play 8 times
2
? bb œ bœ ¿ œ ¿ ™™
œ œ œ œ ¿ nœ œ œ ¿ œ œ
T T P T P T P T T P T P T T
™
3 6 6
5
X
6
X
X
0 1 1
3
X
X
1
™ 3
continued
14
Notes:
— The riff is in the Key of G Minor. And while this riff relies almost exclusively on the seesaw motion,
there’s a “cheeky little” double thumb hidden in there in Bar 1 that disrupts the motion:
Video Exercise 3–1. Double Thumbed Notes
? bb 44 ™™ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ
œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P T P T ¿ P T P T
™
¤ ™ 1 3 X
5
X
3
X
5
X
X
3 3
3
X
5
X
— The riff starts off with a cool little slide from an F to a G (only slap the first note), followed by pops
on the octave G and F notes, with ghost notes everywhere. Don’t forget the last two ghost notes:
? bb 44 ™™ œ œ œ ¿ ‰ Œ ™™
œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P T
™ ™
¤ ™ 1 3 X
5
X
3
X
5
X
X
™
— The seesaw motion “flips around a little” on the “&” of Beat 3 when we encounter the double-
thumbed G notes, followed by popped F and G notes (with a ghost in between):
Video Exercise 3–3. Double Thumbed Notes Isolated
? b 44 ™™ Ó ‰ 1 œ 3 œ Ó ‰ 2 œ 4 œ ™™
b 1 œ œ ¿ 1 œ œ ¿
T ¿ P T P T ¿ P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 3 3
3
X
5
3 3
3
X
5
™
— Playing the F (the b7) on the same fret as the G note can be tricky. Two fingering approaches are
shown above: essentially barring the third fret with you index finger, and playing the F and G with
the second and fourth fingers, respectively. As always, use what is comfortable to you; it may even
be something different.
continued
15
Notes (continued):
— When putting together these first two pieces of the riff, the key notes are the two ghost notes that
connect the parts (highlighted below):
Video Exercise 3–4. Key Ghost Notes
? b 44 ™™ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ ™™
b œ œ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿
T T P T P T P T P T ¿ P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 1 3 X
5
X
3
X
5
X
X
3 3
3
X
5
™
— Another slide starts the next part of the riff, this time from G to the Bb. The seesaw motion is in
full effect after that. Slide with your second finger, allowing you to fret the octave G with your first
finger and the Ab with your third finger. Be sure to strike the Bb following the slide; it gets us back
into “seesaw mode”:
Video Exercise 3–4. Key Ghost Notes
? bb 44 1 œ 3 bœ ¿ Ó ™™
2œ
œ 2 œ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T P
™
¤ 3 6 6
5
X
6
X
X
™
— By eliminating the ghost notes and slides, we find a “counter melody”:
Video Exercise 3–4. Counter Melody
? b 44 ™™ ‰™ œ ≈ œ ≈ œ Ó ‰™ œ ≈ bœR ‰ ‰™ œ ≈ œ ≈ ™™
b R R R J
P P P P P P P
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 3 5 5 6 3 3
™
— The riff ends with a open hammer-on followed by two popped F notes, separated by ghost notes*:
Video Exercise 3–4. Counter Melody
? bb 44 ™™ 4 œ œ™ œ œ™ ™™
nœ 1
œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
T T P T P T T P T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0 1 1
3
X
3
0 1 1
3
X
3
™
continued
*There are slight variations in the initial performance of the riff at the beginning of the lesson
versus the video exercises.
16
Notes (continued):
— All that remains is to put all the pieces together.
Wrap Up
As with any riff, start slowly and break it up into smaller phrases (“cells”) first;
give yourself a chance to learn the movements on the bass before trying to play
at tempo. Once you can play each phrase at the correct tempo, putting them all
together to create the entire riff becomes easier—it’s a much better approach
than tying to learn the entire riff all at once.
“It’s really important to experiment with different

ways of learning [bass lines]. We’re all different,
and we all learn in different ways... I really do
recommend looking at how you learn, and what’s
gonna work for you.
And remember to have fun while you’re doing it.”
WEEK 09
Core skills #5, 6 & 7 – Slides, Stings & Fret-Hand Slaps
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 09 / SLIDES, STINGS, AND FRET-HAND SLAPS 3
Lesson 1
Slides
This week, we’re going to explore some articulations that will add some “flavor”
to our bass lines. In particular, we’ll discuss stings/shakes, fret-hand slaps, and
slides—more “sauce” to add into your groove recipes.
We’ll also change our tone, focusing on the neck pickup only, rather than the
classic slap sound of playing with both pickups* turned all the way up. The result
will be more of an old-school, 70s vibe that you might expect with a P-Bass:
Figure 1A. Tone Settings (Neck Pickup Only)
(A wonderful example of this tone can be found on Patrice Rushen’s 1982 hit
“Forget Me Nots” from her album Straight from the Heart, featuring Freddie
Washington on the bass guitar.)
*This assumes a Fender Jazz-style (J-Bass) that has two pickups: one closer to the bridge and another near the neck.
Dial back the volume of the bridge pickup. If you’re playing a bass with just one pickup (similar to a Precision bass, or
P-Bass), you’re already good to go.
This week’s first example highlights slides, and uses the drum groove “Disco 3”
from the SBL Groove Trainer*:
Example 01 Slides DISCO 3
< q∑∑∑∑∑ a∑∑∑∑∑

ba b
q q q = q ∑q q ∑q >
3 3
œ j
? b 44 œj œ œ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ
j ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ j
œ œ œ
j ¿ ¿ nœ œ ‰ œj œ œ
T T T P T T ¿ P ¿ T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ T P T ¿ T T
™ 5 X
¤ 3 5
3
™ 5 7 7 5 3
5 7
5 3
5
3 5 X 2 3 3 5
3
3
œ
j œ œ œj œ œ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
?b œ
j œ œ œ
œ œ œ
j ¿ ¿ nœ. œ.j ‰ œ
j œ œ
T ¿ P T T ¿ P ¿ T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍT P T ¿ T T
5 X
5 7 7 5 3 5 3 3
5 7 3 5 X 2 3 3 5
5
5
œ
j œ œ œj œ œ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ j
?b œ
j œ œ œ œ œ
j ¿ ¿ nœ. œ. ‰ œ
j œ œ
œ
T ¿ P T T ¿ P ¿ T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ T P T ¿ T T
5 X
5 7 7 5 3 5 3 3
5 7 3 5 X 2 3 3 5
5
7
?b œ
j œ œ œj œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œj œ œ ™™
œ J
T ¿ P T T ¿ P ¿ T ¿ T T T T T
5 ™
5 7 7 5 3
5 7
5 3
0 8 8 7 7 5 5 3 5 3 5
3
™
Groove Trainer ad
Get the FREE SBL Groove Trainer App

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Notes:
— This riff features plenty of slides. As we’ve done before, let’s break the riff down into “cells” or
smaller pieces to help us learn it. Let’s start ... at the beginning. (Remember that there’s a slight
sixteenth-note swing feel to this groove):
Video Exercise 1–1. “If you’re trying to

< q∑∑∑∑∑ a∑∑∑∑∑
b a ∑b Target Notes
q q q = q ∑q q q >
3 3
build some of your
œ own riffs ... try to
? 44 œj œ œ ™™ œ œ
j
œ
j œ œ Œ ™™
b Œ Œ œ
j œ œ Œ œ
j œ œ make them fun,
musical examples.”
T T T P T T T P T T
™ 5 5 ™
¤ 3 5
3
™ 5 7
3 5
3 5 7
3 5
3
™
— Although shown with grace notes to indicate a starting point for the “slide into” of the notes,
in reality you can start the slides from any note below the target note, which are the D and A
notes above. The emphasis on the slide is the target note. Focus your eyes on the targeted note
itself, rather than where you start the slide—start the slide lower on the neck to make it more
exaggerated; start it one fret lower for a more subtle effect—but stop precisely on the target.
— Beat 2 of the first measure flips the slide, starting from above rather than from below the targeted
note. And just like the slide from below, there’s no real set starting point for the slide:
< ∑∑∑∑∑
Video a∑∑∑∑∑
3 b a3 b
Exercise
∑ ∑ > 1–2.
q q q q= q q q q
j œ j œ
j œ œ œj œ œ
? b 44 œj œ œ ™™ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ
j œ œ Œ œ
j œ œ ™™
T T T P T T T T ¿ P T T T T
™ 5 5 ™
¤ 3 5
3
™ 5 7 7 5 3
3 5
3 5 7 7 5 3
3 5
3
™
— In general, starting a “slide into” one whole step above or below the target note will sound great.
— Let’s complete the first bar of the riff. Be sure to pop the last two notes:

œ
j
? 44 œj œ œ ™™ œ
j œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. ™™
œ
j
b Ó Œ œ
j œ œ
T T T P T T ¿ P ¿ T T
™ 5 ™
¤ 3 5
3
™ 5 7 7 5 3
5 7
5 3
3 5
3
™
continued
Notes (continued):
— Bar 2 (the end of the initial part of the riff) begins with a hammer-on, followed by two ghost
notes—and the swing feel is most noticeable:
< q∑∑∑∑∑
Video a∑∑∑∑∑
3 b a3 b
q q q = q ∑q q ∑q >
Exercise 1–4.
ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ j ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ j
? 44 ™™ œj œ ¿ ¿ nœ. œ. ‰ Œ œ œ
j ¿ ¿ nœ. œ. ‰ Œ ™™
b
T ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ T P T ¿ T ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ T P T ¿
™ X X ™
¤ ™ 3 5 5 2 3 3 5 5 2 3 ™
— It’s important to note that, although the swing feel is not prominent in some of the bars of the riff,
it IS present in within the entire thing, and it’s what drives the feel throughout. You’ll want to
internalize that feel as you play from start to finish.
— Here’s everything together:

“As long as you have
[the swing feel]
Video Exercise
< ∑∑∑∑∑ b a b 1–5.
a∑∑∑∑∑
∑ ∑> 3 3
in your mind, it will
q q q q= q q q q
come out in your
j œ j ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
? 44 œj œ œ
b ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œj œ œ œ œ œ
j ¿ ¿ nœ œj ‰ œj œ œ playing.”
œ
T T T P T T ¿ P ¿ T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ T P T ¿ T T
™ 5 X
¤ 3 5
3
™ 5 7 7 5 3
5 7
5 3
5
3 5 X 2 3 3 5
3
— This part of the riff is played a total of three times, and then we end with a sixteenth-note sliding
phrase highlighting the swung feel in Bar 4:
< q∑∑∑∑∑ a∑∑∑∑∑

b a ∑b
q q q = q ∑q q q >
3 3
? b 44 œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ œ
j œ œ
J
T T T T T T T
¤
3
8 8 7 7 5 5 3 5 3 5
Lesson 2
Fret-Hand Slaps
Do fret-hand slaps sound intimidating or intense? Well, rest easy; they’re a
relatively simple and straightforward technique to execute. In fact, a fret-
hand slap involves nothing more than dropping your fret-hand fingers
across the fretboard to mute the strings, while at the same time producing a
percussive sound.
It’s important that you do not sound a note when muting the strings, and it
may take a little practice to get the motion correct since we’re so used to
fretting notes with that hand.
Figure 2A. Fret-Hand Slap
In notation and tablature, a fret-hand slap ? Ã

is indicated by an large-ish “X.” It’s distinct
from the “x” notehead used for ghost notes:
¤ Ã
Figure 2A. Fret-Hand Slap in Notation and Tablature
When executing a fret-hand slap, you’ll most-likely use all four of your fretting-
hand fingers to slap/mute the strings. But, you can just as easily keep your fret-
hand index finger on the bass, mute the strings, then drop fingers 2–4 down onto
the fretboard, too. Using all four fingers generally produces a “bigger” sound.
“Try to get a big
sound—the
And don’t be misled: although when played in isolation, the fret-hand slap may biggest sound you
possibly can. Hit
sound like “rubbish,” it’s when they’re combined with other rhythmic elements
that thing, without
that they really shine. The keys to playing a fret-hand slap correctly are to get the making a note.”
correct pressure on your fret hand, and syncing the timing between your fretting
and plucking hands.
Let’s look at a few simple exercises that will help you get them under your fingers.
Start slowly, and gradually increase the tempo as you see fit:
Video Exercise 2–1a. Quarter Note Fret-Hand Slaps

? 44 ™™ Ã Ã Ã Ã ™™
œ œ œ œ
T * T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã ™
*Without picking, drop fret-hand fingers
Video Exercise 2–1b. Eighth
across Note
fretboard Fret-Hand
to mute strings, at theSlaps
same time producing a percussive sound.
? 44 ™™ Ã Œ Ã Œ Ã Œ Ã Œ ™™
œ œ œ œ
T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã ™
Video Exercise 2–1c. Sixteenth Note Fret-Hand Slaps

? 44 ™™ Ã ‰ Œ Ã ‰ Œ Ã ‰ Œ Ã ‰ Œ ™™
œ œ œ œ
T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã ™
“If you are using headphones to practice,

it may sound really messy... you can hear
everything. There’s gonna be pops, squeaks,
and farts all over the place!
Practice with headphones at your own risk.”
Adding Another Thumb
Next, we’ll add another “thumb” to the mix:
Video Exercise 2–2a. Thumb—Fret-Hand Slap—Dead Note (Quarter Notes)

? 44 ™™ Ã Œ Ã Œ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿
T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
™
Video Exercise 2–2b. Thumb—Fret-Hand Slap—Dead Note (Eighth Notes)

? 44 ™™ Ã ‰ Ã ‰ Ã ‰ Ã ‰ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T T T T T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
™
Video Exercise 2–2c. Thumb—Fret-Hand Slap—Dead Note (Sixteenth Notes)

? 44 ™™ Ã ≈ Œ Ã ≈ Œ Ã ≈ Œ Ã ≈ Œ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T T T T T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
™
Stay relaxed when playing these exercises. Don’t be surprised if they take a week
“The metronome
or more to get comfortable with, despite how “simple” they may appear. Consider does not have to
be your enemy.”
using a metronome to keep you grounded*.
continued
*The free SBL Groove Trainer is perfect for this! (Please see page 4.)
The “Slap Engine”
Finally, let’s add in a pop. Play the pop at the end of the pattern as a dead note,
with no particular note in mind (“ghost thumb followed by ghost pop”). Your goal
should be nice, even rhythms:
Video Exercise 2–3a. “Slap Engine” (Quarter Notes)
? 44 ™™ Ã
¿
Ã
¿ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿
T T P T T P
™ X X ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
™
Video Exercise 2–3b. “Slap Engine” (Eighth Notes)
? 44 ™™ Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T T P T T P T T P T T P
™ X X X X ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
™
Video Exercise 2–3c. “Slap Engine” (Sixteenth Notes)
? 44 ™™ Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿ ™
™
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T T P T T P T T P T T P T T P T T P T T P T T P
™ X X X X X X X X ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
™
Experiment by leaving some beats silent. You might also want to consider
increasing your tempo; it can help with your timing. And vice-versa! If you can play
at a relatively high tempo, consider slowing things down and make sure you can
maintain the groove. “We all need to
practice stuff at
different speeds,
Also experiment with where on the fretboard you play the exercises. You’ll notice not just what we’re
comfortable with.”
that you get a different sound with both the fret-hand slap and the dead notes
depending on how high up you are on the fretboard. But it’s important to be able
to play this anywhere on the fretboard.
Let’s now take a look at this Lesson’s main riff. For that low open E on the ‘and’ of
beat 3, you can either play it open or as a dead thump—whichever you prefer.
Example 02 Fret-Hand Slaps

FUNK 5
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã ¿ Ã œ Œ Ã Ã ¿ Ã œ Œ ™™
œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ > œ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ >
T T T P T ¿ T P T T T P T ¿ T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
X
X
0 0
Ã
0
2
0
Ã
0
Ã
X
X
0 0
Ã
0
2
™
“How much fun is it to hear [our exercise] in

the context of a groove. When you’re really
locking up with the drums ... that is
an amazing, fun feeling .”
Notes:
— You can play the pop on the “e” of Beat 2 in both measures on either the D or G Strings;
it’s your preference—find what’s comfortable for you.
— Breaking things down a bit, start with the first beat and a half:
Video Exercise 2–4. Example 02 Breakdown I
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã ¿ Ã Ã œ Œ Ã Ã ¿ Ã Ã œ Œ ™™
œ œ ¿ œ œ œ> œ œ ¿ œ œ œ>
T T T P T T T P T T T P T T T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
X
X
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
2
0
Ã
0
Ã
X
X
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
2
™
— Next, move on to the second half of the measure, which is the same as the first half, except that
we pop the E note on the “a” of Beat 3:
Video Exercise 2–5. Example 02 Breakdown II
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã ¿ Ã Ã œ Œ Ã Ã ¿ Ã Ã œ Œ ™™
œ œ ¿ œ œ œ> œ œ ¿ œ œ œ>
T T T P T T T P T T T P T T T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
X
X
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
2
0
Ã
0
Ã
X
X
0
Ã
0
Ã
0
2
™
Lesson 3
Taking a Riff Through Tempos
In this lesson, we’ll play a riff that we’ll take through three different tempos to
demonstrate the different feels you can get playing the same notes.
Example 03 Basic Riff

FUNK 5
? 44 ™™ Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿ œ œ
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿ œ #œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿
T * T P T T P T T P T ¿ T P T T P T T P T
™ X X X X X X
¤ ™ 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
5 7
0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
5 4
*Without picking, drop fret-hand fingers

across fretboard to mute strings, at the
same time producing a percussive sound.
3 ÍÍÍÍ
? Ã
¿
Ã
¿
Ã
¿ œ œ
Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã Ã œ œ™ ™™
œ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ
T ¿ T P T T P T T P T ¿ T T P T T ÍÍÍÍÍ T
X X X X ™
0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
5 7
0
Ã
0
Ã
X 0
Ã
0
Ã
0
Ã 5 7 ™ 0
continued
Notes:
— When learning this riff initially, simplify. Start with just the key notes:
Video Exercise 3–1. Just the Notes in the Riff

? 44 ™™ œ œ œ #œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
T
™
¤ ™ 0 0 0
5 7
0 0 0
5 4
3 ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
? œ œ ‰ j œ œ™ ™™
T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
™
0 0 0
5 7
0 0 0 0
5 7 ™
— You’ll notice that the bass line itself is very simple when played without the fret-hand slaps, ghost
notes and pops! Once you can play the simplified riff, start adding in the “sauce.”
— The “unsimplified” riff is a straightforward pattern of the “slap engine” from the last lesson:
thumb → fret-hand slap → dead thumb note → dead popped note.
— You can consider this line a form of a call and answer:
Video Exercise 3–1. Just the Notes in the Riff
Call Answer
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ #œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ
T
™
¤ ™ 0 0 0
5 7
0 0 0
5 4
“Slow is hard...
you will be able
Answer to [play it fast]
3 Call ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ once you get
? œ œ ‰ j œ œ™ ™™ the mechanics
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ together.”
T ¿ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ
™
0 0 0
5 7
0 0 0 0
5 7 ™
— You may find that playing this riff slowly can be difficult. Strive for evenness across all the notes,
especially at a slow tempo. It’ll make speeding it up much easier.
— Once you’re comfortable playing at the slower tempo (approximately 70 bpm), increase the tempo
to roughly 100 bpm, then crank things up into the 125 bpm neighborhood.
Lesson 4
Squiggles/Stings/Shakes and Trills
Next, we’re going to take a look at a couple articulations you may have already
heard in previous lessons: stings and trills. Although these two articulations
sound similar, they are not the same. Let’s look at both.
Stings
You’ve no doubt heard stings in previous lessons in this course; they’re a great
way to add in some extra flair to a line. Stings go by a number of names, including
shakes and “squiggles,” but they all refer to that same thing: rapidly alternating
between two notes on the same string either a half step above or below the target
(written) note. In notation, they’re indicated by a jagged line above the note:
? ˘
œ
˘
¤
7
Figure 4A. Sting/Shake/Squiggle in Notation and Tablature
Although stings can be executed with any finger, generally speaking it’s the index
finger that does the work. The rapid back-and-forth between the two notes is
what’s important—it “blurs” the sound and that’s what creates the effect.
Taking a closer look at the sting, it’s played more or less like this:
˘
? œ ? œ œ œ œ œ
roughly played as
˘
¤ 7 ¤ 7 8 7 8 7
Figure 4B. Sting/Shake/Squiggle Execution
continued
And although less common, you can also alternate between the target note (the
E note in Figure 4B) and one half step lower. Similarly, the number of “squiggles”
is up to you: it can range from just one to as many as you’d like—you don’t even
need to end on the target note. But in reality, a sting is played short, and not for
the entire duration of the written note; it should “die off” naturally. Only pick,
pluck, thumb or pop once.
Trills
A trill is another articulation that is similar to a sting in sound, but entirely different
in execution. When playing a trill, again, pick, pluck, etc., just once, but instead of
sliding rapidly between two notes, play continuous rapid hammer-ons and pull-
offs. Trills will indicate the correct note to play in the notation:
Ÿ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
? œœ
Ÿ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
¤
5 7
Figure 4B. Trills in Notation and Tablature
As with a sting, we can think of a trill like this:
Target Note Ÿ~~~~~~~~~~ Trilled Note

?œœ ? œœœœœœœœ
played as
Ÿ~~~~~~~~~~
¤ 7 8
¤ 7 8 7 8 7 8 7 8
Figure 4B. Playing a Trill
And much like the sting, trills are generally played short, not necessarily lasting
the entire note duration.
Let’s take a look at these in practice in our next example.
Example 04 Squiggles and Trills

FUNK 6
œ œ˘ œ œ˘
? b 44 ™™ œ œ ≈ ¿ œ œ ≈ ¿
œ œ w w w ¿ ¿ œ œ w w w ¿ ¿
T * P P P ˘ T T P T P P P
˘ T T P
™
w w w w w w
5 3 10 9
¤ ™ 1 3
3 5
X X
X
1 3
3 5
X X
X
*Without picking, drop plucking-hand

thumb onto already-deadened string,
producing a percussive sound.
3 œ œ˘ œ. œ. œ. ˘
œ™
?b œ œ œ œ ™™
œ œ w w w ¿ ≈ ¿ ¿ œ œ w w w w w w
˘
T P P P ˘ T T P T P P P P P P
™
w w w w w w w w w
5 3 10 9 7 3
1 3
3 5
X X
X
1 3
3 5
™
Ÿ~~~~~
5
Ÿ~~~~~ œ œœ
? ™™ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
b œœ ¿ ≈ ¿ ¿ œœw w ¿ ≈ ¿ ¿
w w w w
T P P P
Ÿ~~~~~ T T P T P P P
Ÿ~~~~~ T T P
™
w w5 w w w5 w
5 3 4 10 9 10
™ 1 3
3
X X
X
1 3
3
X X
X
7
Ÿ~~~~ Ÿœ™~~~~~~~~~ œ. œ. œ.
œ œ nœ
?b œ œ ≈ ¿ œ œ nœ
™™
œ w w w
œ ¿ ¿ œœw w w w w w œ
Ÿ~~~~ T T P T Ÿ~~~~~~~~~
T P P P P P P P P P T
™
w3 w5 w w3 w5 w w w w
5 3 4 10 9 7 3 4
1 3 X X
X
1 3
™ 3
Lesson 5
Putting It All Together
This lesson features a groove that’s a great example of combining all the
articulations we’ve been working on all week: hammer-ons, slides, stings, etc.,
—all of the sauce— into one line.
Example 05 Articulations Combined

FUNK 6
? 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ ¿ #œ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ˘ œ œ œ
Ã Ã
œ ¿ œ ¿ . . ¿
*
T T T P T T P T ¿ P T T P T ˘ T T
™ X X X 7
¤ ™ 5 7
0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
4 5
X
5 7
5 7 9 9 7 5
7 5 7
*Without picking, drop fretting-hand fingers across

fretboard to mute strings, producing a percussive sound.
3 œ œ. œ. ˘
œ™
? œ œ ¿
Ã
¿ #œ œ ¿
Ã ¿ ¿
¿
Ã ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
œ Ã ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ
T ¿ T T P T T P T ¿ P T T P T P T T P T P T P
˘
X X X 7 X 7 9 7 ™
5 7
0 X X 0
Ã
X
4 5
X 0
Ã X X
0
Ã X X X ™
Notes:
— The riff begins with a familiar phrase. Note that Beats 1 and 2 in Bar 1, repeated below, are just a
variation of the riff in Example 03 of Lesson 3, but we substitute a hammer-on for the fret-hand
slap on the first beat. The motion is essentially the same.
Video Exercise 5–1. Bar 1
? 44 ™™ œ œ Ã
¿
Ã
¿
#œ. œ.
¿ œœ
Ã
¿
Ã
¿
#œ. œ.
¿ ™
™
œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿
T T T P T T P T ¿P T T T P T T P T ¿P
™ X X X X X X ™
¤ ™ 5 7
0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
4 5
X
5 7
0
Ã
X 0
Ã
X
4 5
X
™
— Be sure not to miss the two ghost/dead notes on the “&” and “a” of Beat 4; they serve as the
ending to the first part of the riff.
— Bar 2 features a slide-heavy line that adds in a sting, too. Let’s look at the initial part of the line:
Video Exercise 5–2. Bar 2, Part 1

? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
T T P T ¿ T P T
™ 7 7 ™
¤ ™ 5 7
5 7 9 9
5 7
5 7 9 9
™
— Alternatively, you could thumb the A note on the slide to Beat 2:
Video Exercise 5–3. Bar 2, Alternate Plucking Approach

œ œ œ œ œ
j j œ
œ
4 ™™ œ ™™
?4 œ œ œ
w œ w
T T T T T T
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
5 7 7 9
w 5 7
5 7 7 9
w ™
WEEK 10
Core Skill #8 – The Open-Hammer-Pluck
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 10 / CORE SKILL #8 – OPEN-HAMMER-PLUCK 3
Lesson 1
Open-Hammer-Pluck
We’ve previously looked at the open string → fret-hand slap → ghost pop. In that
instance, we weren’t playing any actual notes. Let’s change that. Starting with
an open string, hammer-on any note. For example, start by thumbing an open A
string and hammer-on an E note on the same string. Then ... pluck (pop) any note
(we’ll choose an octave, but it doesn’t have to be).
This group of three notes in succession is an example of an open-hammer-pluck.

We can play this group of three as a single “cell,” or consecutively across two
beats or even an entire measure. They both have different feels:
Video Exercise 1–1. Open-Hammer-Pluck
? 44 ™™ œ ≈ ™™
œ ≈ w œ œ ≈ w œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T P T T P T T P T P T P T P T P
™ ™
w w
9 9 9 9 9 9 9
¤ ™ 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 ™
Of course, we can use this on any notes we like. Let’s move the pattern around
the fretboard a bit:
Video Exercise 1–2. Open-Hammer-Pluck Around the Fretboard

? 44 ≈ w ≈ w
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈
T P T P T P T P T P T P T P
w w
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
¤ 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5
? ≈ w ≈ w ≈
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
w w
5 5 5 5 5 5 5
0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3 0 3
5
? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ ≈ w œ œ ≈ w œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈
w w
4 4 4 4 4 4 4
0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2
7
? bœ œ bœ œ œ œ œ
œ bœ ≈ w œ œ ≈ w œ bœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ≈
w w
3 3 3 3 3 3 3
0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
? ™™ œ ≈ u œ ≈ u œ œ œ œ œ ≈ ™™
T P * T P T P T P T P T P T P
™ 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 ™
™ 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 ™
*Add fill.
The interesting thing about the open-hammer-pluck is that regardless of key, your
ear will “allow” the open string. Even in, say the Key of Eb, the open E (natural)
sounds fine despite the dissonant half-step diference in the notes of the “open”
and ”hammer.”
continued
Open-Hammer-Thump-Pluck
We can add in another “thump” just before the pop and we’ll have an
open-hammer-thump-pluck. The “thump” can be either a dead note or an actual
note depending on the riff.
Video Exercise 1–3a. Open-Hammer-Thump-Pluck (Dead Note)

œ œ œ œ œ œ
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
œ w w œ w w œ w œ w œ w œ w
T T P T T T P T T T P T T P T T P T T P
™ ™
w w w w w w w w
9 9 9 9 9 9
¤ ™ 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 ™
Video Exercise 1–3b. Open-Hammer-Thump-Pluck (Actual Note)

œ œ œ œ œ œ
? 44 ™™ œ œ ™™
œ w œ œ œ w œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
T Groove
T P TTrainer
T adT P T T T P T T P T T P T T P
™ ™
w w
9 9 9 9 9 9
¤ ™ 0 7 7 0 7 7 0 7 7 0 7 7 0 7 7 0 7 7 ™
And, as before, you can play any note for the “hammer-on,” “thump,” and “pluck,”
not just an E note. You can also add in a fill between the four-note groupings:
Video Exercise 1–4. Open-Hammer-Thump-Pluck with Fill

œ ¿ œ ¿ œ œ œ œ
? 44 ™™ œ
œ w w œ
œ w w œ w œ w œ w œ w ™™
œ œ œ œ
T T P T P T T P T P T T P T T P T T P T T P
™ ™
w w w w w w w w
9 X 9 X 9 9 9 9
¤ ™ 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 ™
continued
Machine Gun Triplets

Wanna spice the sauce up a little more? Use the same motion and pick up
the tempo: play the first three notes of the open-hammer-thump-pluck as a
sixteenth-note triplet:
Video Exercise 1–5. “Machine Gun” Triplets

œ œ œ. œ. œ. œ.
? 44 ™™ œ ™™
œ w w œ œ w w œœw œœw œœw œœw
3 3 3 3
T T P T T T P T T P T P T P T P
™ ™
w w w w w w w w
9 9 9 9 9 9
¤ ™ 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 0 7 ™
This technique, whether you plan to actually incorporate into your line(s) or not,
is a great way to loosen up your fingers. The coordination you need will only help
your playing—it’s the key. Focus on the evenness of the individual notes; each
should have its own, distinct articulation.
“[This techniques] is reserved for those

special moments (funk tunes) where this
style is really serving the tune.”
“You’ve got to use it sparingly.
Never do a moonwalk on a first date.”
Lesson 2
Riff 01
Now, let’s look at the open-hammer-(thump)-pluck concept in an actual riff.
Example 01 Open-Hammer-Thump-Pluck Riff 01
FUNK 6
? 44 œ œ
œ
Ã
œ
Ã
œ œ w œ
Ã
œ
Ã
œ
œ w
T * T T **T P T T T T P
¤ Ã Ã Ã Ã
5 9
0 0 0 3 w 0 0 0 7 w
*Without picking, drop fret-hand fingers across fretboard
to mute strings, producing a percussive sound.
**Drop thumb of plucking hand onto already-deadened
string to produce a percussive sound.
3 œ œ
? œ œ w œ w
Ã Ã œ œ
œ œ œ œ w
T T T T P T T P T T P
9 5
0
Ã
0
Ã
0 3 w
5
0 7 w 0 5 w
5
? œ œ
œ
Ã
œ
Ã
œ œ w œ
Ã
œ
Ã
œ œ w
T T T T P T T T T P
Ã Ã 5 Ã Ã 9
0 0 0 3 X 0 0 0 7 X
7 #œ œ #œ œ
?
œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ ™™
˙
T P T P T P T P T
6 7 8 9 ™
0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7
0
™
Notes:
— This riff is great example of how you can incorporate both the open-hammer-thump and open-
hammer-thump-pluck in to your bass lines. Looking at Bar 1:
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã
œ Œ Ã Œ Ã ™™
œ œ œ œ w
T T T T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
0 w 3
5 Ã Ã ™
Open-hammer-thump-pluck
— In Bar 2, we change the “hammer” and “pluck” notes from G to B, keeping the pattern the same:
? 44 œ œ
œ
Ã
œ
Ã
œ œ w œ
Ã
œ
Ã
œ œ w
T T T T P T T T T P
¤ Ã Ã Ã Ã
5 9
0 0 0 3 w 0 0 0 7 w
— This pattern remains the same, with different notes, until we reach Bar 7, where we climb
chromatically from the C# in groups of three—not triplets—using the open-hammer-pluck only:

7 #œ œ #œ œ
?
œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ ™™
˙
T P T P T P T P T
6 7 8 9 ™
0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7
0
™
Open-hammer-plucks
continued
Notes (continued):
— You may find it helpful to practice the chromatic climb in isolation. As always, start at a tempo
that’s comfortable to you first, then work up to speed; your goal is for even notes throughout:
Video Exercise 2–4. Chromatic Climb

œ #œ œ nœ #œ œ
? 44 ™™ #œ# œ œ œ
#œ
œ ™™
œ œ œ #œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ #œ œ w
T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T P T
™ 6 7 8 9 6 7 8 9 ™
¤ ™ 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7 0 4 0 5 0 6 0 7 ™ 0
— And not to gloss over the first two beats of the riff, but take the time to get your fret-hand slap
sounding correctly before moving on to the open-hammer-thumps. While how you accomplish the
fret-hand slap is up to you—you’ll notice one approach is to lift and slap all four fingers across the
strings; the other keeps the index finger grounded on the fretboard and slaps just the second, third
and fourth fingers—what’s important is to ensure the percussive sound of the slap is prominent.
Consider practicing it in isolation:
“I want a big sound
from that left hand.”
Video Exercise 2–5. Fret-Hand Slaps and Open-Hammer-Thump-Plucks
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã
œ Ó Ã Œ ™™
œ œ œ œ w
T * T T T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
0 3 w
5 Ã ™
*Fret-hand slap
— You’ll notice that there is no fret indicated for the fret-hand slap, and this is intentional: it can be
performed anywhere on the fretboard. In Bar 2 below, although the notation is the same for Beats
1 and 2, you may find it easier to move your fretting hand up the fretboard to perform the fret-hand
slap so that you’re in position to play the B notes in Beats 3 and 4 of Bar 2.
Video Exercise 2–6. Bars 1 and 2
? 44 ™™ œ
œ ™™
œ œ w
Ã Ã Ã Ã
œ œ œ œ w œ œ
T T T T P T T T T P
™ ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã
0
Ã
0 3 w
5
0
Ã
0
Ã
0 7 w
9
™
Lesson 3
Riff 02
Let’s look at another bass line highlighting the concepts we’ve been learning:
Nate Wood - Sting Like a Bee

œ œ
? ### 44 ™™ œ nœ #œ œ nœ œ #œ œ œ
w œ œ w w w œ w œ
*
T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿
™ 4 6
¤ w 0
™ 2
4
w 3 4
2
w 3 2 w 0 4 w 4
5 0
*Drop thumb of plucking hand onto already-muted string

to produce a percussive sound, as indicated, throughout.
3 œ
? ### œ œ œ
w nœ #œ w nœ w œ #œ w
œ œ œ
œ œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿
4 6
2
4
w 3 4
2
w 3 2 w 0 4 w 4
5 0
5 œ
? ### œ œ œ
œ w nœ #œ w nœ œ w œ #œ w œ œ
œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿
4 6
2
4
w 3 4
2
w 3 2 w 0 4 w 4
5 0
7 œ œ œ
œ œ w œ œ w œ w œ œ ™™ œ
? ### œ œ œ œ
œ w nœ #œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T T P T T P T
6 9 11 ™
2
4
w 3 4
2
5
0 4 w 0 7 w 0 9 w
0 0
™ 2
Notes:
— In finding the “correct” tempo for this or any riff, you might think that pushing the tempo a bit faster
might make things sound a bit “better” since there are fewer gaps between the notes. But with a
cool riff like this one, a relaxed, “slinky” feel is paramount; it accentuates the bass line rather than
any particular technique itself.
— While you can think of this riff in the Key of Gb Minor, it’s much easier to notate it in the Key of F#
Minor since they’re enharmonic, and there are only three sharps in F# versus five flats in Gb.
F# Minor makes things much easier to read even though they’re the same key.
— Let’s look at the first bar, which starts with a pickup measure:
Video Exercise 3–1a. Bar 1
? ### 44 j ™™ 4 œ œ ™
w œ ™ œ
1œ œ
w2 nœ #œ w nœ #œ
3
œ 1œ w œ œ
T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
™ ™
¤ 0
™ 2 4
w 3 4 2
w 0 2
4
w 3 4 2
w 0 ™ 2
— Be sure to hit the ghost notes in the riff. Again, there’s no specific note indicated; you’re just hitting
an already-muted string.
— Simplifying Bar 1 even more, we see we’re just playing an open string, a hammer-on, and a pluck,
with a dead note (created by dropping your plucking-hand thumb onto the already-deadened
string, highlighted) in-between each pattern:
Video Exercise 3–1b. Bar 1 Pattern
? ### 44 j ™™ œ œ ™™
nœ #œ œ nœ œ
œ œ w w w w w œ
T P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿
™ 4 ™
¤ 0
™ 2
4
w 3 4
2
w 3 2 w w w 0
™
— We end Bar 1 with a pull-off rather than a hammer-on.
— Then, we have a sweet open-hammer-thump-pluck:

œ
? ### 44 œ ™™ œ Œ ‰ œ ™™
œ w œ œ
T T P T ¿ T
™ 6 ™
¤ 0 4 ™ w 4
5
0 4 ™
continued
Notes (continued):
— By in Video Exercise 3-2 (which itself is a part of Bar 2), it will help you easier To help you position
the riff in Video Exercisae 3–2 within the bar when you play it, consider isolating the riff.
— We repeat those two bars three times, then end with two open-hammer-thump-plucks in Bar 8.
These are all techniques we played in the previous lesson, but now in the context of a riff itself. “Isolating the
Bar 7 serves as a transition: moment, and
‘rinsing and
repeating’...”
Video Exercise 3–3. Bars 7 and 8
7 œ œ œ
? ### 44 j ™™ œ nœ #œ œ œ ™
œ œ w œ œœw œœw œ w œ œ ™ œ
T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T T P T T P T
™ 4 6 9 11 ™
¤ 0
™ 2 w 3 4 2 5 0 4 w 0 7 w 0 9 w 0 0
™ 2
“You go ‘round and
‘round ‘til you get that
placement right. It’s
getting it comfortable
— The last note of the bass line—the open E note on Beat 4 of Bar 8—also serves as a way for us to under your fingers,
reposition our fret hand before we get back to the beginning. but also getting it
comfortable with
— The emphases, or anchor points, in this riff are not with the thumb, but rather with the pops on the where it is in the bar.”
“&s” of the relevant beats. Take Bars 5 and 6 for example, below—the emphasis brings the line to
life:
Video Exercise 3–3. Emphasis Points
5 œ
? ### œ œ
œ
œ w nœ #œ w nœ œ w œ #œ w œ œ
œ
P T ¿ P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T ¿
4 6
2
4
w 3 4
2
w 3 2 w 0 4 w 4
5 0
— And, with the placement of the pops on the “&” of Beats 1 and 3, we leave plenty of “space” and set
up the snare, which plays on Beats 2 and 4.
“Take your time and remember: we’re all at different levels

working through this program. And if it’s taking you a little bit
longer than somebody else, it’s all good! You are not falling
behind—there is no ‘falling behind.’ Learn at your own pace.”
Lesson 4
Riff 03
FUNK 5
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿
œ œ w wœ wœ w w œ œ w wœ wœ w w
* **
T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P T T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P
™ X X X X
¤ ™ 0
Ã0 Ã
w w0
Ã
w0
Ã
w w 0
Ã0 Ã
w w0
Ã
w0
Ã
w w
*Without picking, drop fret-hand fingers across fretboard
to mute strings, at the same time producing a percussive sound.
**Drop thumb of plucking hand onto already-
deadened string to produce a percussive sound.
3 œ œ œ œ
œ ™™
? ¿ ¿
Ã Ã Ã Ã œœw œœw œœ œœ
œ œ w wœ wœ w w
T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P T T T P T T P T P T P T
X X 9 7 4 5 ™
0
Ã
w w0 w0 w w 0
Ã Ã Ã 0 7 w 0 5 w 0 2 0 3 3 ™
5 œ. œ. œ. œ. œ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ
? œ œ œ œ œ
œ w œ w œ w œ w œ w œœw
T
3
T P ¿ T
3
T P ¿ T
3
T P T
3
T P ¿ T
3
T P ¿ T
3
T P
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9
0 8 w 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 7 w
7 œ. œ. œ. œ. œ œ. œ. œ. œ.
?
œœw œœw œœw œœw œœw œ
3 3 3 3 3
T T P ¿ T T P ¿ T T P T T P ¿ T T P ¿ T
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 9
0 5 w 0 5 w 0 5 w 0 5 w 0 7 w 0
Notes:
— This riff is a pattern-based riff, meaning it’s all about execution. It’s a bit of a technical challenge.
Let’s break it down. You’ll find it’s all about the percussive elements of the riff: fret-hand slaps,
dead thumbs and pops, etc. The good news is there’s nothing new!
— The riff itself starts with a rhythmic ostinato—a repeated motif—in the plucking hand:
Video Exercise 4–1. Rhythmic Ostinato
? 44 ™™ ≈ ≈ ¿ ≈ ≈ ¿ ™™
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P T
™ X X ™
¤ ™ X X X X X X X X X
™
— In the actual riff itself, use your fretting hand to decide/control when the open E string rings out by
lig]fting off pressure on the strings. When not being played, either fret-hand mute or pluck/pop a
dead note in between:
Video Exercise 4–2. Adding in the Open E Notes
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿ ™™
œ œ w w œ w œ w w
T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P T
™ X X ™
¤ ™ 0
Ã 0
Ã
w w 0
Ã
w 0
Ã
w w ™
— Play this a total of three times. In Bar 4 we play two open-hammer-thump-plucks, followed by
two open-hammer-plucks:

4 œ œ œ œ
? 44 œ œ œ œ
œ w œ w œ œ œ
T T P T T P T P T P T
9 7 4 5
¤ 0 7 w 0 5 w 0 2 0 3 3
continued
Notes (continued):
— Putting things together, we have the beginning of the riff. Play twice:
Video Exercise 4–2. Bars 1–4
? 44 ™™ Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿
Ã Ã
¿
œ œ w wœ wœ w w œ œ w wœ wœ w w
T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P T T T T P T ¿ T ¿ T P T
™ X X X X
¤ ™ 0
Ã0 Ã
w w0
Ã
w0
Ã
w w 0
Ã0 Ã
w w0
Ã
w0
Ã
w w
3 œ œ œ œ
œ ™™
? ¿ ¿
Ã Ã Ã Ã œœw œœw œœ œœ
œ œ w wœ wœ w w
T ¿T T P T P T T ¿ T ¿ T T P T T P T P T P T
X X 9 7 4 5 ™
0
Ã0 Ã Ã Ã
w w0 w0 w w 0 7 w 0 5 w 0 2 0 3 3 ™
— The second half of the riff may sound “tricky,” but it’s just machine-gun triplets, which are just
open-hammer-thump-pops:
Video Exercise 4–2. Bars 5–8
5 œ. œ. œ. œ. œ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ
? 44 œ œ œ œ œ
œ w œ w œ w œ w œ w œœw
T
3
T P P T
3
T P ¿ T
3
T P T
3
T P P T
3
T P ¿ T
3
T P
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9
¤ 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 8 w 0 7 w
7 œ. œ. œ. œ. œ œ. œ. œ. œ.
? œ
œœw œœw œœw œœw œ w œ
3 3 3 3 3
T T P P T T P ¿ T T P T T P P T T P ¿ T
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 9 9
0 5 w 0 5 w 0 5 w 0 5 w 0 7 w 0
— Pay attention to the pops and play them short. There are two approaches you can use to finger
the pops: use the tip of you index finger as if playing the notes regularly, or barre your index finger
across the strings and use the underside of the index finger to fret the notes. Barring your finger
is a bit more effecient since you don’t have to move your hand/fingers as much. Keep your options
open; there’s no “correct” fingering.
Closing Thoughts
“When you have to break this stuff down—and
do it slowly—it can be very difficult. This is
a struggle for anybody. Breaking this stuff
down, doing it slow, getting it together? It’s
not a simple task!
Be kind to yourself with this stuff, and

hopefully just enjoy it, even if it’s difficult.
Just know that the more you do it, the easier
it will become.”
“Everything that you’ve seen us do throughout

this course so far is how we personally work
on this stuff: we break it down into these
little ‘things’ [and by] isolating just that little
bit for 5-10 minutes every single day, it’ll be
exponentially more fluid by the end of the
week... it might take you 4-6 weeks to get
[that little thing] down.”
WEEK 11
Play-Along Technique Breakdown:
Marcus Miller
11
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 11 / PLAY-ALONG TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN: MARCUS MILLER
3
WEEK 11
PLAY-ALONG
TECHNIQUE
BREAKDOWN
Marcus Miller
Intro
A modern master of the electric bass, Marcus Miller has
been landing dream gigs for the better part of 40 years.
Since his heady introduction to the New York studio
scene in the mid-70s, he has worked with a who’s who
of R&B and pop superstars. His passion for jazz and
instrumental music has also landed him gigs with some
of the biggest names in jazz from Herbie Hancock and
McCoy Tyner to Wayne Shorter, Dizzy Gillespie and
Miles Davis.
As if all these achievements weren’t enough, Marcus

has also forged an amazing solo career, formed a bass
supergroup with Stanley Clarke and Victor Wooten, and
made a name for himself as a producer, arranger and
multi-instrumentalist. He’s written for film too, including
soundtracks for the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang,
The Great White Hype starring Samuel L Jackson and
Obsessed starring Beyoncé Knowles. You have to ask
yourself… is there anything Marcus Miller can’t do?!
4
Recommended Listening
Artist: Marcus Miller

Album: The Sun Don’t Lie
Song: “Scoop”
Year: 1993
Artist: Luther Vandross

Album: Never Too Much
Song: “Never Too Much”
Year: 1981

Album: M
Song: “Power”
Year: 2001
Artist: David Sanborn

Album: Voyeur
Song: “Run for Cover”
Year: 1981

Album: Renaissance
Song: “Detroit”
Year: 2012
Even without realizing it, you’ve likely heard Marcus Miller playing the bass at
some point—he’s played on quite a number of giant hits. Ready to lean more about
Marcus’ approach to playing slap bass*? Let’s dive in.
*Also be sure to check out MARCUS MILLER—BASS PLAYERS YOU SHOULD KNOW EP. 2,
available at ScottsBassLessons.com
5
Lesson 1
Our first riff is heavily influenced by the tune “Power” from his 2001 album M, and is
a perfect example of Marcus Miller’s approach to his slap bass technique.
Exercise 01
Marcus Riff 1
j . .
œ
? ## 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ nœ œ œ œ #œ
œ œ œ œ ‰
œ ‰ ‰
3
m
P grad. bend
i
p T T P ¿ P 1/2 1
P P ¿
™ 7 7 9 11 9 9 9 7 9 7 7
¤ ™ 7
7
9 9 7 9
3 œ
1., 3.
œ œœœ œ ˘
? ## œœ œ œ. ¿
œ œ ™ ™™
œ #œ œ œ œ œ ‰
m
3 w w #œ
**
i
p T * T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ P T P T ¿ P T ¿ T T
7
˘ ™
7
7
9 7
9 7
10 7
9
w
X
w 4 5
7
4 5 7
5 7 5 ™
*Double thumb. Using thumb as if it
were a pick, pluck string in direction indicated.
**Drop fretting-hand thumb onto already-muted
string to produce a percusive sound.
2., 4.
5 œ ˘ œœ œ
? ## œ œ œ œ œ œ œ. œ œ ™
¿ #œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ‰ ™ œ
œ
œ
m
3 w w m
P T P T ¿ ¿ T
i i
p T T↑T↓T↑T↓ T↑ P T T T↓ T↑ p T
7
˘ ™ 77 9
7
7
9 7
9 7
10 7
9 X 7
w w 4 5 4 5 7 5 7 5
5 7
5 5 ™ 7
6
Lesson 2
Exercise 02
Marcus Riff 2
nœ œ œ. œ œ œ œ
? #### 44 ™™ nœ œ Ã
œ w w œ w w
* **
T P T P T P T T P T P T
™ 7 6 7 7 9
¤ ™ 0 w w 5 7
0
Ã
w w 7 9
*Drop thumb of plucking hand onto already-

deadened string to produce a percussive sound.
**Without picking, drop fret-hand fingers across
fretboard to mute stringsto produce a percussive
sound.
2
? #### nœ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ œ œ
let ring ¿
P T P T P T T P
0 2 4 0 2
0 2 4 0 2
0 2 4
3 3
3 nœ œ œ. œ œ ≈ œ
? #### nœ œ Ã
œ w w œ w w
**
7 6 7 7 9 9
0 w w 5 7
0
Ã
w w
œ˘
4
nœ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
œ œ
? #### Œ ™™
T T T ˘
12 12 11 11 9 9 7 7 7 ™
7 9 9
™
7
Riff 02
Our next riff is heavily inspired by the tune “Run for Cover” from the 1981 album
of the same name by David Sanborn, and features one of Marcus Miller’s classic
slap riffs. Our riff in particular blends the “Run for Cover” riff with something
reminiscent of Henrik Linder of Dirty Loops: Bar 1 is all Marcus Miller;
Bar 2 brings in some Henrik Linder ideas, then we’re back to the Marcus Miller
style in Bars 3 and 4.
Riff Notes:
— The beginning of the riff goes back and forth between the thumb and pops; getting this motion
correct is key to playing the riff properly:
Video Exercise 2–1. Beats 1 and 2

nœ œ
? #### 44 ™™ nœ œ Ó ™™
œ w w œ
T P T P T P T
™ 7 6 ™
¤ ™ 0 w w 5 7
0
™
— The pop on the “e” of Beat 2 can be tricky—you’re moving from popping the first (G) string in Beat
1, to a pop and hammer-on on the third (A) string.
— The second half of the measure starts with fret-hand slap followed by a dead pop. It’s important
that the fret-hand slap is audible; use enough force to get a solid, percussive sound. We finish up
the first measure with two hammer-ons:

nœ œ œ. œ œ œ œ
? #### 44 ™™ nœ œ Ã ™™
œ w w œ w w
™ 7 6 7 7 9 ™
¤ ™ 0 w w 5 7
0
Ã
w w 7 9
™
— Pratice this first measure until it’s comfortable under your fingers: it’s half the riff!
continued
8
— Bar 2 is where we hear the Henrik Linder influence in the first two beats with the use of open
strings. Then, it’s back to Marcus Miller. It starts with a popped open first string:

2
? #### nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ
let ring ¿
P T P T P T T P
0 2 4 0 2
0 2 4 0 2
0 2 4
3 3
“Henrik” “Marcus”
— It’s important that each hammered-on note in Bar 2 sound evenly. Let the F# ring into the open G
to add some dissonance to the riff on the “e” and “&” of Beat 2.
— Bar 3 is a repeat of Bar 1.
— Bar 4 is all Marcus Miller-inspired:
œ˘
œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
? #### 44 R 4 œ œ
Œ
T T T T T ¿ P T
9 12 12 11 11 9 9 7 7 7
˘
¤
7 9 9
— Consider practicing this riff to help you with the slides in Bar 4. Feel free to slide between any two
notes, up or down::
Video Exercise 2–5. “Sliding” Major Scale

? # 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
™ 12 12 11 11 9 9 7 7 5 5 4 4 2 2 0 ™
¤ ™ ™
9
Lesson 3
Our final Marcus Miller-inspired riff is heavily influenced by the famous tune “Detroit”
from his 2012 album Renaissance. Make sure your thumb is in full working condition.
And be sure to check out that 32nd-note-ghost-note lick in Bars 2 and 4:
Exercise 03
Marcus Riff 3
œ
? b 44 œ ™™ ≈ ¿ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ ‰ ¿ ¿bœ œ œ ≈ ¿ œ
b R œ œ w w w
P T P T ¿ P T P T ¿ P T ¿ *
T P T P T P T ¿ P T P
™ X 3 5 X X 8 X
¤
5
™ 3
1 3 4 5
3 5 5 3 3 2
w w 6 6 5 w5
*Drop fret-hand thumb onto
already-deadened string to produce
a percussive sound on indicated string.
3
? bb ≈ ¿ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ ‰ ¿ ¿#œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
œ w w
T P T ¿ P T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T P T T P T T
X 3 5 X X 3 ™
3
1 3 4 5
3
5
5 3 3 2
w w 4 5 3 5 5 3 5
™
10
Notes:
— This killer riff is in the key of G Minor, and is based around the G Minor Pentatonic Scale.
G Minor
Pentatonic Scale
E A D G
? b 44 œ œ œ Œ
b œ œ œ
¤
3 5
3
1 3 5 R
— The riff opens with a pop (in a pickup measure) on the “a” of “Beat 4” as you count in: a sixteenth R
note before the downbeat of Bar 1. Be sure to note that the first “G” note of the riff in Bar 1 does
not fall on the downbeat. Let’s look at the first “cell” of the riff, which is essentially Bar 1*:
“1e”
? bb 44 œ ¿ œ œ œ œ
R ≈ œ œ œ #œ œ ≈
P T P T ¿ P T P T
X 3
¤
5 3 5 5
1 3 4 5
3
— Also note the “sneaky” ghost note pop on the “a” of Beat 1. As you start to learn the riff, feel free to
leave this note out (play the low G as a dotted eighth note), but be sure to include it once you have
the rest under your fingers. Get his part of the riff feeling “greasy”—fat and in the pocket.
— The next cell is reasonably simple and straightforward:
? bb 44 œ ≈ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ Œ
R œ œ œ #œ œ Ó
P T P T ¿ P T P T P T ¿
X 3 5
¤
5 3 5 5 3 3 2
1 3 4 5
3
continued
*There are minor variations between the initial playing of the riff and the playing in the video explanation. For
example, on Beat 3 of Bar 1, both a hammer-on and a slide are played at various times; you are free to play whatever
suits your style the best.
11
— Now comes the killer little half-a-beat lick that catches everyone’s attention. Aside from being
made up of 32nd notes, it’s just our seesaw motion in action. As noted, it’s simple, but not easy—
it’s “simply” back-to-back dead thumbs and dead pops played very quickly:
œ œ
? bb 44 œ œ nœ ‰ ¿ ¿ bœ œ œ Œ
w w
P T ¿ T P T P T P T ¿
5 X X 8
¤
3 3 2
w w 6 6 5
— Since the dead pops and dead thumbs are just that—dead notes—we can play them anywhere
on the fretboard, so move your hand up to the sixth fret to accommodate the next part of the riff.
There are no specific notes required. Start slowly as always and work up to tempo.
— Next, let’s put everything together so far:
œ œ
? bb 44 œ ™™ ≈ ¿ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œnœ ‰ ¿ ¿bœ œ œ ≈ ¿ œ ™™
R œ w w w
P T P T ¿ P T P T ¿ P T ¿ T P T P T P T ¿ P T P
™ X 3 5 X X 8 X ™
¤
5
™ 3
1 3 4 5
3 5 5 3 3 2
w w 6 6 5 w5 ™
— The final notes (dead notes again) in Beat 4 of Bar 2 do not begin on the beat itself, but rather on
the “e” of Beat 4. It’s important to hit the G on the “a” of Beat 4 correctly, since it acts just like the
pickup note at the beginning of the riff and the timing is essential to playing the riff correctly. Also,
note that the first ghost note in Beat 4 starts with a pop.
— Bar 3 is the same as Bar 1. Let’s look at Bar 4:
4
? bb 44 œ œ œ nœ ‰ ¿ ¿ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
w w
P T ¿ T P T P T T P T T
5 X X 3 ™
¤
3 3 2
w w 4 5
3 5 5 3 5
™
— We once again have the 32nd-note-dead-note lick starting on the “&” of Beat 2, except this time
we can play it near the third fret rather than the sixth since there are no specific notes involved,
just deadened strings. This allows us to keep our fret hand in the proper position.
WEEK 13
Core Skill #9 — Double-Pop Technique
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 13 / CORE SKILL #9: DOUBLE-POPS 3
Lesson 1
Introduction to the
Double-Pop Technique
In this lesson, we’ll turn our attention to another couple of new
plucking-hand articulations: the double pop and the double-stop
pop.
Simply put, the double pop is two separate notes popped in series,
generally on two different strings (but can be played on only one);
the double-stop pop is popping two notes at the same time on
different strings — basically a two-note chord.
Be sure to limber up your fret-hand index and middle fingers and

let’s dive right in.
Lesson 2
Double Popping Ghost Notes
Double-popping ghost notes incorporates a rapid popping of two dead notes on
two separate strings—using two different fingers. Although the pops happen very
close together, that’s a consequence of the tempo; there is a definite “trip-uh-
let” rhythm happening. To get acquainted with this new technique, first work on
your thumb rhythm by starting simply with four ghost notes on the E String, then
working up to the point of adding in the double pop (the “sneaky bit”).
Video Exercise 2–1. Working Up to the Double Pop
? 44 ™™ ™™
w w w w w w w w
T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ w w w w w w w w ™
? 44 ™™ ™™
w w w w w w w w w w
T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ w w w w w w w w w w ™
The “sneaky bit”
3 3
? 44 ™™ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ™™
w w w w w w w w w w
T ¿*P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2
™ X X ™
¤ ™ w w w w w
X
w w w w w
X
™
Recall that the dead notes we’re plucking and popping are produced from muting
all four strings with the fretting hand first so that you produce a percussive sound.
There are no specific notes; rather, pluck or pop the indicated string.
* When a double-pop is indicated in notation, you’ll see a “P1” and “P2” for the first and second pops.
Notes:
— To play the double pops, you can try one of two approaches:
01. After thumbing the muted string normally, rotate your wrist and pull away from the string
quickly to produce the popped notes, or
02. “Drop” your thumb onto the (already-muted) string, then pop the ghost notes while lifting
your plucking hand back up in anticipation of the next note.
— The start and end of the double pop is the thumb, using either approach; it’s actually a four-note
grouping that make up the technique. (Think “trip-uh-let one .”)
— Pop the D and G strings using the index finger and middle finger of the plucking hand, respectively.
As mentioned, in tablature this is indicated by a “P1” and “P2” so that you know to use different
fingers. Of course, pop with any two fingers you’re comfortable with, but the index and middle
likely will work the best.
— Be sure there is a separation between the popped notes; they’re played in time.
Doubling Things Up
Once you’re comfortable playing the double pop in a measure on the “&” of Beat 4,
try playing it twice within a measure on the “&s” of Beats 2 and 4. As before, get
your thumb rhythm down first, with a quarter note—two eighth notes—quarter
note—two eighth notes pattern. Ultimately add in the double pops:
Video Exercise 2–2. Double Up the Double Pop

? 44 ™™ ™™
w w w w w w w w w w w w
T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ w w w w w w w w w w w w ™
3 3 3 3
? 44 ™™ ¿ ¿ j ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ j ¿ ¿ ™™
w w w w w w w w w w w w
T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 “You can practice
™ X X X X ™ these at any speed.”
¤ ™ w w w
X
w w w
X
w w w
X
w w w
X
™
Doubling Up the Doubling Up

Last, let’s double up the last exercise: play a double pop on every beat. As before,
start with the thumb rhythm and ultimately add the double pops:
Video Exercise 2–3. Double Pops on Each Beat

? 44 ™™ ™™
w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w
T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w ™
“This might be
really nice to do
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 with a metronome
as well, just to give
? 44 ™™ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿¿ ¿ ¿ ™™ yourself something
w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w w to lock into.”
T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2 T ¿ P1 P2
™ X X X X X X X X ™
¤ ™ w wX w wX w wX w wX w w
X
w w
X
w w
X
w w
X
™
Lesson 3
Riff #1—Double-Pops In Action
Exercise 01
POP 1
3
? #### 44 ™™ œ Ã
¿
œ nœ ‰ ‰ ¿ ¿
œ w J w
T ¿ T P T ¿ T P1 P2
™ X X
¤ ™ 7
0
Ã
w 4 5
w
X
2
? #### nœ œ Ã
¿ œ œ ‰ Œ
œ w J
T T T P T ¿
X
Ã
5 7
0 w 4 5
3
3
? #### œ Ã
¿
œ nœ ‰ ‰ ¿ ¿
œ w J w
T ¿ T P T ¿ T P1 P2
X X
Ã X
7
0 w 4 5
w
X
4
? #### nœ œ Ã
¿
œ œ ≈ nœ ™™
nœ
œ w
T T T P T ¿ P T
X ™
5 7
0
Ã
w 4 5
5
3
™
Notes:
— This riff hits the ground running, with a “slide into” to start things off, and includes a fret-hand slap,
dead thumb and ghost-note pop... all before Beat 3! It makes for a great-sounding bass riff all by itself:
Video Exercise 3–1. Beginning of the Riff

The key part of the riff
? #### 44 ™™ œ Ã
¿
œ nœ ‰ Œ ™™
œ w J
T ¿ T P T ¿
™ X ™
¤ ™ 7
0
Ã
w 4 5 ™
— Remember to target the E note on Beat 1 with the “slide into”— the slide adds some grease. But
note that in Bar 3, we play the first beat without it. Pick and choose any articulation you’d like
to, including perhaps, hammering on to the E, a “squiggle”/shake/sting, or maybe just vibrato.
Experiment.
— The key part of the riff above is the first beat-and-a-half; it essentially gets repeated at the
beginning of every measure. Try practicing it in isolation, and ignore the slide until you’re
comfortable with those five notes. This is always true when learning a new riff or bass line: start
simple, then add the sauce. No sense adding in articulations if you can’t play the basic riff first.
Video Exercise 3–2. Incorporating the Double Pop

3
? #### 44 ™™ œ Ã
¿ œ nœ ‰ ‰ ¿ ¿ nœ œ Ã
¿ œ œ ‰ Œ
œ w J w œ w J
T ¿ T P T ¿ T P1 P2 T T T P T ¿
™ X X X
¤ ™ 7
0
Ã
w 4 5
w
X
5 7
0
Ã
w 4 5
? #### 44 ™™ Ó Œ ‰ n¿ ¿ nœ œ ≈ Œ Ó ™™
w
T P1 P2 T
™ X ™
¤ ™ w
X
5 7 ™
— Be sure to remember that the first note of the double pop figure is a dead thumb: “drop” your
thumb onto the already-deadened strings; it should produce a percussive sound. What’s important
is the string; there’s no specific note meant to be “played”...the same is true for the double-popped
ghost notes that complete the triplet.
continued
Notes:
— Bar 2 starts with a hammer-on to the E rather than a slide to the E note, but otherwise has the same
first two-and-a-half beats as Bar 1.
— Bar 3? A repeat of Bar 1.
— Bar 4 is nearly the same as Bar 2, except we add in a pop and a thumb to end the line. Make sure the
low popped note (the low G note) lands on Beat 4:
4
? #### 44 ™™ nœ œ Ã
¿
œ œ ≈ nœ ™™
œ w nœ
T T T P T ¿ P T
™ X ™
™ 5 7
0
Ã
w 4 5
5
3
™
— Are you thirsty? Drink some “sauce” by playing a double pop just before Beat 4 in Bar 4:
Video Exercise 3–4. Bar 4 (“Saucy” Version”)

3
? #### 44 ™™ nœ œ Ã
¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ ™™
nœ
œ w w
T T T P T ¿ T P1 P2 T
™ X X ™
¤ ™ 5 7
0
Ã
w 4 5
w
X
X
3
™
Lesson 4
Riff #2—Double-Stop Pops
Our next riff breaks out the funk. It’s a real stonker!
Exercise 02
POP 1
< q∑∑∑∑∑ a∑∑∑∑∑

b a ∑b
q q q = q ∑q q q >
3 3
œœ œœ b œœ nb œœ œ
? 44 ™™ ¿ œ œ ‰ J ≈ œ œ #œ. œ. œ. œ ‰
w œ w>
P T P T T P T P T ¿P
™ 99 77 X 12 13 7
¤ ™
11 12
X 5 7 0 5 4 5 4 7
0 X
3 œ œœ b œœ nb œœ œ
? œ ¿ œ œ ‰ J ≈ œ œ #œ. œ. œ. ™™
w œ œ
P T P T T P T P T ¿
9 7 X 12 13 7 ™
9 7
X 5 7
0
11 12
0 5 4 5 4
0
™
WEEK 14
Core Skill #10 – Double Thumbing
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 14 / CORE SKILL #10 - DOUBLE THUMBING
3
Lesson 1
Double-Thumbing Basics
Simply put, double thumbing is when you slap a string with your thumb (as usual)
to sound a note, then catch the same string on the way back up with an upstroke.
To double thumb, the “parallel” thumbing technique is pretty much mandatory;
using the “down” thumb approach won’t work very well. Imagine that you’re using
your thumb like a pick. Different sound, but the same philosophy.
01. Strike through

the string on the
02 downstroke. Your
01 finger should end
up resting on the
adjacent string.
02. As you bring

your thumb back
on the upstroke,
catch the string
under your thumb
to sound the next.
Figure 1A. Mechanics of the Double-Thumb Technique
Double thumbing can be difficult in the beginning. But, it’s a skill well worth taking
the time and effort to learn. And it will likely take some time and effort! It may be
weeks before it even feels comfortable to get the string to “pop” correctly on the
upstroke—the upstroked and downstroked notes should sound the same. The key
to proper double thumbing is the “relentless,” non-stop up and down motion of
the plucking thumb.
In bass tablature, we indicate notes meant to be double thumbed by including an

arrow next to the “T” marker, in the direction of the stroke:
?
œ œ
T↓ T↑
¤ 0 0
Figure 1B. Double-Thumb Notation
4
Let’s get playing. Here’s a simple exercise to get your thumb working. Practice this
until your notes sound even and clear. As always, start at any tempo and gradually
increase as you’d like:
Video Exercise 1–1. Basic Double Thumbing

“Sleep easy...
? 44 ™™ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ™™ ™™ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ™™ You will get this in to
your arsenal of bass
techniques. It might
T ¿ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ be a little bit of pain; it
™ ™ ™ ™ might be a little bit of
time. But if you put in
¤ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 ™ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ the work, this can be a
really powerful part of
3 your slap game.”
? ™™ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ™™ ™™ œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ™™
T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑
™ ™ ™ ™
¤ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™ ™ 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 ™
Notes:
— Be sure you’re playing the notes short; they shouldn’t ring into each other.
— Repeat each bar in the exercise as needed until you’re comfortable with it—then move on to the
next bar.
— You’re going to miss some notes, and that’s OK!
— It’s all about getting consistency between the downstrokes and the upstrokes.
— Keep your arm relaxed.
— The steady stream of double-thumbed eighth notes in Bar 4 is harder than it looks and sounds.
— When you’re comfortable playing this exercise on just one string, repeat the exercise while moving
across the other strings (the G string is generally the hardest). Pick any pattern/rhythm you’d like.
For example:
? 44 ™™ ™™ œ . œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ™™
œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. . œ. œ. œ. œ. œ. ™™ ™™ œ
T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑
™ ™ ™ ™ ™
¤ ™ 3 3 3 3 3 3
™ 3 3 3 3 3 3 ™ ™ 3 3 3 3 3 3
™
(etc.)
5
Lesson 2
Riff #1 – Putting It Into Practice
Let’s see double thumbing in action in a Larry Graham-ish riff:
Example 01
FUNK 6
? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ ¿ ™™
¿ ¿ #œ. œ. œ. œ. #œ. ¿ #œ. nœ œ œ. œ
T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 7 7 X X 4 5 4 5 6 7 7 X X 4 5 5 4
3
™
Notes:
— To help you get this riff under your fingers, start by breaking it down to its simple rhythm. Play the
notes short throughout, using only your downward thumb:
Video Exercise 2–1. Basic Rhythm

? 44 ™™ œ. œ. œ. #œ. œ. œ. œ. #œ. œ. œ. œ. #œ. nœ œ. ™™
. œ
T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 7 7 7 4 5 4 5 6 7 7 7 4 5 4
3
™
— Once you have the basic rhythm down, try isolating the double-thumbed 16th notes. Remember
that the ghost notes are a consequence of keeping your fingers on the strings but lifting the
pressure off just enough to mute them, producing a percussive sound:
Video Exercise 2–2. Adding the Double Thumb

? 44 ™™ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ™™
¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿ ¿
T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 7 7 X X X 7 7 X X X 7 7 X X X 7 7 X X X ™
— Next practice Bars 1 and 2 seperately befor finally putting it all together.
6
Lesson 3
Riff #2 – Double Thumbing on Two Strings
In this lesson, we’ll double the fun by extending the double-thumb technique to two
strings in a rock ‘n’ roll-inspired riff:
Example 02
FUNK 1
? 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ. bœ. œ
œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ. #œ. œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿
™
¤ ™ 7 7 X 5 7 7 X 5 7 6 5
5 5 X 3 5 5 X 3 5 6 7
3
? œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ. bœ. œ ™™
œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ. œ. œ
™
¤ 7 7 X 5 7 7 X 5 7 6 5
5 5 X 3 5 5 X 3 5 3 0
™
7
Notes:
— Hope your thumb is limbered up for this riff: it’s a constant “up and down” motion throughout.
— First, let’s take a look at just the thumb pattern in the riff:
? 44 ™™ > > > > > > > > > >
™™ “When in doubt,
wwwwwwwww w w wwwwwwwww w w slow it down.”
™ ™
¤ ™ wwwwwwwww w w wwwwwwwww w w ™
— You can also play the last three notes in each bar with a down-up-down motion if desired.
— Be sure your upstroked notes sound as loudly as the downstroked notes. Try practicing this
“simple” double-thumbed riff:
? 44 ™™ >œ >œ > > > > > > > >
œ œ w w œ œ w w >w > ™™
w wœ œ w w w w w
™ ™
¤ ™ w ww ww ww w w w ww ww ww w ww w ™
— Turning to Bar 1 of the riff, we use the same thumb pattern:

? 44 ™™ œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ. bœ. œ ™™
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 7 7 X 5 7 7 X 5 7 6 5 ™
— Isolate Bar 2. It will feel a bit different because it’s on a lower string:

? 44 ™™ ™™
œ œ ¿ œ œ œ ¿ œ œ. #œ. œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿
“It’s good to slow
™ ™ stuff down on the E
¤ ™ 5 5 X 3 5 5 X 3 5 6 7
™ [string], just to get
the feel.”
— Bar 3 is a repeat of Bar 1; Bar 4 is essentially a repeat of Bar 2 except that it ends with a low E
rather than a G on Beat 4.
8
Lesson 4
Riff #3 – Double Thumbing on All Four Strings
Let’s take this technique to the next level by incorporating all four strings in a riff.
Example 03
FUNK 3
? bb 44 ™™ œ œ
œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ
œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ. #œ. œ
™ 3
¤ ™ 3 3 X X 6 6 X X 3 4 5 5 5 X X
3 3 X X 3 5 5
3
? bb œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ. bœ. œ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ ™™
. .
™
5 5 X X 3 3 X X
5 4 3 3 3 X X
6 6 X X 3 1 3
™
9
Notes:
G Blues Scale
— This “thumb-only” riff is based on the G Blues Scale (Root–b3–4–b5–5–b7), with an added minor
E A D G
tenth (b10, which is a b3 an octave up), and a low F (the b7 below the root).
— Rather than just playing the notes of the scale one at a time using double thumbing, turning the
scale into a riff makes it a lot more interesting, don’t you think? b10
— To get this riff under your fingers, first start by getting the basic rhythm down. It’s down-up, down- R
up, down-up, down-up, down, down, down. Try this on a G note only:
Video Exercise 4–1. Basic Rhythm

? bb 44 ™™ ™™
œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ. œ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ œ. œ. œ
™ ™
¤ ™ 3 3 X X 3 3 X X 3 3 3 3 3 X X 3 3 X X 3 3 3
™
— Next, eliminate the ghost notes, but play the actual notes of the riff itself:`
Video Exercise 4–2. Riff Without Ghost Notes
? b 44 ™™ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ. #œ. œ œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ œ œ œ
b œ œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T T ¿
™ 3
¤ ™ 3 3 6 6
3 4 5 5 5
3 3 3 5 5
3
? bb œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ œ. bœ. œ œ œ ‰ œ œ ‰ ™™ “The up-strokes need
œ. œ. œ to be as strong as the
downs.”
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T ¿
™
5 5 3 3
5 4 3 3 3
6 6 3 1 3
™
— Feel free to add some sauce to the riff by adding “squiggles” to some of the quarter notes.
10
Lesson 5
Riff #4 – “Prince via Victor Wooten”
Our final riff in this weeks’ lessons pays homage to both Prince and Victor Wooten,
combining all the techniques we’ve looked at so far: double thumbing, open-
hammer-thump-pluck, hammer-ons, “squiggles” and more.
Example 04
FUNK 3
? bb 44 ™™ œ nœ ˘
Ã œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ Ã œ. œ. œ œ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ Ã œ. œ.
nœ œ nœ
T T T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T ¿ T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T
™
¤ ™ 5 7
0
Ã 5 7 X
5
X X
0
Ã 5 7 5 5 7
X 5
X X
0
Ã 5 7
3
? bb #œ œ œ# œ œ ‰ nœ ¿ n œ nœ nœ œ nœ Ã œœ¿ œ¿ ¿ Ã œ. œ. ™™
œ œ œ nœ œ
T ¿ T↓T↑ T↓T↑ T T P T P T T T T↓T↑ T↓T↑ T↓ T ¿
6 6 5 4 ™
0 4 4 4 0 3 X 0 2 5 7
0
Ã 5 7 X
5
X X
0
Ã 5 7 ™
11
Notes:
— The entire riff is played almost exclusively with the thumb, so it’s critical to get the proper “up and
down” motion of the double-thumb technique established.
— We start off with a hammer-on, and add in a fret-hand slap and a ghost-note thumb slap for good
measure. But note that the pop on the “a” of Beat 2 is executed with the thumb as you double-
thumb the last two notes of the beat.
— You may find the low E on the “&” of Beat 3 to be a bit tricky. Beat 4 is straightforward. Be sure
your fret-hand slaps sound evenly (this one spot could take some extra practice!):
? bb 44 ™™ œ nœ Ã œ œ œ
Ã œ. œ. ™™
nœ ¿ ¿ ¿ œ
T T T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T ¿
™ ™
¤ ™ 5 7
0
Ã 5 7 X
5
X X
0
Ã 5 7 ™
— Bar 2 starts with a “squiggle” on the D note (eliminating the hammer-on to the D), but is otherwise
almost identical to Bar 1.*
— Bar 3 again starts with a hammer-on, then a double-thumbed double-pop on Beat 2:
Video Exercise 5–2. Beginning of Bar 3
#œ œ œ œ “Your ears know what

? b 44 ™™ ‰ ‰ ™™ they want. Your body
b œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ will work it out, as
long as you keep on
T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ going ‘round and
™ 6 6 6 6 ™ ‘round.”
¤ ™ 0 4 4 4 0 4 4 4 ™
— Want a bit funkier sound? Try using ghost notes:
#œ œ œ œ “You have to believe

? bb 44 ™™ ‰ ‰ ™™
œ #œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ that the more you do
it, the better it will
get... If you put in the
T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ work, if you want it,
™ 6 6 6 6 ™ you will get it.”
¤ ™ 0 4 X X 0 4 X X ™
continued
*You may notice slight variations in the performance of this riff through the lesson—for example, added ghost/dead
notes in the video explanation when compared to the song performance.
12
Notes (continued):
— Our thumb finally gets a very brief rest from playing every note by adding in an open-hammer-
thump-pluck and open-hammer-pluck in the second half of Bar 3:
Video Exercise 5–3. Bar 3, Last Two Beats Repeated
? b 44 ™™ œ nœ œ œ
b œ ¿ œ ¿ ™™
œ œ nœ œ œ œ
T T P T P T T P T P
™ 5 4 5 4 ™
¤ ™ 0 3 X 0 2 0 3 X 0 2 ™
— Next, put the two halves of Bar 3 together:
? bb 44 ™™ #œ œ nœ nœ
‰ ™™
œ #œ œ œ œ nœ ¿ œ nœ
T T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T T P T P
™ 6 6 5 4 ™
¤ ™ 0 4 4 4 0 3 X 0 2 ™
— Wrapping up the riff, Bar 4 is simply a repeat of Bar 1.
WEEK 15
Play-Along Technique Breakdown — Victor Wooten
COURSE BOOK: SLAP ACCELERATOR — WEEK 15 / PLAY-ALONG TECHNIQUE BREAKDOWN — VICTOR WOOTEN
3
Lesson 1
The Baddest Bass Player Ever
Victor Wooten might just be the most influential electric bassist since Jaco
Pastorius. His blistering solos with Béla Fleck & The Flecktones border on the
superhuman, as do his monster chops. Victor definitely knows a thing or two
about what it means to play the bass. Besides the Flecktones recordings and
Victor’s extensive solo discography, be sure to also check out his work with SMV,
“Victor can do
a collaboration between Victor, Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller. anything on
the bass.”
While you could spend a lifetime breaking down the various aspects of Victor’s
bass artistry, in this Technique Deep Dive, we’re going to focus on Victor’s
double-thumbing technique—a technique he credits his guitar-playing brother
Regi for giving him the idea. (Double-thumbing is similar to playing with a pick, as
we explored in detail in Week 14 of this Accelerator.)
4
Lesson 2
Double Thumbing Recap
Double thumbing is all about the parallel thumb technique: strike through the string,
coming to rest on the adjacent string. Then as your thumb comes back up, hook
the same string to sound another note. Fortunately for the bass world, Victor had
trouble trying to play the “Larry Graham bounce” (repeated eighth notes played in
a long-short-long-short pattern), and his brother suggested emulating a pick by
using the thumb instead, in effect treating the thumb as a pick. Again, different
“Double-thumbing is
sound, but the same philosophy. the most useful form
of slap bass... Try the
bass lines you already
The key is to get a consistent sound on both the downstroke and upstroke across play with the double-
all the strings. Establishing the up-and-down motion of the thumb is also key as thumb technique and
see what you can do
it allows you to control what notes are actually played by selectively applying with it.”
pressure on the fretboard with your fretting hand.
01. Strike through

the string on the
02 downstroke. Your
01 finger should end
up resting on the
adjacent string.
02. As you bring

your thumb back
on the upstroke,
catch the string
under your thumb
to sound the next
Figure 2A. Double-Thumb Technique note.
5
Lesson 3
Victor-Style Riff #1
Example 01 — “Inside the Pocket”
FUNK 8
œ œ bœ nœ œ
? # 44 ™™ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ bœj ‰ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓
™ 7 5 3 4
¤ ™ 3 X 3 X X 3 5 3
5
6
3 X 3 X X 3 5
3 Fine
? # nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ bœj ‰ ≈ ¿ nœ #œ j ‰ ™™
¿ œ R nœ #œ œ
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ P T P T P T
™
3 X 3 X X 3 5 3
5
6 X 0
X
1
3
2
4
3
™
5 œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ
. œ
?# œ ¿ ≈ ¿ œ ¿ # œ ¿ . œ
œ ¿ ≈ ¿ n œ bœ
≈ ≈ R ≈
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓
12 10
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12 9 X 10 12 10
10 X 10 X 13
7 œ œ œ œ œ œ nœ œœœ œœœ
. nœ ¿ œ ¿ # œ ¿
?# œ ¿ ≈ ≈ ≈R œ J ¿ œ ¿ œ J
J
3 3 3
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓
0 12 12 10 X 0 10 10 9 X 0 9 9 7
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12
10 X
continued
6
Example 01 (continued)
9 œ œ œ œ . œ nœ œ
. œ ¿ œ ¿ # œ ¿ œ ¿ n œ œ bœ
?# œ ¿ ≈ ≈ ≈ R œ ¿ ≈ ≈
12 10
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12 9 X 10 12 10
10 X 10 X 13
D.C. al Fine
11 œ œ œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
. nœ ¿ œ ¿ # œ ¿
?# œ ¿ ≈ ≈ ≈R œ œ œ œ
3 3 3 3
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓
0 12 12 0 10 10 0 12 12 0 10 10 14 10 12
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12
10 X
Notes:
— Victor plays a modern signature Fodera Yin Yang bass with a “PJ” setup (Precision/Jazz pickups).
To mimic the tone Victor creates, Ian is playing a vintage maple 1978 Fender Jazz Bass with “super
bright” strings on it. (Note that with bright new strings, every sound out of the instrument gets
magnified, which also makes it somewhat unforgiving!)
— There is a subtle sixteenth-note swing feel to this riff; don’t play it straight. To help you get the feel
of the swing rhythm, repeat just the first two beats (just one note), before adding in the rest of the
measure:
Video Exercise 3–1. Establishing the Thumb Motion

œ œ bœ nœ
? # 44 ™™ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ j ‰ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ
bœ
™ 7 5 3 4
¤ ™ 3 X 3 X X 3 5 3
5
6
3 X 3 X X 3 5
continued
7
Lesson 3 (continued)
Notes (continued): G Minor

Pentatonic
Scale
— You may notice that the second half of Bar 1 consists of notes from the G Minor Pentatonic Scale.
E A D G
If not, well, now you know! (See the pentatonic scale diagram to the right of this page.)
— The strong beats (the downbeats) of the double-thumb technique are played with a downstroke
of the thumb, while the weak beats (the e’s and a’s in the 16th-note rhythm) are played on the
upstroke. Keep that up and down thumb motion going—even over rests—to keep the momentum.
R
— Bar 2 starts the same as Bar 1, then adds a little riff on Beats 3 and 4 that “swaps the thirds”—
going from the minor third to the major third (highlighted)—at the start of Beat 4:
R

œ œ bœ nœ
? # 44 ™™ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ j ‰ nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ
bœ
™ 7 5 3 4
¤ ™ 3 X 3 X X 3 5 3
5
6
3 X 3 X X 3 5
— Also, note that you don’t have to play that “F” note in the first two beats of Bars 1 and 2 exactly as
written; what’s important is that you’ve established the up-down thumb motion throughout, and
play Beats 3 and 4 as written.
— Bar 3 is a reapeat of Bar 1, then Bar 4 changes things up a bit by adding chromatic octaves:

3 Fine
? # nœ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ j ‰
bœ ≈ ¿R nœ #œ j ‰ ™™
¿ œ nœ #œ œ
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ P T P T P T
™
3 X 3 X X 3 5 3
5
6 X 0
X
1
3
2
4
3
™
— Bars 1–4 are repeated, then we move to the B Section, where we change to the key of G Major.*
Victor does this a lot, switching between major and minor and vice-versa.
— Bar 5 starts on the G and moves up chromatically to the V (D) and then we add in a minor
pentatonic fill at the end of Bar 6:
Video Exercise 3–3. Mixing Major with Minor

Minor
œ nœ œ Major Fill
5 œ œ œ œ .
? # œ. ¿ œ ≈ ¿ œ ≈ ¿ # œ ≈ ¿R œ ¿ œ ≈ ¿ nœ ≈ œ bœ
12 10
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12 9 X 10 12 10
10 X 10 X 13
continued
*This song example is written in the key of G Major throughout.
8
Lesson 3 (continued)
Notes (continued):
— After Bar 7, it’s time for “the party trick”:
Video Exercise 3–4. Triplet Lick in Bar 8

7 œœœœ œ œ nœ œœœ œœœ
? # œ. ¿ nœ ≈ ¿ œ ≈ ¿ # œ ≈ ¿R œ J ¿ œ ¿ œ J
J
3 3 3
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓
0 12 12 10 X 0 10 10 9 X 0 9 9 7
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12
10 X
— While it seems rather difficult on the first look, the thumb motion for the triplet lick in Bar 8
remains the same—the only difference is that we’re replacing the first note of each downbeat (and
downstroke) with a hammer-on; we’re filling the space between the swung sixteenth notes. It’s
mostly just a matter of getting the spacing of the hammer-on into the rhythm, rather than changing
the thumb pattern. (And yes, Ian makes it look easy!) It’s open-hammer-up thumb.
— Bars 9–11 are a repeat of Bars 5–7, then Bar 12 has four consecutive open-hammer-up thumbs
(sixteenth triplets). Feel free to add a squiggle on the final G note if you’d like:
Video Exercise 3–5. End of the B Section

“If you don’t have it
11 œ œ œ œ œ œ n œ œ œ œ œ œ œ D.C.
œ œ
al Fine
[the open-hammer-up
. nœ
?# œ ¿ ≈ ¿ œ ¿ # œ ¿ œ œ œ œ thumb], no worries... just
≈ ≈R practice a lot; all you’re
3 3 3 3 doing is coordinating
T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ your two hands.”
0 12 12 0 10 10 0 12 12 0 10 10 14 10 12
9 X 10 X 11 X 12 12 12 12
10 X
— To finish off the song example, return to the beginning (D.C. al Fine) and play up to the Fine sign,
which occurs at the end of Bar 4.
— Definitely try this example at different tempos, both with and without the backing drum track.
9
Lesson 4
Victor-Style Riff #2
Example 02
FUNK 2
? #### 44 ™™ nœ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
nœ œ ¿ ¿
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
™
¤ ™ 5 5 X 5 X X 7 7 X X
3 0
X X
2
? #### nœ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ nœ œ œ
¿ ¿
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
X X 5 7 5
5 5 X 5 X X 7 7 X X
3
? #### nœ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
nœ œ ¿ ¿
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
5 5 X 5 X X 7 7 X X X X
3 0
4 1. 2.
œ
? #### nœ œ œ ≈ ¿ ¿ œ ™™ nœ œ œ œ ‰ ¿ ‰
. œ. nœ. œ . . nœ. œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ P T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓
4 ™
3 3 2 0
3
2 X X 0 ™ 3 3 2 0
3
2 X
continued
10
9
? #### nœ œ nœ nœœ œœ œ œ œ .
j ‰ n¿ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ. œ
œ œ
T↓ P P ≥ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓
4 0 2 0
0 2 0 X 0 2 4 5 5 4 2
3 2 5
0
n œ
j œ œ œj œ
11
? #### nœ œ nœ nœœ œœ œ œ œ œ j ‰ n¿ ¿ œ œj nœ
œ
T↓ P P ≥ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓
4 0 2 0 X X 7 9 7
0 2 0 9 7 5
3 2 7 5
0
13
nœ œ œ nœ
? #### nœ œ nœ nœœ œœ œ œ œ œ j ‰ n¿ ¿
œ œ
œ
T↓ P P ≥ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓
4 0 2 0 X X 12 9 9 7
0 2 0 7 5
3 2
0
15
? #### nœ œ nœ nœœ œœ œ œ œ œ n¿ j ‰ ¿ ¿ ¿
œ. œ. ¿ œ. œ
T↓ P P ≥ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T P T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
4 0 2 0 X X X X
0 2 0
3 2
0 0 X 0 0
œ œ œ
j
17 nœ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ ¿ ¿
? #### ™™
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
™ 7 X X 9 X X 7 7 7 7 9 11 7 X X
™
continued
11
œ œ n œ
j
18 nœ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ ¿ ¿
? ####
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
7 X X 9 X X 7 7 7 7 9 12 9 X X
n œ
j œ
19 nœ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ œ ¿ œ ¿
? ####
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑
7 X X 9 X X 7 7 7 7 12 14 12 X 11 X
20 œ ¿ nœ ¿ œ ¿ œ ¿ nœ nœ
? #### œ œ ¿ œ ¿ ™™
œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑
9 X 7 X ™
9 X 7 X 5 0
7 0 5 X 7 X ™
21
? #### ™™ nœ œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
nœ œ ¿ ¿
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
™
™ 5 5 X 5 X X 7 7 X X
3 0
X X
22
? #### nœ œ
œ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿ nœ œ
¿ œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
X X 5 7 5
5 5 X 5 X X 7 7 X 0
continued
12
23
? #### nœ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ ¿ ¿
nœ œ ¿ ¿
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
5 X X 5 X X 7 7 X X X X
3 0
24 1.
œ
? #### nœ œ œ. œ. œ ≈ ¿ ¿ œ ™™
nœ.
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ P T↓ T↓ T↑
4 ™
3 3 2 0
3
2 X X 0 ™
25 2.
? #### nœ œ œ œ
j ‰ Œ Œ Ó
. œ. nœ. œ
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↓
3 3 2 0 2
3 0
Notes:
— Unlike Example 01 in Lesson 3, this riff feature a straight sixteenth-note groove throughout, again
using the double-thumb technique.
— As before, it’s essential to get the up-and-down motion of your thumb synced to the 16th-note
rhythm. Before even playing the riff itself, simply play just one note with that constant 16th-note
groove to get your fingers working together.
continued
13
The B Section, and Writing Fills

Fill
9
? #### nœ œ nœ nœœ œœ œ œ œ j ‰ n¿ œ œ œ
nœ œ œ. œ. œ
œ
œ
T↓ P P ≥ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓
4 0 2 0
0 2 0 X 0 2 4 5 5 4 2
3 2 5
0
Riff
— At Bar 9, the B Section of the song begins, and it can be a bit tricky (as if the rest of the tune is a
walk in the park!) We briefly add in two pops to break up the sixteenth-note thumb pattern, then
play a double-stop, which is strummed with the back of the plucking-hand fingernails (see above). E Minor
Pentatonic
— The end of Bar 10 is a great example of a linear fill that gets us back to the beginning of the riff. Scale
The double-thumb technique easily accommodates linear lines because of the motion of the
E A D G
thumb. (Linear simply means playing consecutive notes of a scale/chord/etc.)
R 7fr
— Throughout the B Section, feel free to add in your own fills in Bars 10, 12, and 14. Experiment. Have
fun. The main riff itself consists just of the notes highlighted in green in the example written above.
The fills are up for grabs. R
— A great scale choice to improvise or write fills here is the E Minor Pentatonic Scale. (See the scale
diagram on the right, at the 7th fret position.)
The C Section
— The C Section of this song is four measures long: Bars 17–20. The first bar of this section is shown
here.
œ œ œ
j
17 nœ ¿ ¿ œ ¿ ¿ œ œ œ œ ¿ ¿
? #### ™™
T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↑ T↓ T↓ T↓ T↑
™ 7 X X 9 X X 7 7 7 7 9 11 7 X X
™
— One important thing to note is that Ian plays this section a little differently, note-wise, in the
demonstration play-through at the beginning of the lesson as compared to the riff breakdown
that comes later. However, rhythmically it’s the same. Just stick to what’s written in Example 02
(transcribed from the play-through) and you’ll be good to go!
S C OT T S B A S S L E S S O N S . C O M

Slap Accelerator

Uploaded by

Slap Accelerator

Uploaded by

01

With Scott Devine & Ian Martin Allison

Popularized by the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea, this

← Figure 1A. “Down” Thumb Slapping Technique

The “Parallel” Technique

Strike through the

Figure 1B. ”Parallel” Thumb Slapping Technique

“Down” VS “Parallel” Thumb and Wrist Movement

If you’re used to playing “down” thumb,

I I I Or think of the “hang loose” sign. Visualize that,

← Figure 1C. “Doorknob” Wrist Turning & “Down” Technique

01. Subtly rotate your wrist

Figure 1D. “Parallel” Technique

Fine Tune Your Aim!

Lesson 1: Basic thumb technique (Closer to as played)

Lesson Exercise 2–1 Single-String Étude

Get the FREE

*The SBL Groove Trainer is a totally FREE app featuring countless

— Be sure to change up the strings and rhythms.

Lesson Exercise 3–1 Two-String Riff

Video Example 3–2. Two-String Riff with Ghost Notes

Lesson Exercise 4-1

Why That Fill?

Video Example 4–1. “A Minor Pentatonic” Exercise C

“Typically, a fill or figure at the end

Resist the urge to jump ahead

Lesson Exercise 5–1 Four-String Riff

Video Example 1–1. ("Pre-Exercise"

Putting String-Skipping In Context

Lesson Exercise 6–1 String Skipping

Putting String-Skipping In Context

Exercise 7–1 Putting It All Together

01. Pop via Forearm Rotation

— Pop is produced by a “see-saw”

I — As you rotate the arm, your

← Figure 1A. Pop via Forearm Rotation (Scott)

02. Pop by Pulling Away with Finger

— Pop is produced by rotation

← Figure 1B. Pop by Pulling Away with Finger (Ian)

The Octave Shape

How to find the upper (“high”) E A D G E A D G

1 Choose a starting note

3 This is the upper octave!

q �120 “Experiment, and use

— Be sure you’re locking in with the drums in the groove.

— Work to get comfortable playing octaves!

Lesson Example 3-1

Please see next page for Example Notes

“If you’re struggling with a line, just loop that

“It’s so fun to isolate something because it

These are really just jumping off points. The

And that’s the really fun thing about music.”

To find the tenth, you’ll need to skip two strings, 3

Lesson Example 4–1 Adding Tenths

Lesson Example 5–1 Starting with the Pop

DISCO 4 Lesson Exercise 5-1

Please see next page for Example Notes

Resist the urge to jump ahead

Lesson Exercise 6–1 Putting It All Together

A true pioneer, Larry Graham is largely credited with inventing

“As a community of bass players,

Figure 1A. Flatwound VS. Roundwound Strings

Wanna sound like Larry? All you need is one note.

Video Example 2–1 Larry Graham Thumping Style

Of course, adding in some pops always livens things up, too,

Video Example 2–2 Adding in Pops

Fuzz and Other Effects

Larry Graham was also instrumental (pun always intended!) in adding

Notes on Lesson Exercise 3–1:

Notes on Lesson Exercise 4–1:

Figure 4A. Volume and Tone Settings

— Play the “pops” very short, essentially staccato.

Notes on Lesson Exercise 4–1 (continued):

“It doesn’t have to be fast; it doesn’t have

Notes on Lesson Exercise 5–1:

— The feel is another example of a great half-time Funk groove.