Bass Gym: Master a Fast-Paced Slap Groove in “Super Slap Wednesday”

Some days start slowly, but then surprise you with a frantic pace of events. You wake up and enjoy your morning routine. You check your diary, which is empty, and think that maybe today you’ll take it easy. A couple of hours into your beautifully slow-paced day, the phone starts to ring and surprising events unfold. You end up sorting out a crazy amount of problems at work and at home.

This scenario happened one Wednesday, and my slap groove reflects the day’s bipolar mood.

We start by playing a half-time funk theme with chromatic passing notes in E7, D7 and C7 (bars 1–14). Occasionally, we slap some fast hammer-ons in bar 4. The build-up to the frantic second part of the groove comes in bars 15 and 16, using a strumming technique and a power chord in G.

The real challenge starts in bar 17 with fast sixteenth notes and plenty of percussive fills. Slap grooves are built on rhythm patterns, and once you have mastered the pattern, you can relax into it and enjoy the fast-paced groove. The same logic applies here, where you use a combination of your thumb on the E and A strings, while constantly popping the G string.

Slow it down and take some time to work on the coordination between your thumb and the popped notes. Play them lightly (especially the popping part), focusing on the flow.

Download the transcription and follow along with the video below.

Have a great Wednesday and groove in the pocket!