Barend Tromp Announces “Next Level Slap Bass” Volumes 1 & 2

Next Level Slap Bass Vol. 2

If you’re looking to up your slap bass game, Barend Tromp has you covered. The bassist and educator has just published Next Level Slap Bass Volumes 1 & 2 for getting your chops into the modern age. The two books offer over 150 exercises with grooves in different musical styles to work on both technical and creative aspects of your playing.

Tromp admits there are plenty of instructional books for slap out there, but his book expands on the general style.

“Over the years, I have seen most slap bass books and transcribed many slap pieces ranging from classic slappers like Larry Graham, Louis Johnson, and Stanley Clarke to later players such as Mark King, Stuart Hamm, Marcus Miller, and Les Claypool. Also, more recent players like Victor Wooten and Michael Manring (just to name a few) have inspired me. I consider my style to be an amalgamation of all these great players. I picked what I liked and added my own techniques to it just like most players mentioned did before me.”

As such, he covers modern techniques like four-finger slapping, double thumb imitation, reverse cross hammer-ons, percussive thumb, and more. Each of the exercises has an explanation with pictures to describe the technique, as well as online videos and audio samples to supplement the book. Check out this sample:

Next Level Slap Bass Volumes 1 & 2 feature a foreword written by Damian Erskine and Kai Eckhardt. They’re available for pre-order through the Next Level Slap Bass website with Amazon editions coming soon.

Get daily bass updates.

Get the latest news, videos, lessons, and more in your inbox every morning.

Share your thoughts