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Earliest Ever Footage of Slap Bass


Bean9seventy

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I don't know what all the fuss is about. When I was a teenager back in the 70s, one of the sales assistants in my local musical instrument store in Loughborough was a bass player and when the shop was quiet, he would regularly break out a bit of slap bass on whatever bass guitars were on display. This was basically a "home organ" store rather than somewhere selling to "rock" musicians, and his musical tastes were some of the most mainstream I knew of. So he had definitely mastered slap enough to impress 17 year old me back in 1978 and someone must have taught him, because it's not a technique that you can work out from just listening to records without some pointers for how it's being done.

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Thanks for the Sly vid Hellzero.  I honestly don't care who invented slap, when, or who taught it (or memes, tropes, the gnomic, aphorisms etc.).  That footage - as many times as I watch it - always brings a massive smile.  From chord one on the clav (if that's what it is), life-enriching funk in the purest form.  And some of those shapes in the audience... beyond cool 

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Same for me @three , I've been listening back massively to Sly since yesterday and I love it just like the first time. It's so inventive and fun. That said, I'm not a huge slap fan, but when it serves the song, it's fantastic. Too bad, it's so rare. I had the chance to see Larry Graham with Prince and it was always musical.

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8 hours ago, Bean9seventy said:

think most know about double bass slap

Don't be so sure.

I think there are members who, like myself, have nothing to go on other than hearsay.  Electric bass and double bass, while not being mutually exclusive, tend to polarise players.  There are lots who do both but I don't think that they are a majority.

Personally, I am keen to learn about both.  I don't play an upright.  That isn't to say that I never will.

Slap, as it's generally known, has a lot of nonsense associated with it.  You yourself have said as much in your earlier posts.  To make sense of it, perhaps it is best to look at the whole thing.  I think this is important now more than ever as the lines between upright and electric bass are becoming blurred.

Edited by SpondonBassed
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4 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Don't worry, I'll post it for you 😁

More a ham-fisted blues guitar than pioneering slap technique.

I'm still puzzled by the Michael Jackson connection.

 

'Spinal Tap, the directors cut'' . Never-before-seen footage ?

:D

 

I'm sure if you hunt hard enough, there are YouTube videos of Spanish Flamenco players from the 50's or, the early 60's, thumbing, double thumbing and string pulling. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by lowdown
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12 hours ago, binky_bass said:

Can we all just agree that I invented slap in 1362? I went back in time in my hot dog powered time machine and funked so hard that all the hobbits grew into normal sized people, this is actually why there are no hobbits left today. There, problem solved.

the blog is not on who invented slap ,, 1362 sounds great ,, the blog is to find the earliest movie / film footage ,,

ps i hope you have a license for that hot dog stand ;D thanks

Edited by Bean9seventy
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7 hours ago, lowdown said:

 

'Spinal Tap, the directors cut'' . Never-before-seen footage ?

:D

 

I'm sure if you hunt hard enough, there are YouTube videos of Spanish Flamenco players from the 50's or, the early 60's, thumbing, double thumbing and string pulling. 

 

 

 

 

 

yeah , flamenco players are perhaps the most under estimated players out there ,, tho its not my job to surf millions of videos ,its your job guys , i found one from 1968 ,, its right, in terms of the history event, fashion etc,, 

the key to the blog is,,, no one really takes any notice of slap until 1980 ,, its 1980ish when we 1st see videos explaining the method ,,

thus people who do not remember the 1970s & 1960s (even the 1980s possibly 1990s) have distorted view,  they think Larry Graham & Louis Johnson were household names & everybody knew about slap ,, 

the 2nd key to the blog is,,  obviously jagger is showcasing the slap method ,, a method that came from the streets,, dark corners ,, but yet today it is taught alongside classical music ,,

the history of slap is not easy ,, thanks  

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11 hours ago, SpondonBassed said:

Don't be so sure.

I think there are members who, like myself, have nothing to go on other than hearsay.  Electric bass and double bass, while not being mutually exclusive, tend to polarise players.  There are lots who do both but I don't think that they are a majority.

Personally, I am keen to learn about both.  I don't play an upright.  That isn't to say that I never will.

Slap, as it's generally known, has a lot of nonsense associated with it.  You yourself have said as much in your earlier posts.  To make sense of it, perhaps it is best to look at the whole thing.  I think this is important now more than ever as the lines between upright and electric bass are becoming blurred.

totally agree ,, yet this blog post is to find the earliest visual footage of the slap funk method ,, so far its 1968 ,, a1955 video was posted tho it never quite got into popping ,,

i did stress double bass slapping of rock n roll would be omitted ,, the search continues ,, thanks

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12 hours ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Don't worry, I'll post it for you 😁

More a ham-fisted blues guitar than pioneering slap technique.

I'm still puzzled by the Michael Jackson connection.

um ? i was uploading The Lady in My life bass jam mainly for Chris Tuckers circle of  respect pals ,, during learning the notes i saw the jagger movie ,,, it just hit me in one phat massive go ,,, thanks ,,

 

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