Slap Bass Study #1

This study piece was written in the style of legendary bassist Marcus Miller. One of the key challenges with this piece is playing slap bass grooves at slower tempos. This is something that bass players often struggle with but is one of the many things that Marcus excels at. This piece is also a great […]

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Slap Bass Study #2

This study piece features a very busy style of slap bass, one that has been popularised by bassists such as Mark King, Stuart Hamm, and Victor Wooten. A wide range of slap techniques are put to use in this piece, including fretting hand slaps, chord strumming, double popping and open string hammer-ons. Don’t forget to […]

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Slap Bass Study #3

This piece is a challenging slap bass study played using a drop-D tuning. A wide range of techniques are used in this piece including chord strumming, double popping, fretting hand slaps, machine gun triplets and more. Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above in order to download the PDF transcription and audio files […]

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Slap Bass Study #4

This hyperactive slap bass study features a range of different techniques. Although conventional slap techniques are used for many parts of the line, there are sections which call on more advanced concepts. These include double popping, double thumbing, and the open-hammer-pop technique. In addition, there are some fingerstyle grooves and unison lines to get your […]

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Slap Bass Study #5

This piece was originally written to represent Mark King’s bass work with Level 42 in the Giants of Bass book and video series. It was written with a focus on the instrumental jazz-funk that Mark played with Level 42 in the early eighties. As a result, the bass part features many common elements of his […]

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Slap Bass Study #6

This piece was originally written to represent Marcus Miller in the Giants of Bass book and video series. As a result, it features some advanced applications of the slap bass technique. This piece has a moderately slow tempo and is representative of the music that Marcus recorded on albums such as Silver Rain, Renaissance and […]

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Slap Bass Study #7

This piece was originally written to represent virtuoso bassist Stuart Hamm. It focuses specifically on the instrumental music that he recorded during the late eighties and early nineties. The line features many common elements of his playing style, such as complex slap grooves, triplet popping lines, note bending, the use of open strings, and the […]

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Slap Bass Study #8

This piece was originally written to represent virtuoso bassist Victor Wooten.  It is representative of his work both as a solo artist, and as a member of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. The majority of this piece is based around a relatively simple chord progression over which slapped parts are played that gradually increase in […]

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The Beatles – ‘Come Together’

This classic song is the opening track from Abbey Road, the eleventh album from The Beatles. In the UK, it was released as a double A-side single with ‘Something’, also from the same album. This song features one of Paul McCartney’s most recognisable basslines. This song was recorded in July 1969, at Abbey Road Studios. […]

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Level 42 – ‘Almost There’

This song is from Level 42’s eponymous debut album, which was released in 1981. A mainstay of the band’s live set to this day, the song features a killer line from Mark King, one that features all elements of his distinctive playing style. The bassline for this song is predominantly built around a slap bass […]

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