Flea's Technique - Beginners Slap Bass Lesson - Higher Ground Chili Peppers - Nick Weiss Music

[SeizeTheDayfoREVer]

Trying to play this on a guitar is SO anoying....

x'D

[DrFreenote]

Am I the only one who suddenly the duck tails theme stuck in their head at 2:44?

[EmptyAl58]

that was fantastic!!!!!!! thank you sooooooo much. I thought it would be way to hard to start playing higher ground without prior slap bass technique, but you proved me soooo wrong!!!

[gitzilla2000]

Thanks Nick!



[badboiz18]

thank you so much that was a really great breakdown.. good lesson on slap bass too!

[29churchbells]

what are the variations?? thank you by the way that was a good help

[DBolton1024]

It was very helpful you break it down amazingly!!!!

[anndersonnmarcardoso]

@NickWeissMusic thank you man very fucking good very instructable for me i shall try it , but one question about this can i try this in a acoustic bass??? it will ruin it isnt? lol

[nicetrydick]

Thank you sir

[DarkBlitz97]

after you get this tecnique down you should be able to play most songs

[biggestfan777]

Nice instructive presentation with a real practical application. Were that all bass vids this useful. :-)

[Humamibrahem]

thanx dude

[CAR105729]

"you might need a couple days to a couple weeks to get this comfortable"...me- "fukk!"....20 minutes later, me- "oh i got it" XD

[frank12364]

@guitarangel1000 is however u feel comfortable, i started popping with my middle finger, but then found out that it was easier for me to slap fast with my index, so I use both, mostly my index tho, I alternate them once in a while, if my index starts hurting then i use my middle

[FleaWolf]

Waiting for you to upload the second part. Still. This is the best bass lesson. You explained it so well. I got it straight away. Thanks heaps wouldn't have been able to play it without this becuase i haven't been playing for long.

[patcah1]

you look like jim carey

[TheYoutwoob]

hey, great vid man!

[onzkicg]

what's your bass guitar? Warwick?

[Hangar18RecordsUREI]

@onzkicg

i guess it's a Schack Unique 5 (handmade near Hanau Germany)

[belita101]

Why does my amp make a buzzing sound when I pluck the string

[TheBlackDelorian]

be careful if you play slap bass too much one day it will eventually slap you back

[flapflapflap88]

Yeah baby useful info. I learnt guitar first, I could sort of slap but didn't really know the proper technique until now. Its difficult slapping just one string as I have a 5 string, any tips there?

[BigRedTonka]

dude, thanks so much for the fantastic video its helped a ton! great job.

[ichigo1762]

good instructional video...not gonna lie i got it in 10 minutes. A couple of weeks of playing the same song would make me quit bass

[1guitarnbass]

ive done this with out even nowing that was how you do it

[fleaminecraft]

I thought it was open E 2D 3E 5E

[cesargild]

thats a five strings bass lesson xD but thx for the lesson!!! :P

[NickWeissMusic]

@cesargild I took the 5th string off to make it clearer for 4 string players... 

[cesargild]

@NickWeissMusic i know that was cool!!

[HybridBassist95]

Thanks, I've been playin bass about 3 years now, never attempted slap before but managed to pick up this lick in less than half an hour! might keep playin slap, it feels more natural to me than picking :D

[newstreetteam]

nick, i really produ of your videos. youre learning the all bass player's dream, flea's technique and that is awesome!. im bassman too and your simply explanation of the "thump movement" helped me a lot! really thnaks! regards from argentina!

[OriginalPsychoMan]

I just started playing bass and I can't get that twang and rattle sound to go away when I do stuff like this. Is it the tuning or something like that? Or am I hitting it wrong?

[ichigo1762]

@OriginalPsychoMan You probably need a better bass. What kind of bass do you have?

[OriginalPsychoMan]

@ichigo1762 Ibanez Gio Soundgear 4 string. I don't know the exact model though.

[jmhill24]

i just want to say, i just picked up playing bass a couple weeks ago and i will admit its kinda overwhelming and at times seems impossible. ive been trying to teach myself with various videos and after hours of searching and such, your video was one of the only ones that i found helpful. Thanks!

[Nifuruc]

Rick Kavanian is it you? ^^ btw nice video!

[Hobbit4Jesus]

Thank you so much! I've been playing the bass for a little over 2 months, just learning as I go along, without the help of a teacher. Just yesterday, slap bass started to interest me, and I wanted to start trying to teach myself how to do it :) This vid really helped me grasp the slap technique better. I do have 1 question though, I noticed that you only slapped the E string, and plucked the rest. I would assume that's because it's harder to slap with the the other strings with the thumb? TY

[NickWeissMusic]

@Hobbit4Jesus Thanks!  Ultimately you'd want to be able to slap and pop on all strings comfortably. It's a pretty deep subject, and guys like Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten have really explored much further than I ever will. I myself can slap and pop on all strings just well enough to play the disco and funk basslines I grew up listening to, but I don't really slap and pop a lot. Higher Ground is about a 1or 2 out of 10 in slap bass difficulty, I can get to maybe level 5 myself :) Good luck!

[Hobbit4Jesus]

@NickWeissMusic I've been practicing slap, and have found that when I use the slap technique on the A,D, and G strings they do not resound as much as the E string, but are really soft and almost inaudible. Any tips? Thanks :)

[GregoryGraveyard]

great lesson. i think the 2nd G to A has a different rhythm to it but its pretty miniscule. you probably just didnt want to complicate the lesson because it sounds good enough without it???

[NickWeissMusic]

@GregoryGraveyard Yep, there are definitely variations that I left out for the sake of simplicity. It's certainly a good thing to learn your favorite basslines verbatim to learn your favorite player's tricks, but that's tough to squeeze into a 10 minute video lesson, really better suited to private lessons . Thanks for watching, I'll finally be putting some new vids up soon!

[mangkyou]

nice lesson

[wowaccpass]

good video, but it doesn't take a couple of weeks to get used to it. a couple of days and it should be solid :)

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks! Can't agree with you on the "couple of days" thing though. I don't know any pro that would claim to be able to master a new technique in a couple days. You can be hitting the right notes in a few days, but getting the right tone, note length, and volume consistency takes longer. Plus, some people just take longer than others. When I was 12 years old it took me a week to figure out the lick from "Day Tripper", nowadays it would take me a minute. It all depends on experience.

[wowaccpass]

@NickWeissMusic I think i read you description a bit wrong, i ment that you could learn JUST the Higher ground part that you play in some days, to fully master the slap technique will take months even years.

:)

[NickWeissMusic]

@wowaccpass No big deal, I just didn't want to make inexperienced players feel bad if they can't get it in a few days. Thanks!

[wowaccpass]

@NickWeissMusic Oh, i see, that's kind of you :) well, keep on playing! you're damn good.

Over n' out.

[illyas1]

with the slap technique,are supposed to strike it as if you were also picking it?because when i just go straight down and up on certain strings like the A string it is unaudible unless i turn it up

[NickWeissMusic]

@illyas1 I think the problem might be that you're not rebounding off the string quickly enough- you have to bounce your thumb up immediately after making contact with the string. You want to hit the string hard enough to make contact with the frets, but not so hard you can't quickly rebound. Think of it like a drum stick hitting a drum head- if you mash the stick down on the head it's not going to ring out, if you let the drum stick rebound off the head, it will crack loud and clear.

[nielsie68]

I like this! Now I can play that song.

[SixExtremeStrings]

thanks very much i dont speak english sorry, Soy de Chile y muchas gracias amigo me salvaste y me ayudaste muchisimo! te mando un abrazo !

[NickWeissMusic]

@SixExtremeStrings I don't know enough Spanish to reply but muchas gracias!

[sdkboy1028]

I like this video. I wish all videos could be as good and well explain like this one

[Bathead0040]

Did you ever make another video with variations? Just wondering. Awesome lesson.

[NickWeissMusic]

@Bathead0040 Thanks! Had second kid who has taken up all my free time :) I'll be putting up vids sometime soon.

[sacredsnip3r]

thanx so much for the vid it really helped me

liked and subscribed

[Simmeringtim]

Thank you for this tutorial it's help alot.

[Locker344]

i am a flea fan but honestly i think the stevie wonder version is much better and nathaniel watts is the man.

[NickWeissMusic]

@Locker344 Can't disagree, I'm a huge Stevie Wonder fan. I think the Chili Peppers would agree that the Stevie Wonder version is better themselves :) That said, the RHCP version was a pretty revolutionary tune at the time, especially for bass players.

[androssie]

omg, you killed your bass D:

u took of a string D:

nah kidding, nice tutorial. really helped me ^^

thx alot:D

[devinslevin]

Warwick bass! <3

[NickWeissMusic]

@devinslevin It's actually a Schack, there's a video called Bass Mods on my channel that takes a deeper look into it.

[devinslevin]

@NickWeissMusic Ahh, well it's still sweet :)

[sleepy91]

dude, you look like rick kavanian

[13paintrain]

badass, thanks man!!!! been tryin to learn more RHCP songs, but was havin a hard time lol

[NickWeissMusic]

@13paintrain Thanks!

[HarmoftheFarm]

haha it's a five string bass with four strings just to slap on

[NickWeissMusic]

@HarmoftheFarm I actually took the b string off to make it less confusing for beginners.

[teunobeunofeuno]

@NickWeissMusic and it's easier to slap on the upper string

[NickWeissMusic]

@sebastonik ????????????

[Bludhoundz8]

Wow... you rock, thanks so much for the video! Does it matter what finger I use for popping though?

[NickWeissMusic]

@Bludhoundz8 I generally recommend using the first (pointer) finger to pop the string adjacent to the one slapped, and the second finger for the string 2 away from the one slapped. I'm pretty tame as far as slap and pop goes, check out Victor Wooten, he can pop with all his fingers!

[razbit]

thanks, really. you opened a door i didnt know about.

[mabeckca]

Awesome tutorial. I like your camera angles more than most people who make video bass tutorials, and you say the notes as you play which helps people like me who want to learn more than "1 - 2 - 3"

Thanks a lot and keep up the good work!

[NickWeissMusic]

@mabeckca Thanks! Glad this worked for you.

[Akshay8585]

*applause* haven't seen a better slap pop lesson for my needs! thank you!

[anuar7x]

Where's the 5th string?

[r0o0m0y0]

You're a very good teacher!! Thanks a lot!

[emm1989]

I keep listening to the Marcus Miller version but now i can play the basic tune along. Very clear brought, thanks alot!

[Jcliveshere]

I love how flea slaps the bass with so much passion. It is awesome

[NickWeissMusic]

@Jcliveshere Yup, he does all right :) When I was a kid I freaked the first time I heard Higher Ground, it's the biggest reason I started playing bass. He doesn't slap too much any more but there's plenty of old Chili Peppers slap lines to learn.

[Jcliveshere]

@NickWeissMusic ahaha, same here, I have heard like Marcus Miller's higher ground, its goooood but something about flea's interpretation has got a much bigger appeal to me.

[CaptainSupernova]

Maaaaaan, I can't keep up, I keep having to go back on the video )= Although I have to say, you're explaing things really well! Thanks for putting this up!

[NickWeissMusic]

@CaptainSupernova My Pleasure! As a bass teacher, I have to put in a plug for bass teachers wherever you are, take some lessons, they can help way more than a video can, and many bass teachers know this song. But glad the video is helping!

[Pimpmymushroom]

thank you so much dude this really help me progress in bass playing

[NickWeissMusic]

@Pimpmymushroom Nice! Thanks!

[closeupboarder44]

do you have to tune down to slap because my bass makes a funny noise when i try to slap

[NickWeissMusic]

@closeupboarder44 No, you shouldn't have to tune down. Usually "funny noises" when slapping are caused from slapping the wrong string, or hitting the bass too hard. try to be as precise as possible-  Flea goes crazy at shows but that's just show, he's actually a very precise player when he needs to be.

[ThEmAkXD]

Yes it was sir thank you

[DrSterlingSimmons]

that bass looks similar to one of les claypools basses

[waterwulf]

Thanks dude, I was already playing this pretty much accurately but I knew something was a little off, turns out I was missing the hammer on, I was slapping the Low G twice as opposed to open E hammer on G, slap G Cheers.

[sinisterBOB9]

@waterwulf I was doing the exact same thing, this helped a bunch though

[bassmader]

vysvetluješ tojak pre postihnutých

[chazzoro]

can you recommend a good bass for slapping?

my ibanez is kind of uncomfortable to play on when slapping ><

[NickWeissMusic]

@chazzoro That's kind of as tough question! I have has success with Jazz Basses, most Yamaha's, my Schacks, some Peaveys, Laklands, Warwicks, and even many Ibanez's. I like when there are 2 SC pickups as opposed to 1 Humbucker, but many people, including flea, have done all right with 1. The main thing I think is to find a bass you're comfortable with in general and go from there, sorry I can't get any more specific!

[pasha92]

@chazzoro most of active bases are sound great for slaps , although there is an aspect of comfort, the bigger the gap between the strings , the more comfortable will be slapping this bass

[maskarna95]

@chazzoro Try out a Fender or ESP LTD and of corse a Warwick, and see which one you are comfortable with!:)

GL

[fatalisth]

@chazzoro

Musicman Stingray easy to handle and nice sound

[tiger130]

thank you this is great

[NickWeissMusic]

@tiger130 Thanks!

[scottaof]

how to take the soul out of bass in six minutes...

[NickWeissMusic]

@scottaof You're commenting about lack of soul in a lesson about technique? How would you suggest I go about teaching mechanics with more soul? I wish everyone who criticized free lessons on YouTube would reply with videos of how to do it better.

[RelientKner]

Dude.Thank you so much for putting that video up it helped A LOT.

[NickWeissMusic]

@RelientKner Thanks!

[DeEnOBaSsMaStAh12]

thanks man :) really good teacher :)

[NickWeissMusic]

@DeEnOBaSsMaStAh12 Thanks!

[lucia241195]

@NickWeissMusic this is very informative thank you ive learned a lot

[TheSmallfryWillKill]

id rather slap a Rapper with my bass :L

[scubadope]

wrong at the first hurdle. Flea slaps with his thumb down, not to the side

[NickWeissMusic]

Not wrong, just different because our bodies are different. I commented on a similar issue before; I'm 6'3" and Flea's 5'6", so my arm and thumb angle are going to be a bit different than his. Also, since my thumb's longer, if I angled it down more I'd sloppily hit other strings, a big no no! The coordination and tone are correct, so how I hold my hand is correct for me. As long as it sounds right and you're comfortable, you'll be fine at any angle.

[HectorMitchellTurner]

@scubadope Wow.....you got told sir!

[NickWeissMusic]

@HectorMitchellTurner Ha! I tried not to be too much of a jerk about it :)

[rossfinnegan01]

@NickWeissMusic hey man, well said think he's the jerk. you got any tips/riffs for slap on the 5 string, I got a 5 string fretless and it's tough. any help much appreciated

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks! I've never had much luck slapping on fretlesses, I like the thump of fretted basses more than the growl of fretlesses, sorry but I can't help much as far as that goes. As for 5 strings, it's going to take a lot of work to learn to mute the open strings, I use a combination of right and left hand muting. To perfect any technique, practice slow and as cleanly as possible and speed up gradually with a metronome. Not glamorous but it works.

[LesnarNextBigThingF5]

@NickWeissMusic it only took me a day to do this, i guess im just talented lmao

[letsgetcarriedaway]

Nice lesson mate!

Could I make one suggestion? Maybe play the entire lick at the start, and then start breaking it down? Just gives the person watching an idea of what you're working up to. I've seen a heap of different instructional videos and my personal favourites always had the guy or girl playing the entire part at the start. :)

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks for the compliment! You are absolutely right on the lick at the beginning, I started doing that on my newer vids and will always do it in the future. I may actually redo this one because I have a much better microphone now. Thanks again!

[T16Akatsuki]

b string is gone. i stole it

[gleuber94]

very cool man thanks

[poket1000]

nice video... but i thought you were going to explain flea's own style of slap, which looks like to me his arm is in a very steep angle....

[NickWeissMusic]

I'm 6'3" and Flea's 5'6" so we're not going to have the same arm angle when playing. If you can get the tone right and the hands coordinated comfortably, arm angle doesn't matter. Everybody's body is different, so the main thing is to be balanced and comfortable, otherwise you'll open yourself up to repetitive stress injuries.

[WiiGamerof1995]

kinda reminds me of the boss from office space

[NickWeissMusic]

I look like Lumberg? Really? Never heard that one before. Just for that comment, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Saturday...

[sebrof71]

cool dude - thanks for sharing

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks!

[trogdor1432544]

i started off slap bass with my middle finger for popping but i found the index finger much more flexible and versitile

[NickWeissMusic]

I use the middle finger in this tune because the D string is 2 strings away from the slapped E. If I were to slap the E and pop a note on the A string I would use my first finger since the strings are adjacent. It's really dependent on the distance of the strings, and it's good to have options. Some guys can pop with all 4 fingers and their thumb- I'm not much into that stuff but certainly respect guys like Wooten and Miller who can do it. Thanks for watching!

[trogdor1432544]

i gotcha its become habit for me to almost always sue my first finger but i have big hands so its comfortably haha and i still use my middle finger someimtes out of habbit though and yeah victor and marcus are gods haha

[Snaakebitten]

Yes, I noticed that hammer-on as well. Great instructional video. I hope to see more of them.

[eltuzo466]

Wow thanks for the lesson, i love how you take everything step by step : ) you are a good teacher

[Attackofthechoads]

Thanks for the video man. This was extremly helpful. A lot other videos don't have the hammer on and that was throwing me off. Hopefully you make more bass videos because it seems they are very popular.

Thanks again.

[NickWeissMusic]

My pleasure, more to come, I did one on Les Claypool that I'm putting up today.

[chilipepper08080]

great job thanks.we want more man!!

[NickWeissMusic]

And you'll get more, thanks!

[stevepwickland]

Very helpful-Thanks

[NickWeissMusic]

No prob :)

[FuriousxPigeon336]

Thanks for the vid i had worked out the riff quite a while ago now and when i watched your vid it assured me i was doing it right, i hope you are able to make another vid with the variations in it im currently playing it with a friend who does the drumming and it would help a lot :)

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks for the comment and I will put more up in the future!

[msnseb2009]

Hi Nick thanks for the vid posting very informative found that I was able to keep up. Has taken me 4 days to learn it till I'm playing fast. Cheers. Got anything similar? I will subscribe!

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks! I have another simplified Chili Peppers tune (Otherside) up, and I'm going to be posting more vids as soon as my new mic arrives- should be here today, more to come soon. My channel is NickWeissMusic, thanks again!

[FaustVega]

Awesome video, the only "but" is the poor sound quality of the video (perhaps the mic), the bass sounds wicked.

[NickWeissMusic]

Yep, I know. It's the mic on the computer, that's all I have right now, but. I actually have a new mic in the mail as we speak. I won't be re-doing this one but the future videos will sound much better. Check back soon!

[shaggymarchant]

Great stuff, I want to try and add some Flea-style slap bass into song i'm writing for my band. Really useful, cheers!

[NickWeissMusic]

My pleasure, have fun!

[BestNameEver100]

Nice lesson, I've been looking for something like this.

PS, nice bass. Ibanez?

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks! I'm definitely an Ibanez fan, I own an Ibanez electric guitar, but this bass is a Schack. If you look around online you'll find they are extremely rare, I think the company is out of business. It's handmade in Germany, bubinga body, ebony fretboard, "bolt on" neck with no bolts! I gutted the original electronics because the active eq was hissy, put passive Ultra Jazzes in with series-parallel and phase switching- it's a monster! I'll do a video on it soon.

[BestNameEver100]

@NickWeissMusic

Sweet!!!

Love the bass, and the video. Can't wait for the next one!!!!

[ItsTopherMan]

Great Tutorial... Keep it up

[NickWeissMusic]

Thanks!