Riff
Curriculum

Slap & Funk Bass

For players whose fingerstyle is solid but slap comes out clacky, not funky

This 2-month track takes someone who finished bass fundamentals into slap. Slap is two sounds — the thumb (a kick drum) that strikes, and the pop (a snare) that snaps. With these two plus the ghosts that fill the gaps, you build grooves that imitate a drum kit with one hand. You learn 4- and 5-string together.

Month 1 sounds out thumb and pop, then layers ghosts and muting for bounce to finish an octave slap groove; Month 2 adds 16th-note syncopation, hammer-on/pull-off legato, and popping melody to record a classic funk groove tune.

50 minutes a day, and each ends with one groove you can check against a metronome or drums. The goal isn't flashy tricks — it's a groove that makes your body move on its own. Two months in, you'll drive a funk slap line from start to finish.

Your progress
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0/32 days done
Slap Day 1 — The Thumb (boom!) Thumb String Change — Moving Between E and A The Finger Pop — the 'snap!' of Open G Thumb Meets Pop — Your First Slap Sound
T-P Evenness — Boom-Snap Like Clockwork The Octave Shape — One Rung Your Hand Remembers T-P Wearing Rhythm — Push-Pull of 8ths and 16ths Your First Slap Groove — The Octave Draft
The Dead-Note 'Chick' — Your First Clean Ghost Thumb-Ghost-Pop — Slap, Chick, Pop as One Two-Hand Muting — A Noise-Free Ghost The Ghost Groove — A Bouncing Octave, Complete
Refining the Groove — Balancing the Three Sounds Moving the Root — From E to G, a Groove That Becomes a Song Rehearsal — A Full Run Without Stopping Graduation Recording — My First Slap Groove
The 16th-Note Grid — One Beat into Four Onto the 16 Slots — Thumb, Pop, Ghost Syncopation — Pushing the Accent Back The 16th Synco Groove — Funk That Rolls Forward
Hammer-on — One Strike, Two Notes Pull-off — Flick Down, Two Notes Slap + Legato — On E Minor Pentatonic Pentatonic Slap Lick — Week 6 Complete
Popping Melody — Singing on the High Strings Double-Stop — Two Notes at Once A Taste of Double Thumb — Thumb Down-Up Popping Melody Line — Week 7 Complete
Bringing It Together — Octave, Ghost, Pop in One Measure Song Structure — Main Groove + Fill Across Two Measures Rehearsal — Playing All the Way Through Without Stopping Graduation — Recording the Classic Funk Slap Groove

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