Slapping
Encyclopedia
In music
, the term slapping is often used to refer to two different playing techniques used on the double bass
and on the (electric) bass guitar
.
it refers to the technique that is a more vigorous version of pizzicato
, where the string is plucked so hard that when released it bounces off the finger board, making a distinctive sound. A percussive sound is also made by smacking the strings with all four fingers on the right hand, usually in time with the snare drum
.
The earliest players of this technique in American music include Steve Brown
, Bill Johnson, Pops Foster
, Wellman Braud
, and Chester Zardis
.
Notable slap-style double bass players have included Bill Black
, Milt Hinton
, Jake Tullock, Jimbo Wallace, Kim Nekroman
, Scott Owen
, Dick McCarthy, Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau, Phil Bloomberg, Lee Rocker
, Amy LaVere
and Peter O'Brien
.
Slapping the bass is a technique used by many bands since at least the 1920s; it came into popular use in the 1940s. Slap bass provides a strong downbeat when the string is plucked and a strong back beat when it slaps back onto the fingerboard of the bass. It creates a very percussive sound and adds a lot of drive that is particularly good for dance music.
Yet another explanation is that snapping the strings against the wood of the instrument supplies a crisp, intense sound which can supply the foundation of a dance band.
Slap bass was used by Western Swing
and Hillbilly Boogie musicians, and became an important component of an early form of rock and roll that combined blues and what was then called hillbilly music—a musical style now referred to as rockabilly
. The technique inspired the George
and Ira Gershwin
song "Slap That Bass
".
, "slap bass" usually refers to a percussive playing technique most commonly used in funk
, disco
, soul
, jazz
, Latin, pop
, and many other genres. The style sounds much more percussive
than regular fingering of notes with the plucking hand, and is also usually louder (although on an electric instrument, the volume can be adjusted with the volume knob or through compression) and more distinct than the sound of a bass guitar played with the usual plucking techniques. The slap sound comes from the combination of two elements: striking the string with the side of the bony joint in the middle of the thumb, a harder surface than the pads of the fingers (used in plucked fingering); and intentionally allowing the vibrating string to come into contact with the metal frets, producing a "toney" or buzzing sound that is normally avoided in plucked/fingered bass.
In the slap technique, the bassist replaces the usual plucking motion of the index and middle fingers with "slaps" and "pops". In the slap, the bassist uses the bone of the thumb joint to strike the lower strings (usually the E and A, and occasionally D, strings) near the base of the guitar's neck. In the pop, the bassist will use the index and middle fingers of the plucking hand to snap the higher-pitched strings away from the body
of the bass, causing them to bounce off the fretboard; this produces a prominent buzzing tone with a sharp attack and more high-frequency vibrations than present in plucked bass. The bassist can play many notes quickly by rotating the forearm, alternately slapping and popping: during the pop, the hand moves away from the fretboard, "winding up" or getting in position for the next slap. The slap and pop techniques are commonly used with pull-off
s and hammer-on
s with the fretting (usually left) hand, to further increase the rate at which notes may be played. Ghost note
s, or notes played with the string damped
, are also commonly played in slap bass to increase the percussive feel of the technique.
The invention of slap on electric bass guitar is generally credited to funk bassists Larry Graham
and Louis Johnson
. Graham has stated in several interviews that he was trying to emulate the sound of a drum set before his band had found its drummer. Graham himself refers to the technique as Thumpin' and Pluckin.
Some internationally recognized rock bass guitar players known primarily for their use of slapping in their playing include Bootsy Collins
(solo artist; Bootsy's Rubber Band, Funkadelic
, Parliament
, Praxis
), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers
), P-Nut
(311
), Larry Graham
(Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station
), Marcus Miller
(solo artist, Miles Davis
, David Sanborn
, Luther Vandross
), Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones
, Michael Jackson
), Mark King
(Level 42
), Mike Gordon
(Phish
), Les Claypool
(solo artist, Primus
), Fieldy (Korn
), Jayen Varma
(solo artist), Tetsuya (L'Arc-en-Ciel).
The manual Slap That Bass by Paul Christopher, Music Box Dancer, was one of the first to explore variations of slap, including locked wrist technique, pincer technique (squeezing the thumb and pluck finger in tandem), and brush strokes.
For a longer list, see List of slap bass players (electric bass).
Some bassists use other fingers of the strumming hand to achieve this sound, such as bassist Abraham Laboriel, Sr., who uses his thumb to pop the strings, and his other four fingers to slap the strings. Bassist Victor Wooten
uses a double thump technique which is like a slap, but utilizes both sides of the thumb for all the strings, fast enough to produce the equivalent of a drumroll on the bass guitar. Funk fingers
invented by progressive rock bass player Tony Levin
create a similar sound by using a hard surface to strike the strings and intentionally cause string contact with the fretboard. Spank bass
developed from the slap and pop style and treats the electric bass as a percussion instrument, striking the strings above the pickups with an open palmed hand.
The slap technique bears some resemblance to tambour
, a percussive technique used in flamenco
and classical guitar, although the tonal quality produced in this technique is quite different from that of a slapped electric bass.
The theme song for the television sitcom ALF
features a slap bass.
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, the term slapping is often used to refer to two different playing techniques used on the double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and on the (electric) bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
.
Double bass
On double bassDouble bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
it refers to the technique that is a more vigorous version of pizzicato
Pizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
, where the string is plucked so hard that when released it bounces off the finger board, making a distinctive sound. A percussive sound is also made by smacking the strings with all four fingers on the right hand, usually in time with the snare drum
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
.
The earliest players of this technique in American music include Steve Brown
Steve Brown (musician)
Steve Brown is a jazz guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator. He was the Director of Jazz Studies at Ithaca College, a position he held for 40 years until his retirement in 2008...
, Bill Johnson, Pops Foster
Pops Foster
George Murphy "Pops" Foster was a jazz musician best known for his vigorous playing of the string bass. He also played the tuba and trumpet professionally....
, Wellman Braud
Wellman Braud
Wellman Braud was a Creole American jazz upright bassist. His family sometimes spelled their last name "Breaux", pronounced "Bro"....
, and Chester Zardis
Chester Zardis
Chester Zardis was an American jazz double-bassist.Zardis played bass from a young age, and studied under Billy Marrero of the Superior Orchestra. In his teens he was involved in a fistfight at a New Orleans theater, which resulted in his being sent to the Jones Waif Home...
.
Notable slap-style double bass players have included Bill Black
Bill Black
William Patton "Bill" Black, Jr. was an American musician who is noted as one of the pioneers of rockabilly music. Black was the bassist in Elvis Presley's early trio and the leader of Bill Black's Combo....
, Milt Hinton
Milt Hinton
Milton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
, Jake Tullock, Jimbo Wallace, Kim Nekroman
Kim Nekroman
Kim Nekroman is the bassist and lead singer for the psychobilly band Nekromantix and the lead guitarist of HorrorPops. He is married to Patricia Day, lead singer and bassist for HorrorPops.-On tour:...
, Scott Owen
Scott Owen
Scott Bradley Owen plays the double bass in the Australian rock band The Living End. After playing the piano for many years, he decided that the keys would not work for a rockabilly band, so at age 17 he purchased and taught himself double bass, letting him play rockabilly with best friend and...
, Dick McCarthy, Alcide "Slow Drag" Pavageau, Phil Bloomberg, Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker
Lee Rocker is an American rockabilly double bass player. He is the son of the classical clarinetists Stanley Drucker and Naomi Drucker. His sister Roseanne is a country music singer-songwriter...
, Amy LaVere
Amy LaVere
Amy LaVere is an American singer, songwriter, upright bass player and actress based in Memphis, TN. Her music is classified as Americana, combining a blend of classic country, gypsy jazz, and southern soul...
and Peter O'Brien
Peter O'Brien
Peter O'Brien is an Australian actor, not to be confused with the New Zealand actor Peter O'Brian.-Early life:O'Brien was born at Murray Bridge, South Australia...
.
Slapping the bass is a technique used by many bands since at least the 1920s; it came into popular use in the 1940s. Slap bass provides a strong downbeat when the string is plucked and a strong back beat when it slaps back onto the fingerboard of the bass. It creates a very percussive sound and adds a lot of drive that is particularly good for dance music.
Yet another explanation is that snapping the strings against the wood of the instrument supplies a crisp, intense sound which can supply the foundation of a dance band.
Slap bass was used by Western Swing
Western swing
Western swing music is a subgenre of American country music that originated in the late 1920s in the West and South among the region's Western string bands...
and Hillbilly Boogie musicians, and became an important component of an early form of rock and roll that combined blues and what was then called hillbilly music—a musical style now referred to as rockabilly
Rockabilly
Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music, dating to the early 1950s.The term rockabilly is a portmanteau of rock and hillbilly, the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style's development...
. The technique inspired the George
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
and Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin
Ira Gershwin was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century....
song "Slap That Bass
Slap That Bass
"Slap That Bass" is a song composed by George Gershwin, with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, introduced by Fred Astaire and Dudley Dickerson in the 1937 film Shall We Dance.The song refers to the slap style of double bass playing that was popular at the time....
".
Bass guitar
On bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, "slap bass" usually refers to a percussive playing technique most commonly used in funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, Latin, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, and many other genres. The style sounds much more percussive
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
than regular fingering of notes with the plucking hand, and is also usually louder (although on an electric instrument, the volume can be adjusted with the volume knob or through compression) and more distinct than the sound of a bass guitar played with the usual plucking techniques. The slap sound comes from the combination of two elements: striking the string with the side of the bony joint in the middle of the thumb, a harder surface than the pads of the fingers (used in plucked fingering); and intentionally allowing the vibrating string to come into contact with the metal frets, producing a "toney" or buzzing sound that is normally avoided in plucked/fingered bass.
In the slap technique, the bassist replaces the usual plucking motion of the index and middle fingers with "slaps" and "pops". In the slap, the bassist uses the bone of the thumb joint to strike the lower strings (usually the E and A, and occasionally D, strings) near the base of the guitar's neck. In the pop, the bassist will use the index and middle fingers of the plucking hand to snap the higher-pitched strings away from the body
Sounding board
A sound board, or soundboard, is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge. The resonant properties of the sound board and the interior of the instrument greatly increase loudness over the string alone.The sound board operates by the...
of the bass, causing them to bounce off the fretboard; this produces a prominent buzzing tone with a sharp attack and more high-frequency vibrations than present in plucked bass. The bassist can play many notes quickly by rotating the forearm, alternately slapping and popping: during the pop, the hand moves away from the fretboard, "winding up" or getting in position for the next slap. The slap and pop techniques are commonly used with pull-off
Pull-off
A pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by plucking a string by "pulling" the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note.-Performance and effect:...
s and hammer-on
Hammer-on
Hammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off...
s with the fretting (usually left) hand, to further increase the rate at which notes may be played. Ghost note
Ghost note
Ghost notes are musical notes occurring in a rhythmic figure which are purposely deemphasized, often to the point of near silence. In popular music drumming these notes are played, "very softly between the 'main' notes," most often on the snare drum in a drum kit.A rhythmic figure may be punctuated...
s, or notes played with the string damped
Left-hand muting
Left-hand muting is a performance technique for stringed instruments, where the vibration of a string is damped by the left hand. -First variant:...
, are also commonly played in slap bass to increase the percussive feel of the technique.
The invention of slap on electric bass guitar is generally credited to funk bassists Larry Graham
Larry Graham
Larry Graham, Jr. is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station...
and Louis Johnson
Louis Johnson (bassist)
Louis Johnson is an American bass guitarist.Johnson is best known for his group The Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and '80s including the "best selling album of all time" Thriller...
. Graham has stated in several interviews that he was trying to emulate the sound of a drum set before his band had found its drummer. Graham himself refers to the technique as Thumpin' and Pluckin.
Some internationally recognized rock bass guitar players known primarily for their use of slapping in their playing include Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
(solo artist; Bootsy's Rubber Band, Funkadelic
Funkadelic
Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, Parliament
Parliament (band)
Parliament was a funk band most prominent during the 1970s. It and its sister act Funkadelic, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...
, Praxis
Praxis (band)
Praxis was the name of an ever-changing musical project, led by prolific producer Bill Laswell. Praxis combine elements of different musical genres such as funk, jazz, hip-hop and heavy metal into highly improvised music...
), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
), P-Nut
P-Nut
Aaron Charles Wills , is an American musician, bassist for band 311, and music producer / bassist for band Hollows Follow.- Background :...
(311
311 (band)
311 is an American rock band from Omaha, Nebraska. The band was formed in 1988 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Nick Hexum, lead guitarist Jim Watson , bassist Aaron "P-Nut" Wills and drummer Chad Sexton...
), Larry Graham
Larry Graham
Larry Graham, Jr. is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station...
(Sly and the Family Stone, Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham . The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often incorrectly called Grand Central Station....
), Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
(solo artist, Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
, Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
), Louis Johnson (The Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
), Mark King
Mark King (musician)
Mark King is an English musician. He is most famous for being the lead singer and bassist of the band, Level 42. In the early 1980s King popularized the 1970s-era slap and pop style for playing the bass guitar by incorporating it into pop music.-Early life:King was brought up on the Isle of Wight,...
(Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
), Mike Gordon
Mike Gordon
Mike Gordon is a bass guitar player and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. Gordon is also an accomplished banjo player, and is proficient at piano, guitar, harmonica and percussion...
(Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
), Les Claypool
Les Claypool
Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician and writer, best known as the lead vocalist and bassist in the band Primus. Claypool's playing style on the electric bass mixes tapping, flamenco-like strumming, whammy bar bends and slapping.Claypool has also self produced and engineered his...
(solo artist, Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
), Fieldy (Korn
Korn
Korn is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The current band line up includes four members: Jonathan Davis, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu, and Ray Luzier. The band was formed as an expansion of L.A.P.D.The band released their first demo album,...
), Jayen Varma
Jayen Varma
Jayen Varma is an Indian electric bass player. He is known for developing tabla and mridangam style finger technique on bass guitar to play slap bass...
(solo artist), Tetsuya (L'Arc-en-Ciel).
The manual Slap That Bass by Paul Christopher, Music Box Dancer, was one of the first to explore variations of slap, including locked wrist technique, pincer technique (squeezing the thumb and pluck finger in tandem), and brush strokes.
For a longer list, see List of slap bass players (electric bass).
Variants
There are numerous variants of the slapping technique.Some bassists use other fingers of the strumming hand to achieve this sound, such as bassist Abraham Laboriel, Sr., who uses his thumb to pop the strings, and his other four fingers to slap the strings. Bassist Victor Wooten
Victor Wooten
Victor Lemonte Wooten is an American bass player, composer, author, and producer, and has been the recipient of five Grammy Awards....
uses a double thump technique which is like a slap, but utilizes both sides of the thumb for all the strings, fast enough to produce the equivalent of a drumroll on the bass guitar. Funk fingers
Funk fingers
Funk Fingers are a kind of drumsticks that are attached to the fingers of a bass player for producing percussive, funky sounds on a bass guitar. They were created by Tony Levin and his guitar tech, Andy Moore...
invented by progressive rock bass player Tony Levin
Tony Levin
Tony Levin is an American progressive rock musician, specializing in bass guitar, Chapman stick and upright bass ....
create a similar sound by using a hard surface to strike the strings and intentionally cause string contact with the fretboard. Spank bass
Spank bass
Spank bass is a musical performance technique evolving out of the slap and pop or slapping methods of bass playing. Spank bass treats the electric bass as a percussion instrument, striking the strings above the pickups with an open palmed hand. The term derives from the motion of spanking.While...
developed from the slap and pop style and treats the electric bass as a percussion instrument, striking the strings above the pickups with an open palmed hand.
The slap technique bears some resemblance to tambour
Tambour (guitar technique)
Tambour , is a technique used in Flamenco guitar and classical guitar which is designed to emulate the sound of a snare drum...
, a percussive technique used in flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
and classical guitar, although the tonal quality produced in this technique is quite different from that of a slapped electric bass.
Use in television and films
- The theme song for the television sitcom SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
utilizes slap bass keyboard samples. A sample was also played in between scenes in each episode, often punctuating a scene or highlighting a punchline. - The slap bass technique is used for the instrumental for theme song of the Nickelodeon show Kenan and Kel
- The 2008 film Forgetting Sarah MarshallForgetting Sarah MarshallForgetting Sarah Marshall is a 2008 American romantic comedy film directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand...
parodies Seinfeld's usage when the main character Peter (played by Jason SegelJason SegelJason Jordan Segel is an American television and film actor, screenwriter, composer, puppeteer and musician, known for his work with producer Judd Apatow on the short-lived television series Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, the films Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Knocked Up, I Love You, Man,...
), who produces music for a TV series, inserts a goofy slap bass sample into a dramatic scene where "dark and ominous" music was needed. - In television sitcom "Everybody hates Chris" a slap bass sample is used in between scenes in each episode, often punctuating a scene or highlighting a punchline.
The theme song for the television sitcom ALF
ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
features a slap bass.
- In the popular British series The Mighty BooshThe Mighty BooshThe Mighty Boosh is a British comedy troupe featuring comedians Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding. Developed from three stage shows and a six episode radio series, it has since spawned a total of twenty television episodes for BBC Three and two live tours of the UK, as well as two live shows in the...
, the recurring character "The Hitcher" utilises his large thumb for playing slap bass. - The 1990s sitcom MartinMartin (TV series)Martin is an American sitcom produced by HBO Independent Productions that aired for five seasons, from August 27, 1992 to May 1, 1997 on Fox...
features slap bass riffs as well as many sitcoms of that period with soul, funk-oriented theme songs. - A recurring joke in the 2009 film I Love You, ManI Love You, ManI Love You, Man is a 2009 American comedy film originally titled Let's be Friends and written by Larry Levin before John Hamburg rewrote and directed the film...
is the main character's enthusiasm for slap bass.