Can I skip (without watching) the slap related modules? My elbow area has been pretty tender the past few weeks, and I feel like I have zero interest in learning slap-pop at this early stage (one month today). Down the track I want to have a few in-person lessons with a teacher so I’d rather wait until I can have someone check my slap technique in person.
I’m going to do B2B again for a second pass when I finish as I will defeat Billie Jean.
Absolutely
It’s a stand alone module so it won’t impact on future modules if you skip it.
I had zero interest in slap when i did B2B and skipped this module too, but I came back to it later.
I don’t slap. I feel like I should, but it fits relatively poorly in most styles I like.
Yeah I’ve seen Entwhistle pop a string now and again but I’m not really that bothered about learning it. Although admittedly it can sound good when used in moderation, I think slapping gets way too much exposure as the “ultimate evolution of bass technique”, especially in the Youtubeosphere.
Definitely!
I skipped it and haven’t had the urge to go back to it
I skipped it because no matter what I did, I couldn’t get a good slap tone out of my bass! I went back and did it later a few months after I finished the rest of the course, when I bought a jazz bass.
Slap is pretty much it’s own thing, it’s almost like starting over again… you really have to be prepared to put a fair amount of time into it to get good at it.
I don’t slap much, mostly because I usually play late at night and it’s pretty tough to slap quietly 
so it’s kind of funny that I have a bass just for slap 
that’s like the few times I’ve sat down to work on learning tapping and after about 5 mins was like “I don’t care about this at all” there are so many other things I need to work on before that 
I’m even worse there - I actually don’t like the way tapping sounds, when done to excess anyway. Working it in occasionally? Sweet! Going Full Boh or Berthoud? Not for me. (I respect their skill though!)
Yes, i skipped the slap and pick modules without any issues
You know, having just gone through them, I’d recommend at least watching the core lessons. Don’t worry about playing along or doing the workouts. But there’s some good information on those lessons you could log in your brain-meats, which might come in handy later.
I’m with @JustTim on this. It may not be what you’re into but Josh has all kinds of useful tid bits spread throughout the lessons.
I don’t see any reason why you can’t. I have absolutely zero interest in slapping, so I just blew by those lessons.
I concur 1000%!
I saw a recent interview with Marcus Miller and I think he said it best… something along the lines of … "slap is at an all time high for people having ability and technique, but an ALL TIME LOW FOR MUSICALITY).
And tapping. Don’t forget tapping.
I’m not sure that anyone has ever claimed slap is the “ultimate evolution of bass technique,” but those who are really adept at it can and generally do put on a showy performance. That’s neither good nor bad. Just a fact.
To slap or not to slap really depends on whether a player likes to do it and his/her chosen genre calls for it. Beyond that, slapping is optional.
The same goes for tapping, which, when done really well, requires excellent knowledge of the fretboard, percussion dexterity (in one or both hands), chord tone knowledge, and melody creation ability. It’s a lot to have under the fingers and the chapeau.
This man never skipped slap day
I honestly never really cared for slap, even as a kid/teen, and now with less finger function and a weaker/damaged wrist I care even less.
Slap isn’t a requirement for bass players. Keeping the groove and playing solid is so I much rather focus on that.
