Apart from the mechanics of slapping and popping, which are hard to get under your belt, you might want to start practicing with a metronome or a drum loop rather sooner than later as well; this helps tremendously with the timing!
Good luck!
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@joergkutter you are right of course… I eventually move on to working with the actual song once I get the fretting under my hand. But earlier the better to get the rythm right I guess.
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Yes!
This is a solid, thick slap tone. Well done.
I have to just say - the last note, followed by stopping, followed by video off made me laugh out loud. I know that move very very well!
Kudos.
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It is darn hard to move the pinky like that!
For the tone I am super surprised actually. I got these Nylon Tapewounds from D’addario this weekend and I was expecting it wouldn’t be so favorable for slap bass. I don’t know maybe it is because they are so fresh now.
I bought them for enjoying the walking bass lines or 12 bar bluez box from JF. But damn I “Can’t Stop” slapping them hehe
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Started working on Come As You Are this week. Not quite there yet, but getting there… Hopefully I’m at least in tune this time. 
Constructive feedback welcome as usual.
(The audio and video are not in synch unfortunately, couldn’t do anything about that.)
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That sounded fine. I’m not familiar with that song, but it sounded in tune and the timing was good.
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Very nicely played @akos 
Great tone and timing. And you looked pretty relaxed while you were playing too
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Had a go at Lithium as well while I’m stuck here in DGCF. This time the audio and video are in synch, but I’m not in synch with the band. 
It’s a bit more difficult than Come As You Are.
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I’m having a crack at Procession. Another amazing, driving Hooky bassline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emEJWPMh0Mc
The bassline is simple and fun - except that it’s at 165 BPM and when Hooky moves up an octave for the middle verses it becomes tricky to keep the jackhammer going in the right spots
One of my favorites though. Aside from their original Joy Division work, there probably is no song more post-punk than this.
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Your playing is good but I think you know better on what to work on than I do.
I listened to it and after a while I noticed something that is irritating me.
Regarding your recording: Would it be possible to have the bass on both ears and not just on the left side? 
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Haha fair enough Originally that was by accident in my first recording, but then it became intentional in the rest: it makes my bass part stand out more, and this way it’s easier (for me at least) to hear the mistakes. If I do it in stereo then it’s a bit harder, because I blend into the rest of the music. (I know, that would be the whole point of a bass player, but these recordings are to document my progress as a beginner, not for the artistic value.)
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Went looking for complete songs that would be fairly easy for someone at the ~4-5th module and realized that Walking on the Moon by The Police is a great candidate, in addition to being one of my favourite songs of all time.
Verse bass line is beyond simple and repetitive, good for simple fretting practice; Chorus is a good workout on both rhythm and string crossing with a small amount of “tongue-twister” fretting if you play full speed, though much more beginner friendly than Billi Jean IMO.
Got it down in an hour or so with a few flubs here and there. I really need to work on my hand/finger … stamina? … for longer songs. I tend to start out well but fatigue halfway through and once I miss a few notes it feels like the whole effort takes a dive.
Just needs more practice, but that’s not too shabby for five weeks in.
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@LittleJackal, I’ll have to check that out. I’m planning to post up my ten beginner songs when I get ten. I had a bad jones to work out a few of “my tunes”, I am/was so itchy to play. I have to constantly remind myself that “playing” those songs is good for my spirit but (for me) it doesn’t advance my coursework.
As in: “I’m going to do a couple modules this evening”… three hours later I have “Comfortably Numb” worked out, but no training done and my hands are sore. The course extras section (you have access) has backing tracks and score for 50 songs. There are several in there I don’t want to play, but quite a few that I do.
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The first bar after the 16th notes part of Dean Town by Vulfpeck
Will keep me busy for years to come.
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I’m going after Gentle Giant - The House, the Street, the Room
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I figured I needed to get more serious about this whole “transcribing” business, as everybody says how educational and important for one’s development as a musician it is…
I also seem to remember that somebody had suggested looking at Christmas carols as an easy way into subscribing songs… that is probably a very good suggestion, but Christmas carols just don’t do it for me… I need something a bit more exciting 
So, I figured there are tons of videos on YT where usually some piece of hardware gets tested or presented and a bass player is playing some groove or riff to demonstrate the bass, the amp, the pedal, the strings, etc - and, often, I find these riffs quite catchy and always wanted to learn some of them. So, why not use those to learn how to transcribe AND learn some new licks, riffs and grooves at the same time!?!
Here is what I am working on now… (I chose this because I like a lot about this vid - the bass player, the bass, the groove, the style, the amp, …):
I mean, how hard can it be, right??
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha (gets some air) hahahahahahaahahahahahaha… 
I worked on this for about three hours today, and I am - maybe - one quarter through… that is about 25 seconds worth of music 
But… it’s a ton of fun! I learn how to match the notes I hear to the fretboard to find out which notes they are, I get better at using Transcribe!, I get better in counting and figuring out the rhythmic stuff, I slowly get to learn to play it (at a reduced speed, for sure), I learn how to write notation in MuseScore, (and I drive my wife crazy because I loop the same 3 seconds over and over and over again)!
It all seems deceptively straightforward, and it is really only minor pentatonics with a few passing notes here, but to get the phrasing, the ghost notes, the variations is much harder than I would have thought… And to think there are some guys transcribing crazy ass 5-minute bass soli by guys like Patitucci or Feraud or Jaco licks… wow!!
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Rush Tom Sawyer Go big or go home! LOL
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I’m trying to learn the whole album " Rage against the machine " by, uhm, Rage against the machine! 
Every song has some lovely riffs and my goal is to come home one day after the drudgery of work,whack the album on through the amp,put the headphones on and jam along nonstop( provided I’ll figure out how to fit the hipshot bassextender to my bass) without too many terrible mistakes. Wish me luck!
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I am learning multiple songs at once.
I have a few in my rotation but the one I’m struggling with most at the moment (while getting close) Is Boney M - Daddy Cool. I like the bassline but similiar to billie jean it doesn’t have a lot of time to rest and reassess.
The first third goes “okay” but once I make a little mistake I’m completely out of rythm and have a hard time getting back into it.
I’m also working at the first two bars of Jackson 5 - I want you back because I love the bass line but in full speed the sixteenth notes are just too fast for me. I still practice it in rythm at a lower pace and probably will advance a few bars forward in time.
Then there’s the call and response exercises I’m doing for ear training. I’m struggling with it but I also notice it getting better little by little so while the progress is a bit frustratingly slow there is progress.
And I keep doing the 5 level of finger exercises to get flying fingers under control. It’s not that they fly away far from the fretboard but I still train the finger independence that my pinky doesn’t lift further up when lifting the ringfinger. It’s gotten better and I’m starting to wonder if I expect too much, because when I rewatched the youtube video I noticed that even Joshs pinky does that if you pay attention to it. It’s not much but it lifts further as soon as the ringfinger lifts.
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That’s pretty much my end goal, hope I’ll get there in this life. 
Tim Commerford is one of my favorite bassists, and that album is simply perfect. It has no bad songs.
Good luck to both of us!
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