How to Play Left Hand Slap

What is the left hand slap?

The left hand slap is a percussive sounding effect that can give the illusion that there is a drummer playing. It can be very popular in slap bass and when learned, it gives you more to play around with in your slap bass playing. Left hand slap is played with the left hand as the names says unless you are left handed then you use your right hand.

How to left hand slap?

To left hand slap you need to get all your fingers on your picking hand straight and then you slap down on the strings. You need to make sure you hit all the strings. Do not hit hard enough to fret any notes and not too soft you catch any harmonics on the frets. You want to get a nice muted slap noise. When trying to left hand slap make sure your hand isn’t tense, you need your fingers to be relaxed.

You need to keep practicing until you can get the same noise each time, this may take some practice. The left hand slap can really spice up your slap bass and make it sound funkier. Some people believe, that used too much the left hand slap can be too much and sound repetitive; I believe that you should use it where you can.