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Slap Bass – Double Thumbing (Part 1)

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The double thumbing technique is a relatively recent addition to the slap bassist’s arsenal. Although several bassists such as French Canadian virtuoso Alain Caron were using it in the mid-eighties, it really grabbed the attention of bassists everywhere in the nineties, largely thanks to Victor Wooten.

Through his work with Béla Fleck & The Flecktones, Victor has been wowing audiences since 1990 with his dazzling technique. Fast building a reputation for his technical prowess, Victor stunned the bass world in 1996 with the release of his debut album A Show Of Hands. This seminal work has since become one of the most important bass player albums of all time, with Victor proving that it is possible for a bassist to possess truly ridiculous chops while retaining their musical sensibilities and a strong command of the groove. Compositions such as ‘You Can’t Hold No Groove’, ‘Classical Thump’ and ‘Me & My Bass Guitar’ have inspired countless bassists to explore the exciting possibilities of double thumbing. As a result, many other great players have since stepped forward to make their own contributions to the technique.

If you require additional help with any of the techniques used here, the following courses (all included in the monthly subscription cost) should prove useful:

Don’t forget to hit the Download Resources button above to get the PDF worksheet and audio files for this course (available to subscribers only). The worksheet is available with TAB and without, for those who wish to give their reading skills a workout.

This course is 27 MINUTES long and contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. Introduction to Double Thumbing

This lesson covers the basic mechanics of double thumbing. It also discusses the ways in which a ‘ramp’ can make the technique a lot simpler to execute.

2. Exercise #1

This is a very basic line that's designed to get you double thumbing on all four strings. This is a purely mechanical exercise – the pitches are largely irrelevant.

3. Exercise #2

This exercise is the C major scale, played with the double thumbing technique. In order to avoid any awkward string crossing, each note is doubled for now.

4. Exercise #3

This exercise is a funk workout in G. You will see that as well as down and up strokes, this exercise also makes use of some ghost notes.

5. Exercise #4

This exercise is a slightly more complex funk groove. Again, ghost notes feature heavily. These are used to reinforce the underlying sixteenth note feel.

6. Exercise #5

This is a continuous sixteenth note line that demonstrates how the double thumbing technique can be used in a more melodic way.

7. Exercise #6

This exercise is a basic 12-bar blues. Playing through a longer structure such as this will help you to develop consistency in your double thumbing.