Transitioning Between Slap and Pop

Mixing slaps and pops is key to the material in this book. The reciprocal motion of alternating between slap and pop contains worlds of possibilities, which we'll explore. We'll also look at the alternatives of reciprocal motion: repetitive motion and broken motion. Reciprocal motion--being able to transition from one thing to another and back--is what allows us the possibility of doing something other than playing a bunch of slaps, then pausing, reorienting and playing a string of pops. We will aspire to develop the ability to fluidly transition from any articulation (slap, pop, tap, tap harmonic, fingerstyle, etc) of any note on our bass to any other articulation of any note.

But first, it's time to learn your first slap bass rudiment. This is the most primal of all slap bass rudiments: simple, equal length notes alternating between slap and pop.

Take a look at this drill:

(notation)

(instructions)

(video and audio examples of this being used in old funk tunes)