LESSON 6
Learning Raked Triplets

I hear a lot of young players slapping their basses and, I must admit, most of them are pretty good at it. There is a plethora of videos, books and websites that give young players ample resources to learn to slap and pop, so they are developing faster and faster these days. One thing that I do notice, however, is that many bassist players mainly slap 16th-note grooves, which can get a bit monotonous to listen to. A good way to loosen up your slap playing and add a lot of variety at the same time is to work in a few 16th-note triplets.

There are a few ways to slap triplets, but one of my favorites is a technique called Raked Triplets. The basic technique involves popping two successive notes by using your index finger and ring finger and then thumbing a muted note. The best way to perfect this technique is to start with your right hand in a position with your index finger under the D-string and your middle finger under the G-string, and your thumb just above the B, E or A-string. (see figure 1) From this position, roll your wrist so that you pop the D-string first, following closely by the G-string. After that, come back down and thumb any string. Start slowly and focus on making each note rhythmically even and about the same volume. (see movie clip 1) As you get more comfortable with this technique, starting working up your tempos. After a while you should be able to smoothly play 16th-note triples at 120 bpm (movie clip 2).

Once you have this technique together, you should try to work it into your groove playing. I like to use the two pops to set up a strong downbeat with the thumb, but there are literally hundreds of ways to insert triplets into you playing.

One word of warning: Do not overdo the triplets. Many players cannot resist the urge to use a new technique in every song, in every section. This can be disastrous, in much the same way as a guitarist who gets a new flanger and uses it on every tune. Make sure that you only insert the triplets when it really improved the song.

If you have any more questions regarding Raked Triplets, please feel free to email me at DaleT@danabgoods.com. Also, if you would like to get a free Warwick catalog, simply email DBGLit@danabgoods.com and provide them with your mailing address. Until next time…