BE's Chucking

[norvegicusbass]

Apart from what I would call the big three, Fingerstyle, Slapping and Pick playing there are other types of playing out there that arent anywhere near as popular but still offer a great way of playing. Just been listening a lot lately to Bernard Edwards and ( where possible )his chucking style and was just wondering why this style never really caught hold like the others. TBH I hate the modern version of slap much preferring the older style of funk bassists like Larry Graham but could listen to chucking no problem at all. Got me thinking though any other styles that sound great and offer a unique tone that should have caught on.

[arthurhenry]

Isn't chucking essentially pick style, without a pick?

[norvegicusbass]

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1355822447' post='1903050']
Isn't chucking essentially pick style, without a pick?
[/quote]
Yeah but it offers a totally different tone very funky like old style

[Chrismanbass]

chuck rainey used a style called patting on the tune rock steady which is essentially what it sounds like you pat the E and a string to generate sound (today he uses slap for that tune as he plays 5 string)

[Dingus]

Back in the 70s slapping and other percussive styles of playing were far less standardised as a technique and so players developed lots of improvised and individualised versions of the style on their own . It's important to remember that this was an era before the information overload we all enjoy nowadays where you can get on the internet and find out anything . There weren't any bass magazines ect , or indeed much music on t.v so it was much harder to understand and copy what was going on when your favourite player was slapping . Nowadays you can go to Youtube and have a private lesson with Victor Wooten . There was a technique some bass players used back in the 70s that was similar to chucking but used a rigidly-held thumb to pick " through" the strings similar to Victor Wootens double thump . Jerry Barnes demonstrates the technique on his Lick Samples video and it sounds really good but I can't really get the hang of it myself !

Edited December 18, 2012 by Dingus

[51m0n]

You missed out tapping, which is definitely another way to play. Not done well by many IMO, but you can certainly get sequencer like arpeggios out with it, and done right it can even be rather funky too...

Plus there is Bootsy's octave slapping, whereby you hold octaves with the left hand (muting the middle string) and slap all three strings with the curved fingers of the left hand (slapping as in like you might slap a pert bottom, i.e not with a thumb ).

That can sound immense if you do it right, which is to say far gentler than you may think you need to.

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1355830019' post='1903196']
You missed out tapping, which is definitely another way to play. Not done well by many IMO, but you can certainly get sequencer like arpeggios out with it, and done right it can even be rather funky too...

Plus there is Bootsy's octave slapping, whereby you hold octaves with the left hand (muting the middle string) and slap all three strings with the curved fingers of the left hand (slapping as in like you might slap a pert bottom, i.e not with a thumb ).

That can sound immense if you do it right, which is to say far gentler than you may think you need to.
[/quote]

So what does he do with his right hand?

[51m0n]

Doh, I meant slap all three strings with the right hand

What a wally !

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1355828623' post='1903166']
Back in the 70s slapping and other percussive styles of playing were far less standardised as a technique and so players developed lots of improvised and individualised versions of the style on their own . It's important to remember that this was an era before the information overload we all enjoy nowadays where you can get on the internet and find out anything . There weren't any bass magazines ect , or indeed much music on t.v so it was much harder to understand and copy what was going on when your favourite player was slapping . Nowadays you can go to Youtube and have a private lesson with Victor Wooten . There was a technique some bass players used back in the 70s that was similar to chucking but used a rigidly-held thumb to pick " through" the strings similar to Victor Wootens double thump . Jerry Barnes demonstrates the technique on his Lick Samples video and it sounds really good but I can't really get the hang of it myself !
[/quote]

This is indeed true. In the seventies I had heard some slap but hadn't a clue how it was executed. One night I was watching the Crusaders on Whistle Test and saw Pops Popwell slapping. To me it looked like he was pinging the strings with his fingertips. So I spent a few weeks trying this. It was only later, and with very sore finger ends, that I realised he had been using his thumb. And even then I didn't know what I was doing and had to work out the style myself.

[molan]

Paul Turner can cop the Bernard Edwards style perfectly. I've seen him demonstrate it really close up on Everybody Dance.

Not only does he play it note perfect in Edwards's style but he can happily carry on a conversation at the same time

[4 Strings]

I think it was only Everybody Dance in which 'Nard did the 'chucking' (not heard it called that before), you see him just using fingerstyle on everything else. The playing on the intro, especially, of that song is amazing.