Six Strings
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Advanced · step 4 · Not started · Acoustic guitar only

Percussive fingerstyle

On an acoustic guitar, your picking hand can also be a drum kit: the thumb plays the kick drum, the palm or fingers play the snare by slapping the strings. Goal: a steady groove, bass and slap, with a metronome.

This lesson is for acoustic guitar: it doesn’t count in your electric course, but you can still read it.

Time
10 minutes a day for a few weeks
Before you start
Legato; Travis picking: the alternating thumb
You’ll be able to
Play a groove of bass notes and slaps

Two sounds, two roles

  • The kick drum: thumb bass, on the open low E string, on beats 1 and 3.
  • The snare: the slap, on beats 2 and 4. The side of the thumb and the palm (or the nails of i, m, a) drop onto the strings, near the sound hole. The sound is a dry “chak”, with no pitch.
e|-----------0-----------0-----------0-----------0-|
B|-0-----------0-----------0-----------0-----------|
G|-0-x-x---x---0-x-x---x---0-x-x---x---0-x-x---x---|
D|-------------------------------------------------|
A|-------------------------------------------------|
E|-0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----0-----|

In the tab, the slap is written “x”.

The slap

  1. Flat hand, no force: let your hand fall onto the strings under its own weight, rotating your forearm.
  2. Stay on the strings for a moment: the slap also mutes everything that was ringing. That silence is what makes the groove.
  3. Go again: the thumb picks up the bass on the next beat.

The groove

Bass, slap, bass, slap: the basic beat of pop and rock. Add a high note after the slap on 4 (the open high E string, with your ring finger): the groove starts to bounce.

Once it’s steady, fret an E minor chord and let your fingers play a few notes between the slaps. The guitar plays drums, bass and accompaniment all at once.

The pitfalls

  • Slapping too hard: you tire out your hand and your guitar. A microphone or an ear hears a light slap perfectly well.
  • Losing the beat on the slap: the thumb must land right on the next beat. Turn on the metronome.

You’ve got it when…