"CRACK BASS" TECHNIQUE DEMYSTIFIED
After releasing my original composition "SLAP CRACKLE POP", the first of many bass nature videos filmed in national parks, I had an overwhelming response from bass players interested in my new technique "CRACK BASS" and the mystery behind it.
so......I decided that I would explain to everyone how I stumbled upon this new technique, how to do it and what its various applications are.
The Inspiration:
About a year ago I was working on a solo bass arrangement of "Locked Out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars (that I never finished..lol) and wanted to find a way of creating the "doo doo doo doo ...." sound on the bass. I managed to come up with an approximation of it using the flat side of all four of my RH (right hand) fingers to tap the C-String and the bottom of the neck from underneath and used my palm to create a sort of bass drum sound effect on the B-String over the neck.
Unhappy with the accuracy and consistency of the bass drum sound I quickly realized that my RH palm sounded best when it hit the B-String right near the edge of the neck where it hits the body and decided to try using my index finger instead for more accuracy to tap beyond the 24th fret where the neck meets the body of the bass. Instantly I noticed a big difference in the consistency of the tone and how it accurately mimicked the sound of a bass drum. I was also relieved at how my index finger, already adept at the two-hand tapping and finger style plucking techniques, had no problem achieving the accuracy required in comparison to my palm.
Upon discovering this bass drum sound from my bass I immediately thought, "wouldn't it be amazing if I could recreate a snare sound on my bass too!". It would only make sense to me if I could play the snare sound with my RH as well, thus freeing up my left hand to fulfill its "normal" bass duties. Knowing that my index finger was preoccupied with the bass drum sound I must have accidentally slapped my pinky finger on my B-String right over where the neck pickup hits my ramp and voila the sound of the B-String slapping against that exact spot sounded very similar to a snare drum with layered claps on it (ooh how TOP 40 radio of me....I think I'm going to puke). Clapping layered over top of a snare sound aside, the combination of both parts of the "Crack Bass" technique sounded a lot like a drum kit and I was onto something.
Over the next year I experimented periodically with the technique, even playing it while tapping a bass line with my LH on a duo gig with Al Rowe, but for the most part "Crack bass" (nameless at the time) lay dormant in the back of my mind until using it on my original composition "Slap Crackle Pop".
Why is it called "CRACK BASS"?:
For almost a year my brand new technique went unnamed and it wasn't until the naming of my composition "Slap Crackle Pop" (by my brother Dan Joseph Cohen a week after filming) that I asked myself, "well I'm certainly slapping and popping in this tune, so then what is the 'crackle' in 'Slap Crackle Pop' supposed to be?", and that's when I thought "that's for when I'm cracking the bass", and the term "Crack Bass" was born.
"Crack Bass Technique" excerpt from Josh Cohen's original composition "Slap Crackle Pop" (Full View)
How does one play the "Crack Bass Technique"?
Step 1: Purchase a fretwrap and place around the neck (2nd-4th fret) to mute the open strings from ringing out.
Step 2: Next you'll need to extend your index finger straight out with stiff joints, but a wrist lose wrist.
Step 3: Strike with the flat part of the tip of your index finger at the end of the neck on the low B-String. Allow it to bounce back up after striking. This is your bass drum sound. Use your RH thumb as an anchor point to grip around the back side of the body.
Step 4: Extend your pinky finger exactly like you did for your index finger with a lose wrist.
Step 5: Strike your pinky on the low B-String right where your pickup meets your wooden ramp. (What's a ramp?). Let your finger bounce back up naturally after strike once again using your thumb as an anchor point gripping the back of the body. If done correctly this should sound like a snare drum. It may take some time to get this right and maybe require some adjusting of the blend between the bridge and neck pickup.
Step 6: Now go back and forth between your index finger (the bass drum) and your pinky finger (the snare) to create a drum beat on your bass.
This probably cannot be done on every type of electric bass, but I'm sure that Ken Smith Basses aren't the only ones.
***Note - you'll need a bass with a low action and one that has at least a quarter inch of wood left on the neck after the last fret before it connects with the body. You'll also need a wooden ramp right between two soap bar pickups***
"Crack Bass Technique" excerpt from Josh Cohen's original composition "Slap Crackle Pop" (RH-View)
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What are the practical applications of the "Crack Bass Technique"?
The "Crack Bass" technique could never replace a real live drummer and I would never intend it to do so, however it is a very useful technique to add to one's arsenal for solo bass performance similar to how acoustic guitars have added tapping and drumming on their guitar bodies to their solo performances. In my original composition "Slap Crackle Pop" I use the "Crack Bass" technique to have my right hand hold down a beat similar to a drummer while my left hand uses the tapping technique to play both a bass line and a melody back and forth. You can hear this at 2:25min into the track. To further illustrate the 3 parts that are occurring simultaneously I've attached a transcription of the first 4 bars (See Excerpt #1 below). Use the legend above it to understand the notation symbols unique to these techniques.
Excerpt #1
"Crack Bass Technique" excerpt from Josh Cohen's original composition "Slap Crackle Pop" (Distance View)
I hope you enjoyed my first instructional blog about one of the many techniques used in my solo bass videos and album "Out of the Bassment" (to be released in September). There will be plenty more blogs and videos in the near future including a solo bass version of J.S. Bach's "Prelude in C-Major" which uses all harmonics and false harmonics. Please share and stay tuned....
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CREDITS:
Photography by: Micah Seth Dubinsky & Dan Joseph Cohen
Bass Luthier: Ken Smith