Slap 'er

ToneControl

the percussive thing is a gimmick, and as such it can get tedious very quickly
and the real test is: does it in any way replace a drummer? The answer is not in any way at all.

Jimbro66

ToneControl said:

the percussive thing is a gimmick, and as such it can get tedious very quickly
and the real test is: does it in any way replace a drummer? The answer is not in any way at all.

Agreed. But in fairness because it is nearly always an acoustic guitar technique they are not really trying to replace a drummer. They just like a bit of slap and tickle

Jimbro66

thomasross20 said:

Fyi I don't even use a thumb pick. Nether does Tommy Emmanuel. The difference is.. he can play the guitar  

Now that's interesting that you should say that. Being such a highly skilled player I've no doubt that he can freely use any combination of fingers, thumbpick and flatpick but on the several occasions I have seen him he has mainly used thumbpick. He also does on the You Tube vids of his best known tunes like Classical Gas, the Beatles Medley and Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Get a thumbpick and you'll be playing as well as him in next to no time

BTW I blame Tommy for all this percussive stuff  -  if he hadn't started it all with his aboriginal slapping and scratching.............

thomasross20

Ah yes I've seen him use them lots! But also not! And I remember many interviews where he says he often just likes to use his thumb. I need to try some more thumb picks out..

Bucket

Anyone slating this style of playing - watch this and come back to me.



Beautiful.

thomasross20

No slating it.. just think it gets bland after listening to it for a long while, and wondered if anybody else actually did similar in terms of playing style.
 
That video, though... it's not what I was talking about. He's mainly doing fingerstyle and what I'd do is sing over the top as well. That's all good in my book!

AliGorie

the only thing I do is a 'snare' thwak usually 2nd + 4th bears John Martin made me do it -
like AMcK is doing above but unlike them my hr ring finger fires out from the heal of my palm and makes contact across the middle of the string spread as opposed to JM's and AMcK base of thumb hitting the bass strings.
Something thats never addressed is the quality of the tap / slap timbre, given the fuss thats made about guitar tone.
On the Jake Morley vid - awful noise on the lower bout slap, again 2 & 4 beats it's enough to spoil an otherwise good performance, just ask a percussionist what they think of it.
I'm not interested in how it's done or what it's done on - I listen to the music - very very little guitar music makes it to my car - where I can solely concentrate on IT.
Other than the skill involved much of the actual music  (composition content and form) reminds of either synthesizer or american tv theme music from te '70 / 80's
Oh, the Rich Thompson flat picking with fingers is pretty much standard technique for cluster arpeggiated chords /  mixed with lead or bass line playing.
 

Bucket

I've been taught a little by this guy, who came into ICMP to show us how to do it (meaning I have a limited ability to play in this style, but not with much confidence). He's killer though:



I didn't know he could sing as well until I found this video. Does it all at once - very impressive.

Jimbro66

Bucket said:

Anyone slating this style of playing - watch this and come back to me.

As @thomasross20 said, no-one is slating anything. Andy McKee is just using a good honest John Martyn Slap. Nothing wrong with that. It adds rhythm and can be very effective behind the vocals of a solo artist.

If I've understood correctly the OP is interested in who here plays that alternative percussive guitar style that is quite removed from regular finger-style guitar and is generally without vocals. As I said earlier, it's a style that other guitarists seem to enthuse about or immensely dislike. No right or wrong - just opinions.

thomasross20

Much better with the singing - it's brilliant you get the chance to learn from these guys!!

You got it, @Jimbro66 !
I just wondered who actually went in for that style of playing.

richardhomer

I have to be honest - once technique becomes the aim of someone’s playing - rather than innate musicality, I struggle. The majority of ‘slappy’ acoustic players definitely fall into that category for me. 

John Martyn - with his bizarre CFCCGD tuning (and others) was slappy - but utterly musical. Possibly my all time favourite acoustic player - things like ‘Couldn’t Love You More’ (from One World) are exquisite. I recently saw Richard Thompson do a two-hour acoustic show - plenty of technique on display - but never for the sake of it. He’s always musical.

Jimbro66

thomasross20 said:

Ah yes I've seen him use them lots! But also not! And I remember many interviews where he says he often just likes to use his thumb. I need to try some more thumb picks out..

Thumb picks do take some getting used to but when I've been told they're too clumsy or whatever it's almost guaranteed that the thumbpicks have been used straight from the pack. In my experience they all need work on them to shape them and often to reduce their thickness. The Herco ones I use for electric guitar are not far removed from a plectrum but still need shaping because, unlike a plectrum, they have a fixed position. Getting them right is critical.

BigLicks67

I think we have to be careful when referring to 'modern' players or 'modern' techniques as a lot of these ideas and have been around since at least the 1980's. Stuff like body slapping in the Flamenco world is as old as the hills. This video is dated 2017 but it could have been recorded 30+ years ago :    



I sometimes wonder why they can't just either play the rhythm or at least imply it in the piece they are playing, like so

thomasross20

Love flamenco... 
Vicente amigo is brill..