How to slap and hit a string at the same time in fingerstyle.

[lacatedral]

Hi, I've been discovering Sungha Jung's videos recently, I'm studying right now the arrangement of the song Can't take my eyes off of you (https://youtu.be/mGTcMhT5rro?t=50). I've been studying classical guitar for a while so fingerpicking shouldn't be such a trouble now, problem is when I come across percussive techniques, I've been doing some excercises with a professor online but still the technique of combining slap and simultaneously hitting a string or two with the other fingers is very hard.

Let's say the most common problems are, when doing this technique:
1) I hit too hard the lower strings with the thumb and therefore the strings that are being attacked simultaneously sound way louder. That might be solved with applying a lesser strenght.
2) I don't know with which finger(s) I should hit the string that must be played simultaneously with the slap (should I use the index finger to hit it? middle, ring? combination of those? note that I wrote "hit", not pluck).
3) Sometimes when I manage to do it fairly well, other strings other than the ones noted in the tab sound too as a mistake.

One of the most difficult bars I've seen is this one:

That second beat is very hard, one must slap the sixth string (I guess, or the 6th and 5th) and the hit with the index (thats what I do) in opposite motion the second string WITHOUT making the adyacent strings sound. Also, the bass note (the open D in the first beat) should remain sounding for a quarter and a half (I don't use very well american notation terms), so that string should not be interrupted! So hard.
The bar can be listened in the video URL I posted before at 0:48 if I recall.


Has anyone experienced something familiar? How did you solve it?
Cheers



ps: Maybe that slap is made with the pinky finger of the right hand? Watch the video and please observe that his pinky always hits on the second and fourth beats, usually

[rogthefrog]

I don't believe that notation means slap, but rather mute. I'm not sure how you would slap the B string with your thumb if it's occupied with the bass.

Do you mean pop?

In slap bass (and guitar), the "slap" is done with the thumb bearing down on the string, and the other fingers pulling up on the strings and making that characteristic "thwack" sound is called "pop".

Please clarify so we can help.

FYI strings are numbered from high to low, so high E = 1, high B = 2, etc. That will also help reduce confusion.

[lacatedral]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

I don't believe that notation means slap, but rather mute. I'm not sure how you would slap the B string with your thumb if it's occupied with the bass.

Do you mean pop?

In slap bass (and guitar), the "slap" is done with the thumb bearing down on the string, and the other fingers pulling up on the strings and making that characteristic "thwack" sound is called "pop".

Please clarify so we can help.

FYI strings are numbered from high to low, so high E = 1, high B = 2, etc. That will also help reduce confusion.

The tablature I found has some mistakes I guess, the "x" do mean slap, but the person who transcribed was not aware that the "x" must be located in the bottom strings. If you watch the video cited before you'll note that indeed the "x"s do mean slap, I don't think it's a pop.
The numeration of the strings I think I did it correctly, being the first e and the last one an E two octaves lower.
Cheers.

[Joscefi78]

There are courses, Truefire has courses on percussive guitar, Hal Leonard, I've some of them. It's a rote learning thing that after a while gets incorporated into your playing. Look for Youtubes.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by lacatedral

Hi, I've been discovering Sungha Jung's videos recently, I'm studying right now the arrangement of the song Can't take my eyes off of you (https://youtu.be/mGTcMhT5rro?t=50). I've been studying classical guitar for a while so fingerpicking shouldn't be such a trouble now, problem is when I come across percussive techniques, I've been doing some excercises with a professor online but still the technique of combining slap and simultaneously hitting a string or two with the other fingers is very hard.

Let's say the most common problems are, when doing this technique:
1) I hit too hard the lower strings with the thumb and therefore the strings that are being attacked simultaneously sound way louder. That might be solved with applying a lesser strenght.
2) I don't know with which finger(s) I should hit the string that must be played simultaneously with the slap (should I use the index finger to hit it? middle, ring? combination of those? note that I wrote "hit", not pluck).
3) Sometimes when I manage to do it fairly well, other strings other than the ones noted in the tab sound too as a mistake.

One of the most difficult bars I've seen is this one:

That second beat is very hard, one must slap the sixth string (I guess, or the 6th and 5th) and the hit with the index (thats what I do) in opposite motion the second string WITHOUT making the adyacent strings sound. Also, the bass note (the open D in the first beat) should remain sounding for a quarter and a half (I don't use very well american notation terms), so that string should not be interrupted! So hard.
The bar can be listened in the video URL I posted before at 0:48 if I recall.


Has anyone experienced something familiar? How did you solve it?
Cheers



ps: Maybe that slap is made with the pinky finger of the right hand? Watch the video and please observe that his pinky always hits on the second and fourth beats, usually

Don't take the tab too literally. Just watch the video (you can slow it to half-speed on most browsers).

The percussive hits are a combination of the backs of the fingernails (middle and ring finger mostly, on string 3 and 2 mostly, sometimes more) and the outstretched pinky on the guitar top. All three hit on beats 2 and 4 for the most part, but this bar is different. Middle and ring are still on 2 and 4, but the pinky taps on 2 and 3, and then the "& of 4". (The "X" in the tab on beat 3 must be the pinky tap - hardly audible, but the melody string is muted.)
That A note on 3rd string in the tab is not audible, although he is fretting it (along with the D on 2nd string), so it could be audible other times.

This is actually a pretty easy passage (there are much harder parts of this arrangement), if you can get into that tapping groove and get the melody working. It doesn't really matter which strings get hit, or which chord tones sound (aside from melody notes), because that's just filling in the rhythm. (You hear the open D and A strings ringing throughout this bar.)

IMO the pinky taps are an unnecessary complication. I'd leave them out. I suspect he just does it intuitively, concentrating more on getting the melody working while maintaining the groove.

[Notguildy]

Search on YouTube for the Pluck and Chuck tutorial series by Jon Michael Swift.