Opus1512
Verified buyer
05/22/26
Beginner
Good basic start to play funk
Funk Bass for Beginners
Learn Essential Slap, Pop, and Finger Funk Techniques
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About this course
Bass is very prominent in funk music. Whether it's slap and pop thumb bass ala Marcus Miller, Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins, Flea or the rapid-fire finger funk of players like Tower of Power bassist Francis Rocco Prestia, James Jameson, or the great Jaco Pastorius. You’ll also hear funky bass techniques and grooves in other popular styles of music such as rock, blues, R&B, and jazz.
Recording artist, composer, and monster bassist, Stu Hamm is also one of the pioneers of the funky slap, tap and pop techniques that are so popular today in so many styles of music. Stu’s Funk Bass for Beginners is designed to give you all the tools you need to be comfortable playing funk bass in any style of music where bass is so prominently featured.
”You’re going to learn all of the basic techniques that you’ll need to start playing funk bass. I’ll show you how to get a good solid tone by striking the string with your thumb, and by plucking up on the strings to get that "popping" sound. We’ll work on techniques that combine these two styles. Then we will work on “finger funk" in the style of top bassist Rocco and Jaco. We'll also learn a few 'double stops" to add flavor to your funk!
Together, we’ll play our way through a series of lessons and playalongs designed to help you develop all of the essential slap, pop, and finger funk techniques — you’ll be jamming with your buddies in no time at all!”
Stu organized the course into 7 sections. In the first section, you’ll work on warm-ups, stretching, thumb tone, syncopation, thumb bounce, and a funky playalong. The second section is all about popping with your thumb. In the third section, you’ll tackle slides and double-stops.
In the fourth section, Stu shows you how to play hammer-ons and paradiddles. The fifth section is dedicated to finger funk techniques. Tritone double-stops is focused on in the sixth section. And finally, in section seven, Stu shows you how to get the most out of open strings. All of the sections feature playalongs so that you can immediately apply the new techniques in a musical context.
All of the key lessons, practice sessions, and playalongs are transcribed in both standard notation and tab and you’ll have all of the backing tracks to work with as well. You can loop or slow down any of the videos and tabs so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace.
Grab your bass, and let’s get funky with Stu Hamm!
Recording artist, composer, and monster bassist, Stu Hamm is also one of the pioneers of the funky slap, tap and pop techniques that are so popular today in so many styles of music. Stu’s Funk Bass for Beginners is designed to give you all the tools you need to be comfortable playing funk bass in any style of music where bass is so prominently featured.
”You’re going to learn all of the basic techniques that you’ll need to start playing funk bass. I’ll show you how to get a good solid tone by striking the string with your thumb, and by plucking up on the strings to get that "popping" sound. We’ll work on techniques that combine these two styles. Then we will work on “finger funk" in the style of top bassist Rocco and Jaco. We'll also learn a few 'double stops" to add flavor to your funk!
Together, we’ll play our way through a series of lessons and playalongs designed to help you develop all of the essential slap, pop, and finger funk techniques — you’ll be jamming with your buddies in no time at all!”
Stu organized the course into 7 sections. In the first section, you’ll work on warm-ups, stretching, thumb tone, syncopation, thumb bounce, and a funky playalong. The second section is all about popping with your thumb. In the third section, you’ll tackle slides and double-stops.
In the fourth section, Stu shows you how to play hammer-ons and paradiddles. The fifth section is dedicated to finger funk techniques. Tritone double-stops is focused on in the sixth section. And finally, in section seven, Stu shows you how to get the most out of open strings. All of the sections feature playalongs so that you can immediately apply the new techniques in a musical context.
All of the key lessons, practice sessions, and playalongs are transcribed in both standard notation and tab and you’ll have all of the backing tracks to work with as well. You can loop or slow down any of the videos and tabs so that you can work with the lessons at your own pace.
Grab your bass, and let’s get funky with Stu Hamm!
What you'll learn
- Execute hammer-ons with consistent tone and timing
- Play syncopated sixteenth note funk pattern (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and)
- Execute alternating finger technique with first and second fingers
- Choose appropriate plucking technique (thumb vs fingers) for different strings
- Develop finger strength and calluses for hammer-on technique
Release date: 06/07/2018 • 2h 34m runtime
Sample lessons
Lesson 3: Syncopation
Demonstration
Syncopated Thumb Workout
Practice Session: Demo
Lesson 10: Double Stops
Demonstration
Slide & Double Stop Workout
Practice Session: Demo
What's included
78 lessons • 37 charts • 7 Jam Tracks
Funk Bass for Beginners
Welcome to Funk Bass for Beginners! Here in this course, we are going to learn some of the basic tecniques you need to start playing funk bass. You will learn how to get a good solid tone by striking the string with your thumb, by plucking up on the strings to get that "popping" sound. We work on combining the two and then we will work on "finger funk" in the style of TOP bassist Rocco Prestia and Jaco. We'll also learn a few 'double stops" to add flavor to your funk! The best thing -- you'll play your way through this course. I've designed it to get you up to speed quick and I'll point out a lot of the pitfalls that beginners tend to get stuck in, and how to avoid them, when working on challenging funk techniques on bass. Let's get started!
SECTION 1: Funky Thumb
This first section of the course is all about the thumb. We'll talk about things like how to angle the thumb, the way you use the thumb to sound the strings, bouncing off the strings, and all the other details you need to know about striking the bass with the thumb.
Lesson 1: Warm-up & Stretching
It's critically important to warm up and stretch before you play your bass. Just like an athlete, playing a musical instrument is a physical activity. Work on creating some of your own warm up routines as you develop. In this lesson I'll give you some great exercises and stretches to loosen up your body and get ready to play without pain and without any strain. Keep it loose!
Lesson 2: Thumb Tone
Now let's dig in to some proper thumb technique. It takes time to develop a good slap thumb technique and there's a lot of different things you need to be thinking about. It's just as important to understand what you shouldn't do as it is to know what you should do. We'll talk about both in this video. Always trust your ear and when it sounds good, you'll know you're doing it right!
Open String Thumb Workout
Ok, it's time to work on an exercise together to get this technique happening. In this video I'll be giving you a quick demo of how it works. Pay attention and take your time here. It's critically important that you don't rush these things. Make sure you're comfortable with the mechanics here before you even move on to the practice session. As soon as you're ready, come join me in the next lesson.
Open String Thumb Workout
Now let's play that exercise together with the click. We'll take it at an easy tempo here so you can really focus on getting the technique down and making sure you sound good. Listen to the metronome and try to divide your focus between trying to nail the timing and getting a great sound out of the strings. Take your time here and repeat the exercise as many times as it takes to be able to nail this exercise -- even if you have to put the bass down and come back to it in your next session. Don't move on until you have this down. See you in the next lesson.
Fretted Thumb Workout
Ok, it's time to work on an exercise together to get this technique happening. In this video I'll be giving you a quick demo of how it works. Pay attention and take your time here. It's critically important that you don't rush these things. Make sure you're comfortable with the mechanics here before you even move on to the practice session. As soon as you're ready, come join me in the next lesson.
+ 71 more lessons
Reviews
14 results
kleinfrans
Verified buyer
04/14/26
How to be an easy slapper
This is a great introduction to funk and slap bass. The course is easy to follow and well explained by Stu Hamm. You have to put in the work but its fun.
dmojo13
Verified buyer
06/12/25
Stu RULES! A MUST buy!
Omg - where to begin? First of all, how great is it to be taught by one of the best bass players out? Invaluable! Second - he's not only an amazing player, he's that holy grail combo of player AND amazing TEACHER! He is really INTO what he's teaching, and it feels like he's rooting you on - it just makes him my favorite teacher ever, an I'm a guitarist first! And that's why I think this course is THE BEST place to start for guitarists who are already capable, but ready to focus on the most important elements of bass chops. (Of course if I wanted to be a bass player first, it's the right place to start too. ) Can't say enough good things about his teaching style and how much I look forward to practicing every night. The band jam tracks are great to practice to. This course makes the learning and building your chops fun and you can hear/feel yourself getting better. I may be switching to bass 24/7! Thanks Stu!!
LJack1
Verified buyer
11/10/24
I’m very pleased with my purchase!!!😊👍🏽
cupit357
Verified buyer
12/04/22
I am a brand new bass player and I find this to be easy to follow and very informative.
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