Become a Slap Bass Beast
Limited Time: The 12 week Slap Bass Accelerator with Scott Devine and Ian Martin Allison
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear the next time it opens
Giuliano D - Slap Accelerator Student
I used to be really embarrassed about my slap bass playing, then this happened…
For most of my career, I felt self-conscious whenever I had to play a slap-bass line.
I was terrible at it.
And every time I had to fake my way through songs like Hair by Graham Central Station (best slap groove of all time in my opinion) or Never Too Much (trying to keep up with Marcus Miller tearing it up!), I was worried everyone in the crowd could tell I was a fraud.
I certainly felt like one, anyway.
And after I started teaching bass online, that feeling only got worse.
See, some of my slap-bass lessons have now been viewed by millions of bass players. (One of them has over three million views alone!)
And while the lessons I share in that video are helpful to this day, deep down I still felt like I was “faking it.”
Because getting good enough at a single slap bass riff or trick to play through a 10-minute lesson is one thing.
But mastering slap bass to the point that it becomes a natural extension of your musical identity is something else all together.
And I didn’t even come close.
Worse, I used to hide my embarrassment by saying things like...
“I’m just not a slap player.”
Chances are, you’ve probably heard some of your fellow bass players say these phrases too.
But ask yourself, do you really believe anyone when they say stuff like this?
Or do you recognize these statements for the lame excuses they really are?
Because for the longest time, I thought I could get away with it.
I’m ashamed to admit it. But I was a 43-year-old professional bass player…teaching millions of bass players how to play slap bass online…
Yet I had NO plan to address the “Slap Bass Shame” I had around my own playing.
Until one day, I met someone who changed my bass playing forever.
That someone is Mr. Ian Allison.
Two things happened when I met Ian.
First, I knew we were going to be great friends.
Second, his slap bass playing blew. my. mind.
In fact, I was so inspired by Ian’s slap riffs, I started feebly trying to play more slap bass lines myself.
Plus I also started bombarding Ian with questions about his technique and approach.
With Ian’s help, I saw an instant and meteoric improvement in my slap-bass skills.
And that’s when I decided it was time to finally eradicate my “Slap Bass Shame” once and for all.
So in true Scott Devine fashion, I went ALL-IN.
Like a scientist in a lab, I started to study and dissect how I could master slap bass, faster than anyone ever thought possible.
By now, you probably know that I’m a huge fan of creating systems and frameworks to help make learning the bass faster, easier, and more efficient.
That’s kinda “my thing.” (And it’s also what we’ve come to be known for here at SBL.)
So it should be no surprise that it’s exactly what I did when I decided to go all-in and rebuild my slap bass technique from the ground up.
And after spending an entire year almost exclusively focused on my slap bass playing, I have some exciting news to share.
See, whenever people try to learn a new skill — whether it’s slap bass, cooking, or knitting — they tend to focus on too many things at once.
But that only leads to distractions. Which in turn slows their progress to a crawl. Until eventually, they get so frustrated with themselves that they quit.
So if that sounds familiar, don’t worry. You’re not alone.
And I designed the A4 Method to completely eliminate this problem when it comes to learning how to play slap bass.
My “A4 Method” is the key to unlocking your slap bass technique, in a matter of weeks (not years).
Here’s how it works…
Step 1: Assess how many core skills make up the technique you want to master.
I started by assessing the complex technique of “playing slap bass” and breaking it down into its fundamental building blocks.
I discovered there are actually only ten “core skills” you need to master to become a world-class slap bass player. I’ll show them all to you in a moment.
But before I do, let me finish walking through the steps in my A4 Method.
Step 2: Acquire each core skill one-by-one (using a riff-based approach).
Once I identified the 10 core skills for playing slap bass, I focused on acquiring each of them.
The magic of this step in the process is that you can then focus on ONE core skill at a time.
Which means instead of overloading yourself, you stay focused on what actually matters.
And instead of feeling like you’re staring up at Mount Everest, wondering how to get to the top, you will have a crystal-clear roadmap to reach the summit in record time.
But NOT with a bunch of boring, out-of-context exercises.
See, if you only play exercises, you often wind up falling flat on your face when the time comes to play actual music.
Which is why I followed a “riff-based approach” instead.
This way, you master each of the 10 core skills for playing slap bass while playing actual songs. And that allows you to seamlessly break out your new slap-bass skill at your next gig or rehearsal.
No more flopping and fumbling during the big show.
Which brings me to the next step in my A4 Method…
Step 3: Assemble each core skill into one seamless whole.
After I felt comfortable with the next core slap-bass skill on my list, I had to assemble it with the rest of the skills I had already mastered.
On top of using a riff-based approach, this is another way I made sure I could seamlessly use the new slap-bass skills I had at my disposal.
Think of it like building a house. Each core skill is a brick. And as you master each skill, you stack it on top of the previous bricks. Until you have an unshakeable wall of slap-bass mastery.
And that’s where the last step in my A4 Method comes in…
Step 4: Analyze the greats to expand your mind and increase your vocabulary.
As I mastered the core slap-bass skills, I wanted to make sure I didn’t get stuck in any ruts. So along the way, I took some time to expand my mind about all the amazing riffs and fills I could play using my newfound slap-bass skills.
And the best way to do that is to analyze legendary slap-bass players to inspire your own playing.
See, I believe we learn music the same way we learn language.
And just like you learned your first language by listening and absorbing the vocabulary of the people around you…
When it comes to playing slap bass, I believe the best way to inspire your own playing is to absorb the “slap bass vocabulary” from legends like Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, Flea, and Victor Wooten.
The results of my A4 Method exceeded my wildest dreams.
Not only did following the A4 Method eradicate my “Slap Bass Shame” and make me fall in love with slap bass all over again…
It took my slap-bass skills to a level I never thought possible.
And I’m not alone. Take a look at what some of your fellow bass players have said about their results after using the A4 Method…
INTRODUCING
Interactive Edition
The only course that uses my A4 Method to walk you step-by-step from the fundamentals of slap bass to advanced double-thumbing and ghost notes — faster than you ever thought possible.
Before you go any further, here’s an outlandish promise…
If you enroll and disagree, I’ll give you all your money back. No questions asked.
That’s how proud I am of this program.
And the truth is, I could never have done it alone…
See, after Ian inspired me to fix my Slap Bass Shame, I knew I had to get him to join me as an instructor for this course.
Which is why, for the first time ever, this Accelerator course is co-hosted by myself and Ian.
Because if it were not for Ian, his incredible bass playing, and his guidance along my own slap-bass journey…this course wouldn’t even exist in the first place.
Claim your spot in the Slap Accelerator before time runs out to join this exclusive Interactive Edition of the program.
Slap Accelerator Interactive gives you extra hands-on guidance and support during all 12 weeks of the course…without paying an extra penny.
You’ll have vetted SBL instructors inside the course platform to help answer questions and provide additional guidance throughout the entire program.
With the Slap Accelerator you get…
A step-by-step roadmap to play slap bass like a pro, using the A4 Method I created to turbo charge my own slap-bass playing.
During my own slap-bass journey, I assessed that there are just 10 core skills you need to master to play slap bass like a pro.
Slap Accelerator gives you a simple, step-by-step roadmap for mastering each of these 10 core skills. That way, you can avoid distractions and focus on the skill that will allow you to make the most progress — in the fastest amount of time.
This course will give you an unshakeable slap bass foundation.
In order to get you playing some awesome slap bass lines, we’ll first show you how to get your gear dialled-in, with things like string height and tone settings.
This ensures you're set up for success and won’t struggle because of a simple gear issue, which could have been fixed in a few minutes had you known about it.
Develop solid technique through a steady, step-by-step progression
We’ll walk you step-by-step through the fundamentals of great slap technique.
Then we’ll get into all the cool advanced stuff that you probably want to play. Like fret-hand slapping, ghost notes, and crazy double-thumbing in the style of Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten.
Easy-to-follow riff-based lessons for all levels
Each and every lesson in Slap Accelerator is short, simple, and easy to digest. Plus we also give you access to the exact same riffs I used to “internalize” each of the 10 core skills using a riff-based approach.
That way, it’s easy (and fun!) to Acquire each of the 10 core skills and Assemble them into a natural extension of your playing.
On top of that, we also give you options to make the exercises in Slap Accelerator easier (or harder!) based on your skill level. That way, you’ll be able to choose the most appropriate exercise for your current ability.
Engaging song projects to fast-track your progress
Working on a bunch of out-of-context exercises can quickly get boring so we've given you some super-fun song projects to keep you excited, engaged, and help you make progress at warp-speed.
That way, you will be able to see and feel your progress through the course — because you’re actually playing music.
Play-along technique breakdowns for 4 slap bass icons
Finally, we’ve dedicated four weeks of the course to Analyzing the techniques for some of the world’s greatest slap-bass players — Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, and Flea.
We’ll highlight the closely guarded secrets to their amazing slap tone. And we’ll show you how you can begin to take inspiration from their genius to expand your own vocabulary.
12 printable lesson workbooks
Get access to printable PDF worksheets in both tab and standard notation, for every single exercise and musical example in the entire course.
That way, you can continue to work on the Slap Accelerator material, even if you’re away from your computer.
Includes Lifetime Access
Even though the Slap Accelerator course is 12 weeks, depending on your current skill level playing slap bass, you may want more time to work through each of the lessons.
That’s why Slap Accelerator comes with lifetime access to the primary course video lessons and workbooks.
Which means you can sign up now and then take your time before you dive in. And you can also pause partway through the course if necessary, before picking up where you left off.
Watch this video to learn about Slap Accelerator in 3 mins
And the best part is, we cover it all in just 12 short weeks…
Instrument & Gear Fundamentals
When you join Slap Accelerator, you will get instant access to our instrument and equipment fundamentals video.
These lessons will walk you through everything you need to know to make sure your bass and gear are set up for you to have success in the rest of the course. (Including a lot of things that even more experienced players may miss — like the height of your strings!)
Core Skill #1 — Thumbing
In week one, we’ll cover the most foundational technique for playing slap bass: your thumb. This is where it all starts!
We’ll walk you through exercises to improve your aim, timing, and how to progress from playing on two strings to using them all — and even skipping strings.
Core Skill #2 — Pops
Week two will cover the second core skill for playing slap bass — pops. We’ll show you which intervals are your best friends when playing pops. Plus we’ll also show you how to mix slaps and pops to start building out your slap style.
Play-Along Technique Breakdown — Larry Graham
Week three will introduce our first play-along technique breakdown for a slap bass icon. This one focuses on the legendary Larry Graham — who is credited with being the person who invented the slap bass technique.
Core Skill #3 — Thumb Ghost Notes
Week four will bring us back to the 10 core slap-bass skills that are the backbone of this course. This time, we’ll cover thumb ghost notes — including both isolating this technique and then adding intervals across a variety of common chord progressions.
Core Skill #4 — Hammers & Pulls
Week five will focus on the core slap-bass skill of using hammer-ons and pull-offs to add articulations to your playing. We’ll give you specific exercises for each one on its own, and then show you how to combine them to create even cooler slap grooves.
Play-Along Technique Breakdown — Flea
Week six is our second play-along technique breakdown for a slap bass icon. This time, we’ll show you the slap-bass secrets that Flea uses to create some of the most catchy and popular slap-bass lines of all time.
Total Guitar magazine called their cover of Higher Ground “the second greatest cover of all time” — thanks in large part to Flea’s iconic slap-bass parts. And Scott is going to walk you through three bass riffs in the Chili Pepper’s style during this week’s play-along technique breakdown.
Core Skills #5 to #7— Slides, Stings & Fret Slaps
Week 7 will cover three more of the core slap-bass skills. We’ll dive into three advanced articulation techniques: slides, stings, and fret-hand slaps. And we’ll show you exercises to dial-in each one — plus how to stack them together to expand your slap-bass vocabulary even more.
Core Skill #8 — Open Hammer Pluck
Week 8 will focus on the open hammer pluck. This technique is super percussive — allowing you to create thundering slap-bass grooves that can lock in with the drums…or even replace them!
Play-Along Technique Breakdown — Marcus Miller
Week 9 is our third play-along technique breakdown for a slap bass icon. This time, we’ll show you the slap-bass secrets of the great Marcus Miller. (Or as some of you know him: “The Thumbslinger”.)
Marcus Miller remains one of the most recognised bassists on the planet, thanks in large part to his jaw-dropping technical ability. And he’s performed with a “who’s-who” list of musical icons — including Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, Wayne Shorter and Chaka Khan.
Core Skill #9 — Double Pops
Week 10 will cover the second-to-last core skill you need to become a killer slap-bass player. We’ll work through double pops starting using ghost notes. Then we will progress to double pops and double pop stops.
Core Skill #10 — Double Thumbing
Week 11 will cover the last core skill you need to master playing slap bass. We’ll walk you through what many people consider the most challenging slap technique of all — double thumbing. And we’ll give you step-by-step exercises you can use to nail this tricky technique in no time.
Play-Along Technique Breakdown — Victor Wooten
Week 12 is our final play-along technique breakdown for a slap bass icon. This time, we’ll show you the slap-bass secrets of the man who many consider to be the greatest slap-bass player — and innovator — of all time: Victor Wooten.
His polyrhythmic tapping and slapping parts have been making heads spin for more than three decades. And we’ll reveal how you can begin to replicate Vic’s slap style and technique in this play-along technique breakdown.
Which means by the end of this course, you'll be able to...
Dereck N. (Slap Accelerator Student)
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear the next time it opens
Join now to access your exclusive bonuses before enrollment closes & the price goes up for good…
The Essential Slap Bass Riff Collection
Your first bonus gift is The Essential Slap Bass Riff Collection. It shows you how to...
...play 30 hand-picked slap riffs that will reinforce your technique … expand your musical vocabulary … and also wow your bandmates when you break them out at your next jam session.
The Collection has slap-bass riffs for all skill levels. And I even included 10 backing tracks so you can enjoy working on these riffs while playing along with a full band.
Now if we sold this program on its own, we would charge at least $85.00. But like I said, you can enjoy instant access for free when you join Slap Accelerator before the timer on this page reaches zero.
And that’s just the start.
The Ultimate Practice Course For Bassists
This 6-lesson mini workshop shows you how to squeeze twice the results out of your practice routine — in half the time. In The Ultimate Practice Course For Bassists, you’ll discover…
- How you can make virtually everything you practice “stick” right away — simply by adopting the mindset of your local seamstress…
- Why the most important part of your practice routine actually has nothing to do with playing…and everything to do with writing…
- Plus a whole lot more…
So the value for this course is easily $97.00.Yet once again, you can get it for no cost when you claim your spot in The Slap Accelerator before time expires.
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear the next time it opens
Slap Accelerator is brought to you by an incredible team of world-class educators you won't find anywhere else...
And is the first ever course to be co-hosted by Scott Devine and Ian Martin Allison.
Scott Devine
Scott has been a professional bassist and bass educator for over 20 years, and has spent the last decade teaching bass online. In that time, he’s helped an audience of more than one million bass players from around the world. So there’s no one better at teaching the bass online than he is.
He’s worked with artists such as George Fame, Dennis Rollins, Martin Simpson, Adrian Ingram, Gary Boyle and The Drifters.
Ian Martin Allison
Ian is a world-class session musician with a huge heart for education.
A former music college professor and an outstanding instructor in his own right, he's worked with artists such as Eric Hutchinson, Cory Wong, Scary Pockets, LANY, Ondara, Gavin Degraw, John Legend, Eric Paslay, Jeremy Messersmith and Soul Asylum.
The Slap Accelerator curriculum was designed alongside our Head of Educational Content, Eric Wills.
Eric has over a decade of experience creating music training programs, and has worked with everyone from Pearl Jam, to Billy Sheehan, to The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Covering the same material with a private bass tutor would cost you at least $1,200.00
Slap Accelerator contains more than 24 hours of lessons with two of the best bass instructors on the planet.
Which means if you pay the common rate of $50.00 for a one-hour lesson with a private bass tutor…
You’d have to spend $1,200.00 to cover the same amount of material included in Slap Accelerator.
But don’t worry. You can join Slap Accelerator today for a fraction of that.
Just one easy payment of $197 gives you access to the entire Slap Accelerator course.
Plus you also get the extra support from this Interactive edition of the course for no additional cost.
You can also try the first 30 days of the course totally risk-free.
Slap Accelerator is backed by the world-renowned SBL 30-day, total-satisfaction guarantee.
So if you don’t love everything about the Slap Accelerator program, just let our friendly student success team know within 30 days of the start of the course. We’ll give you a fast and full refund for every cent you paid. No questions asked.
But Hurry! Time is running out to join this Interactive Edition of Slap Accelerator
And once the timer on this page reaches zero, the doors for this edition of the course will slam shut — forever.
Also, we won’t be opening another Interactive edition for this course until at least 2025. (And it might be even longer.)
Which means if you don’t act now, you may be forced to spend the next year — or more — living under the cloud of your “slap bass shame.”
And trust me, that’s not a fun place to be. (I know from experience!)
So don’t miss your one and only chance to join Slap Accelerator Interactive this year.
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear the next time it opens
Student Feedback
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Here’s everything you’re about to unlock…
Become a slap bass beast in just 12 short weeks with simple, easy-to-follow, and fun weekly lessons, artist breakdowns, interactive support and more.
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear the next time it opens
Frequently Asked Questions
You get lifetime access to the entire Slap Accelerator program when you sign up now.
The core lessons for Slap Accelerator are delivered as weekly video lessons. So they are not live, and you can work through the material whenever it is convenient for you.
Every week, you get access to a new series of lessons and exercises. Most of them will walk you through one (or more) of the 10 core skills you need to become a great slap-bass player. But we’ve also included four play-along technique breakdowns of slap bass icons and four livestream video sessions where you can get answers to your biggest slap-bass questions.
We’ve designed each lesson to be short and easy-to-digest. So you should be able to make massive progress while spending just 15-30 minutes per day, five days per week on the programme. That is at most two and a half hours per week — and as little as an hour and 15 minutes.
Enrollment to this Interactive edition of Slap Accelerator closes on Friday, 12 July, 2024.
Slap Accelerator is backed by the 30-day, total-satisfaction guarantee from SBL. That means if you don’t love everything about the programme, just reach out to our friendly and responsive student success team. They will give you a prompt and courteous refund of the full purchase price — no questions asked.
Join the waitlist to be the first to hear the next time it opens