Hello, I'm a guitarist starting the bass, so I don't have any particular problems yet, except this one : when slapping the A string with my thumb, I always hit the E string with it ! Are there any specific exercises to improve my... thumb accuracy?

Question by Greg

Let's look at two things, the thumb angle and the approach. Ok, now place your thumb on the A-string... look at the angle of the thumb compared to the string. Some people have their thumbs pointing toward the ground, and others may have their thumb in an up position pointing to the sky. Try keeping your thumb in between those extremes... try having your thumb parallel to the string. Next, try to hit the string with a twisting approach... your wrist should twist like you're turning a door knob. If you keep the angle and approach in mind, this should improve your slapping accuracy. A good exercise would be to slap each open string once, jumping from string-to-string, skipping strings and such. Always slap cleanly & slowly before you speed up.