mr dave

my friends and i used to beat on soda cans with our thumbs to toughen them up. once you get the callous in place it'll be fine.

though like almost anything else, less is more. you'll find you get a smoother sound if you use a lighter attack with your plucking hand and turn up your levels a bit.

as for using the style to make riffs/melodies, there's a reason slapping and popping is predominantly found in more aggressive funky disco type stuff. it's mostly about melodically replicating the core drum beat. more often than not you're slapping along with the kick drum and popping with the snare. i can't imagine trying to develop the style as a writing tool to be honest.

i would also be checking out all of littleknowitall's clips if i didn't already know how to slap and pop my ass off hehehe.

__________________
i am the universe