Hey guys, welcome back to another lesson. Today, I am going to talk to you about one of the most popular rhythmic techniques on the guitar. It’s called the thumb slap technique. 

I am sure you probably know how to use this technique, and many guitar players use it instinctively. However, there are a lot of guitar players who struggle to get it right, so in this video, I am going to break down the thumb slap technique and show you exactly how to use it. 

We call it thumb slap because it’s a technique performed with the thumb. We slap the strings with the side of the thumb so that they snap against the fretboard. 

There are three things you should follow to get the perfect slap sound. 

• 1. Strike the string with the side of the thumb, and not with the front. 
• 2. Always strike the string linked with the bass note. 
• 3. Keep the movement natural. It’s ok if you miss a few slaps. 

The primary purpose of the thumb slap is to reproduce the sound of a snare drum, which is, by the way, the most important part of the drum. 

Usually, the snare drum plays the second and fourth beat of a song, which are the beats responsible for the groove. For this reason, we have to perform this technique on the second and fourth beat. 

I did my best to keep things simple. However, this is a beginner technique. Take it step-by-step.

Enjoy the lesson.