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Gaining Higher Ground with Slap & Pop by Rhayn Jooste
The song/lesson for this month is Higher Ground written by Stevie Wonder. It’s inspiration is taken from Marcus Miller’s Marcus album (2008). The key is E min with a brief spells into A mixolydian. (Be aware Marcus de-tunes his bass down a half step, so the original is Eb min). The technique you are aiming for is slap and pop. Your goal is to master the basic pattern and melody. The twist here is to slowly add the sections of rhythmic accompaniment with the melody and improvisations to create a call and response bass solo part. This piece will require only four strings.
Listen to HIGHER GROUND Back Track
Main Groove.
The main groove is a triplet based pop and slap part on the chords Em, G and Am. This can be played in a variety of places on the bass, however here we are going to use 1st position and open strings. The primer should be used to get yourself acquainted with the changes, technique and gaining control over the open strings before heading on to the triplet pattern – a lot there so take it slow. The first three bars are played straight so concentrate on the technique and changes. Once you have nailed those move onto the next 2 bars. These build you up to the triplet feel and the full pop and slap pattern, so concentrate on the rhythms and timing here. The last 2 bars are the full pattern with a cheeky hammer on for interest. There is space for fills at the end of this groove pattern, hence the inclusion of E min pentatonic and the diatonic scale (with Aeolian and Ionian roots marked out). This is where you add in all those cool licks and runs you have stored; try both pop and slapping these ideas as well as plucked. Aim for a smooth R.H transition between these techniques. Good fills can stand to be repeated.
Things to note off the original are Marcus’s clean pops which are very staccato and his strong feel. An idea to steal off the record is his use of percussion for a solo break around the 3′ 31” mark.
Technical bits.
To begin its worth saying that whether you play thumb up or thumb perpendicular, slapping requires a clean hit on the strings with the side of the digit at the right place: end of the fretboard, ideally just after the frets. The right hand wrist should be relaxed as this is the main motor for this movement, with some thumb down movement at the large joint. The more relaxed you are now while learning the better. The pop is in essence a pluck that is almost a by product of the slap. Index or 2nd finger slightly caught under the string however with less force and more finesse. Clarity is the watch word here, if its not clear you’re moving too fast. Remember speed is a by product of technique.
That aside this technique will not sound right with out the right EQ setting (think smiley face) less mid range and more bass and treble. A fair amount of compression will help with evening out the hits, 4:1 plus ratio setting with fast attack and release. (smaller speakers help)
If you want to know where it originated google Larry Graham and find out what innovation is really all about.
Backing Track.
This bass line grooves because of the triplet feel, get that right and you are winning. The main chart starts one bar after the primer with a verse pattern that plays the root notes on the main beats (almost) and then moves into the full slap pattern. The verses have space for your own fill ideas added as bass breaks for interest at the end of sections. Use Em pent and G maj scale to achieve these. The chorus is based on A mixolydian (or key change to D major). Here it is a straight statement of the melody. Aim for good note placement and solid rhythms here; try it up the octave on the repeat. The last verse section is actually a solo part. Here I have added two parts together, melody and pop/slap accompaniment . The idea is to tackle this once you are confident with the other bits above. This could be used as a solo or in a band situation. This is a mere guide line and should be used as staging post for your own improvisation which utilise the Higher Ground groove and melody.
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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