Hey folks. I wrote this a bit back when I had some free time, and I'd like to just remind you forumers that this is really, really basic tapping. I'll get into stuff like tapped arpeggios/8-finger taps later on, but there's no point in writing those if this doesn't get good reviews from people.
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Hello there everyone.
This lesson is going to be about a guitar technique that was made quite popular in the 80's, by a certain Edward.
If you haven't guessed by now, it's a personal favorite of mine, Tapping! This first lesson will teach the basics of tapping, and have a few excersizes to practice. Keep in mind this is for people who are just learning to tap, or even those of you who have been playing guitar for some time, and just would like to expand your musical abilities. The more complex tapping technique(s) will be explained in future lessons.
So...what exactly is tapping, anyway?
- Tapping is a guitar (as well as few other instruments, but we're focusing on guitar for now) technique that was made popular in the 80's by Van Halen (mainly).
- You may want to practice what are known as 'Slurs', or Hammer-ons and Pull-offs first. Build up some finger strength, you'll need it later on.
- The main rule of tapping is that you don't pick any notes, you only cause the string to vibrate with your fingers. Traditional Slurs are done with the fretting hand, where as in tapping, they are done by both.
- Let's actually try something on the guitar first. Take the index finger of your fretting hand, and place it on any fret. I'll use the 5th, on the high E string. Then take your third finger on your fretting hand, and hammer-on to the 7th fret. Make it hard enough that it vibrates the string to produce the note. This is essentially tapping, although right now it's just a hammer-on.
Now, pull-off the finger so that only your index is on the 5th fret, making a strong enough pull to produce the note. Practice this, and try to build up a bit of finger strength. Practice this with all your different fingers. Get some speed going as well.
You're probably asking yourself 'that's tapping? with just one hand?' Well, no. Now, instead of your third finger of your fretting hand, use your index or middle of your picking hand to hammer-on and pull-off on the 7th fret. Make sure to keep your pick in your picking hand, though. After awhile when you go to tap, it'll just be that you'll place it wherever it's comfortable in your hand until you stop tapping. I can't tell you where, because it's a different spot for everyone.
Tapping with your pick is optional, but I suggest just using your fingers. This way you build up finger strength, accuracy, and calouses.
Now lets combine a tap, with a pull-off. Place your index finger on the 10th fret of the B string, your third finger on the 13th, and then tap with a finger of your choice on your picking hand on the 17th fret, and descend, as shown; the 't' indicates the note to tap:
.....t..................t...................t...................t.................
B-17-13-p-10--17-13-p-10--17-13-p-10--17-13-p-10
Practice this, and try to switch some fingers around to get a feel for tapping.
The main advantage of tapping is that doing Slurs this way, makes things that would normally be very difficult, or even impossible to reach, very easy to do.
Now we're going to go back a bit to what we discussed before, in our little strength-building excersize, except now we're going to tap the 7th fret, not hammer-on and pull-off with our fretting hand as well.
.......t.....t......t.....t.....t
E-5-7-5-7-5-7-5-7-5-7-
Now, that seems just a little too easy, doesn't it? now try something like this;
...t..........t..........t..........t..........t.........t..........t..........t........
E-7-p-3--7-p-2--7-p-3--7-p-5--7-p-3--7-p-2--7-p-3--7-p-5-
You can also experiment and move things around a little bit, just like this;
....t.........t..........t..........t.........t..........t..........t..........t........
E-8-p-5--8-p-3--8-p-5--8-p-7--8-p-5--8-p-3--8-p-5--8-p-7-
Just experiment around with different patterns, and see what types of things you can come up with on your own.
I suggest plugging in and practicing this with some Overdrive/Distortion, so you can catch some more mistakes you might not here as much playing unplugged or on a clean amp setting.
It may help if you detune your guitar a step or so, so there won't be as much tension and it'll be easier for you to learn.
That's all for now, and another tapping lesson will come soon!
-- Buckethead of
http://www.123guitartabs.com