Like Figure 1b, Figure 2b has you moving this pattern over to all of the other strings. The goal is to make all the notes sound at the same volume, and you’ll need to listen critically as you play, to determine if you’re tapping and hammering with sufficient force and pushing/pulling-off correctly. Repeat the process with another tap, push/pull-off and hammer-on, and proceed to chain together the three notes into a continuous, unbroken loop while gradually increasing speed. These three notes together comprise an eighth-note triplet. Now that you've gotten a handle on the basic tapping technique, let’s add one note with the fret hand in order to sound a three-note combination known as a triplet, which is the most common melodic “shape” used when tapping.Īfter tapping and pushing-off (or pulling-off) to the open string, we’re going to hammer a fingertip from the fret hand down onto the string in a movement similar to the pick-hand tap.Īs shown in Figure 2a, start with a tap at the 12th fret on the high E string, push- or pull-off to sound the open E note, and then hammer the tip of your fret hand’s index finger onto the string at the 7th fret, sounding a B note. As shown in Figure 1b, begin by tapping and pushing off twice to sound four 16th notes on beat 1, repeat this four-note sequence three more times for beats 2 through 4, then move the process over to the next lower string. The next step is to try doing the same thing on the other five strings. The best way to get started with this technique is to tap your pick hand’s 1st or 2nd finger onto the high E string at the 12th fret, push-off (or pull-off) in order to sound the open E note, then repeat the sequence in a continuous loop, gradually increasing speed, as illustrated in Figure 1a. This technique essentially accomplishes the same thing as a fret-hand pull-off, which is to keep the string vibrating by yanking it slightly sideways before releasing it. When releasing the tapped note, the finger should flick the string slightly sideways, either in a downward or upward direction, so as to pluck the string slightly as the tapping finger releases it. As regards what to do with the pick, you have three options: 1) continue to hold it, 2) tuck it into your palm, or 3) let go of it temporarily, by either putting it down or clasping it between your lips (seriously). Whichever finger you choose to tap with, I recommend resting your pick hand’s thumb on the top side of the guitar neck (near the low E string) in order to provide some stability and a tactile point of reference for the hand while tapping.ĭoing this also enables you to palm to mute the lower strings to prevent them from ringing sympathetically as you tap. Keep the tapping finger pressed against the string and fretboard so that the note continues to ring. To produce an audible tone, the tap should be firm and, just like a hammer-on, land behind the fret (to the left of it, if you’re a right-handed player). As illustrated in Figure 1a, use the tip of one of your pick-hand fingers – most players use either their index or middle finger – and tap the high E string at the 12th fret in order to sound a high E note. Let's begin with the simplest tapping technique of all: applying a single tap with the pick hand.

(Be sure to Google “Amateur Guitarist Vittorio Camardese Displays Two-Handed Tapping Technique in 1965.”) Let us also not forget Steve Hackett, Roy Smeck, Dave Bunker (check out Dave Bunker on Ozark Jubilee Circa 1960 below) and Vittorio Camardese, whose circa-1965 two-hand tapping caused quite a stir when we shared a video on GuitarWorld back in 2013.

In truth, fretboard tapping techniques can be traced back to earlier centuries: violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini used similar techniques on the violin during the early 1800s, and a tapping-like technique known as selpe was used in traditional Turkish folk music.Įxamples of the tapping on electric guitar can be found throughout the 20th century, such as late-'60s guitarist Randy Resnick’s attempt to approximate saxophone great John Coltrane’s “sheets of sound” in his work with John Mayall, jazz/rock pioneer Harvey Mandel’s employment of the technique on many of his records, and avant garde genius Frank Zappa’s tapping with the edge of the pick during his solo in Inca Roads ( One Size Fits All, 1975).

Ultimate pen tapping