Tapping

For our 3rd lesson, we're going to go into detail on another frequently visited and asked about technique, tapping. To understand and be good at tapping, you have to understand and be good at doing hammer ons and pull offs with your fretting hand. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are formally referred to as "slurs" in music theory. A slur is when the musician plays two notes consecutively with only one pluck of the string. A hammer on is a slur that ascends from a low fret to a high fret and a pull off is a slur in the opposite direction, going from a high note to a low note.

Traditionally, guitarists perform slurs with their fretting hand. However, in tapping we do slurs with our picking hand and we don't pluck the string at all. We use the force of the string hitting the fret to cause the string to vibrate. You can do this with your fretting hand as well. Fret any fret with your 1st finger and do a hammer on to another fret with your 3rd finger. Do it hard enough so that you procduce a note. Then pull your 3rd finger off and hammer on again repeatedly. This is the same concept as tapping. We can visualize and practice this concept in the following example:

D|-5h7p5h7p5h7p5h7p5h7-

Now play the exact same pattern, except this time hammer on the 7th fret using the middle finger of your picking hand. I suggest using your middle finger because this allows you to hold your pick between your thumb and index finger as you normally would so that you can switch from a picking riff to a tap without letting go of your pick.

We can also tap using the edge of your pick. It helps, in this case, to use a thick pick although a thin pick will work. Hold your pick between your thum and index finger and hold it on it's side. Use the side of the pick to hammer down on a fret. This is usually easier for beginners as they generally haven't developed calouses on their picking fingers yet, though I do suggest practicing with your fingers to develop the strength and calouses. Now let's spice things up a bit with an excercise. The following example is an arpeggio of Am to F progression. t means to tap on that fret.

E|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B|-t17-13p10-t17-13p10-t17-13p10-t17-13p10------------------------------------------
G|------------------------------------------t17-14p10-t17-14p10-t17-14p10-t17-14p10-
D|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What we're doing here is tapping on the first note and then using our fretting finger to do a pull off on two notes lower. As you can see by this example, tapping allows us to do triplets or quadruplets over a very large range of notes on the fret board, where normal slurs would be either very difficult or in some cases impossible. We don't have to pull offs after the tap. In this example we simply tap and release. The tap itself is a pull of. So we just play two notes at a time rather than three:

E|-t12p7-t12p8-t12p10-t12p8-t12p7-t12p5-t12p3-t12p5--
B|---------------------------------------------------

Play this riff over and over and it sounds as if we were playing just the pull off notes but with a high root note in the back ground. We fret the low note and tap on the high note, then release. It's the exact same concept as our first example except we're playing a little melody in this case. We can also traverse down a string using taps and pull-offs ala Van Halen style. The following riff would be good to end a solo with:

E|-t17-15p13-t15-13p12-t13-12p10-t12-10p8-t10-8p7-t8-7p5-t7-5p4-4h5

- Garett Spencley (http://www.mp3.com/garett_spencley)

Comments

[SLASH SNAKEPIT]

hello again
I think you have to practice more with your fingers first?! Iam a beginner so I cant tap 2 but Iam practicing ma finger till they start 2 bleed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! man now iam playing quite fast!!!!!!!!!! now its time 2 prac on taping!!!

[SLASH SNAKEPIT]

for me

[the_negro_puppy]

To be good at tapping, first you must master the art of hammer ons and pull offs, for good tapping use distorted elec guitar!

[SLASH SNAKEPIT]

I can the art of hammer on and pull offs
can u??
maybe u can teatch me how to tap!? cool nick name the negro puppy

[SLASH SNAKEPIT]

this is good man
Now I can tap

[SLASH SNAKEPIT]

thanx 2 u who wrote this!!!

[ZeroX]

i still don't get how to tap, it's too confuscing,please anyone teach me step buy step! e-mail it to me :[e-mail]

[Lainey]

I can tap now, but only because I've been playing classical since I was 7 and I learnt how to slur when I was 10. I'm grade 5, but anyone else who isn't as good as someone like me will find this very hard to understand. The examples are too hard for beginners.

[Jericho_13]

tapping is soooooooo fricken easy, just start slow. just pick a string, and hit 12 with your index finger, 15 with your ring finger, and then try 19 with the side edge of the pick. and just repeat that in slow-mo

[the fendernator]

(yes oswald) . that made my day. i have such a sad life
i'll start learning the harpsicord now

[superfrood2000]

this is quite a good lesson apart from the bit about what chords are arpeggiated. that's totally wrong - in One it goes Em C Bm G Am F and then the Em descending thingy. otherwise handy hints

[chriswanker]

If you're struggling with the pull offs, i suggest exxagerating the hell out of the pull off, and don't just lift your finger, you need to almost bend the string down (towards the ground, not towards the bridge) to get the notes articulated. Once you get it, it's a nice trick.

[redhotpeppers1]

tappins eay without this crap, im 12 and can do the tap solos in darkness perfectly

[redhotpeppers1]

lol

[TRANAISGOOD311]

i dont get tapping

[PapeR CuTTT]

*** too confusing but ill get the hang of it

[PapeR CuTTT]

why does it put 3 stars for fukc instead of 4????

[la bamba]

hey very nice

ug stranger fuck u

[Phrekwenci]

Hey man, the link http://www.mp3.com/garett
_spencley
does not work...you think you can post another link to where you post you music in plz...

[ajhmou812]

i am already very proficient at tapping complex patterns at 200bpm and i thought this was a very good lesson even for intermediate level players. I am stuck at a point where i haven't gotten any better at this in about 2 months... where can i go for more advanced tapping lessons?

[decky1990]

I can hammer on and off pretty well but I can never seem to hear my starting tap. 2 noted taps r hard

[jam_man]

nice lesson sounds mad

[Eggy331]

i love the sound tapping makes. oddly, the first song i ever tapped to was system of a down's IEAIAIO o.O very good lesson. 5 stars

[shizaman]

god this lesson sucked ass that was a *ucking waste of 15 minutes god DAMN

[CptMorgan]

this lesson didnt really help me out much but its also the first lesson I've read on tapping I just don't get it, im a little slow after practice. Thanks for the help anyway.

(They shouldnt let UG strangers post on lessons all they do is spam)

[Pure_Morning]

UG Stranger is a registered UG user (i think) he should be banned.

[MikeLikes2Rock]

I'm horrible at tapping, hopefully this will help a lot.

[metalfanatic]

erm i kinda got tapping but i cant make it loud enough.... but the lessons at cyberfret.com really helped me 2. they also had a video on it

[myfellowrocker]

ok *** (phuck) doesnt work i think all these little goddam pussys who say i dont get it are godam queers man its easy im 13 and i can ***in play parts of eruption to perfection

[myfellowrocker]

oh by the way if tapping is too hard for you then DONT PLAY THE F IN GUITAR

[MikeLikes2Rock]

YES! This has helped me so much. I'm already picking this up super fast. By the end of this week I'll be a pro.

[ninja_bunny]

ooo.. k

[ninja_bunny]

[inzaneguitarist]

Dude i can tap on acoustic and i'm 12 and i've been playing for 5 months so TRY HARDER!!!..

[Slasriani]

awwww do cant da diddums tap...awwww....i dunno y ur complaining people, if ur faming him 4 tryin 2 teach your crappy arse you must be really screwed up nd jelous. i can do it nd im 14, gt ova it u imature twats. o nice article btw!

[BoredSheep01]

this helped alot kudos to the author. sounds phucking awesome after only fifteen minutes, and im only 14

[phil5000]

tapping is so frickin easy. I pretty much taught myself how to do it. but this helped with the exercises. Great.

[crazee201]

what? i dont understand this article..jumping everywhere

[malkomx]

nice

[bontypunky]

I always knew how to tap...
but never knew that it is called tapping doing

[NovemberRain273]

tapping is so friggin easy, i learned how in like 30 min, by myself. Just keep ur left index finger on a fret, and then start slow, tap with ur pick, release, then ur left middle finger, release, and repeat. slowly pick up the pace and soon ur done. in 30 min i could play those awesome fast solos by metallica. its simple.

[NovemberRain273]

and u dont need to be playing for a long time either, ive been playing guitar for 5 monthes and i taught myself how to play, and im only 14. trust me its not as hard as it seems.

[freebay]

Hi guys Could u plz 1st of all tell me how to read the tabs scale. My eamil [e-mail]. thks

[DaveMustaine]

hooray now i can tap. its not as hard as it seems, only been playin half a year and im 13 so hell if i can do it anyone can

[Carl the Mo$her]

i fink this is a great lesson for starters

[Deftone]

hey everybody should go learn the tapping part to "Aerodynamic" by Daft Punk... i didnt even bother to learn how to tap till i heard that song.

[bonus_viii]

[add45]

Why do we care about all ur ages? "I'm 13 and i can tap blah blah blah" SO WHAT? this isnt about you, this is about tapping, i mean instead of bragging, why not give simple criticism to the author?

[Slash Rules]

you got a good point add45 who actually cares how old you are or what you can do? I could do it straight away but whos actually interested? Some people find it more difficult but with pratice you will get it

[space_ace_1000]

Thx a lot!!!! It really helped me. I gave you a ten

[samophlange2]

i haven't read all of the posts but i have read a few where someone was saying that when they tap it sounds too soft or not loud enough. i can't speak for acoustics because i have never really ever played one, but for electric guitars, one of the most important things to do to achieve a better sound for tapping is to set the "action" as low as possible. for those who don't know, the action is just a fancy way of saying the "string height" or the distance between the frets and the string, when the string is not pressed down of course. the lower the action, the less pressure you have to apply to the string to get it to sound. so for all of you who are pounding away i have always been told that if your action at the 12th fret is greater then the thickness of a penny, then you should have your action lowered a bit. you can lower your string action at the bridge by playing around with the string saddle height adjustment screws and also to a smaller degree by adjusting your truss rod, although, if you do not know how to adjust your truss rod or you don't know what a truss rod is... hire a good repairmen/tech to do this for you. but eventually, as a guitar player, you wanna know how to do some of this for yourself. keep in mind that there are a lot of things to consider when setting up your guitar for tapping.... string height, neck straightness, fret condition and some other things i can't think up right now. i guess my point to this whole things is that technique alone won't make your tapping sound as good as it would on guitar thats set up properly. oh and yeah, it's always best to turn the distortion down some. that way you can hear your mistakes better when you are playing. and start s-l-o-w-l-y, and build up the strength in your pinkies, keep your hands loose but firm, breath, and ummmmm....thats all i got. happy tappin'. hope this helps.

[SGwieldingman]

If you struggle with volume or cannot sustain tapping for more than a few measures, experiment with the angle at which you pull your fingers away from the string. For advanced players, go to Google Video and search Buckethead. Watch the interview from guitar one magazine. He demonstrates a very cool technical variation on double tapping.

[hylian_231]

this helped me alot, thanks to the author, it really answered a few questions i had on tapping..

Keep on writing these sorta things, they really help.

Cheers.

[sailormoonfan87]

isnt tapping where you slap your right hand on to the sound hole/strings part ??? or where you slap it onto the guitar????

[Taipumaton]

Really great article. I rated it nine. Really well done.

[LORD V4DER]

I think it needs to be clarified that after you tap a note with your right hand, you're supposed to flick the string slightly as you pull off. Just flick your finger downward as you release the note and it will keep the string's vibration strong so your tapped notes will stay nice and loud. Also, tapping is pointless and inaudible without distortion of some kind.

[MitchGuitar12]

Dude thx i can play the crazy train solo perfect now

[rocker151]

dude, i could slightly tap already , but now im gr8. i can do the tapping stuff from guitarshredshow.com now. hehe cheers

[rocker151]

oh btw could u do a lesson focusing how to crate ur own tappin licks?

[markieee]

Nice lesson :O helped me a lot

[all_the_rage]

thnx dude, im a lot better now

[Noscalingforyou]

lmfao. i thought tapping was confusing, and i thought i didnt get it. but ive been doing it without knowing. now to learn the tapping lick in bat country -_-

[travman_401]

inzaneguitarist wrote:

Dude i can tap on acoustic and i'm 12 and i've been playing for 5 months so TRY HARDER!!!..

You must be god!

[xlukex]

great lesson

[itsallforsami5]

Dude this is freakin awesome now i can tap!!!

[last_vampire16]

I just want to say thanks to all these people who care about beginners like me... writing these lessons make my life so much easer... also thanks to the guy who made GUITAR PRO!!!... hahaha... now, that's a genius!!!

[I'm a real boy]

I don't mean to show off or intrude but i've been playing for 1 year, im thirteen, i play zeppelin sabbath and metallica solos and other stuff and this guy is probably thirty and has been playing for ever and he got tapping wrong! Everybody, this is how you do it.

b-t17-p13-p10-h13-t17-p13
-p10-h13

That is the right way to do it. Believe me my teacher plays metal and has taught me everything I know.

[Collectallfive]

If you really want to see a great tapping or finger picking artist, check out Sam Zurick of Make Believe or for just tapping, Dave Knudson of Minus the Bear. Anybody can tap out a solo, but these guys make it a ****ing art form.

[jamesdjharrod]

This is really helpful, but I could already tap like Van Halen with my eyes closed. I haven't been playing long, but play until my fingers are little more than a red pulp attached to my hands. But this lesson does help for Crazy Train, as someone mentioned before. Also, do you prefer one or two handed tapping?

[thrashmaster500]

YAY! tapping is fun!

[Vanilla Custard]

thrashmaster500 wrote:

YAY! tapping is fun!

Yes it is, great lesson

[oscart]

do I need to have any effetcts on the guitar when I'm tapping?

[oscart]

do I need any guitar effects to tap? it doesn't work for me.

[XanTscia]

no, you need practice

[Sezec]

oscart

[Sezec]

[mr_flub]

wow uuuh.. i kinda dont get it.
i 13 so well help me I WANNA TAP!!!
my msn addy is [e-mail]
so add me and help me!!1!

[mr_flub]

oscart wrote:

do I need to have any effetcts on the guitar when I'm tapping?

distortion helps + delay effect if you got it would be wick

[-metalhead-]

LOOK! if youre a total beginner, dont start tapping!!!
wait till youre more experienced!
And what the **** is so goddamn difficult with hammer-ons and pull-offS?

Anyways love this lesson dude, you just learned me how to tap.
Brilliant

[underground48]

practice hammer ons and pull offs alot before you attempt tapping

[Ali-b912]

lol at the kids saying they can tap. yes youi learned classical, therefore u can tap easily and if u didnt learn classical, u probably have perfect pitch or are insane. if none of teh above applies to you then you are full of shit. geusss what im 15 and i cant tap! but this lesson and several others on UG will be helpful in teaching me. if u already know how to tap, dont look up lessons on how to and then bitch at people who cant.

[Alix Withani]

Mostly useful this lesson. I was looking for more depth, as I read most of this out of a book a short while ago. Could do with some harder exercises. It is infuriating some of the responses on here, that are about as helpful and encouraging as a poke in the eye.
To correct 'I'm a real boy' who stated that to tap you want to go B-t17-p13-p10-h13... yes that is tapping, but you are hammering on after pulling off for the ten and thus playing 4 notes where the lesson says to play 3. All you are effectively doing is making the exercise harder.
Hammer-ons and pull-offs are easy. Tapping is relatively easy once you can do that. It just comes down to practice to get the speed and making sure you are playing in time and that all the notes are clear.

[skate_guitar]

I learned to tap ascending the notes.
--5h8t12-- I just flick on the 12th fret to ring the note on the 5th fret, hammer into the 8th, tap and flick on the 12th, and hammer into 8th again. I found it easier to do this till i got the concept before trying to descend --t12p8p5--.

[skate_guitar]

Plus I think if you DON'T use distortion is helps you play cleaner as you learn.

[Sinnessjukdomen]

I'm sorry to bother anyone, but I don't understand how to tap something like the One solo. Could anyone help me? Specifically, I don't understand how to do a pulloff after tapping. Could anyone PM me to help?
Cheers and thanks in advance!
~Insanity~

[guitar_freakgr]

listen friend to tap like one solo you must tap with the edge of your pick . actually instead your finger you use the edge of the pick and it sounds different and lots of faster too . dreagonforce is doing that shit all the time

[billytalentROKS]

somebody has gotta write a lesson on 8 finger tapping