Tapping: Basic and Advanced Techniques Guitar Lesson

Chapter 1: (01:32) Intro Brace yourselves for Lead Guitar Lesson 6! Dennis begins by playing several brief examples using multi-finger tapping. Excerpts include:

- an original etude
- "Touch of Blue" by Stanley Jordan
- "Castle Theme" from Super Mario Bros., by Koji Kondo
- "Star Power" from Super Mario Bros., by Koji Kondo

Tapping is used most often in rock and metal, but if used tastefully can fit in other genres, including country and modern jazz/fusion. Johnny Hiland is a noted country guitarist who isn't afraid to tap, and Stanley Jordan's name is synonymous with multi-finger tapping in a jazz setting. See "Lesson 11: Satriani Inspired Tapping" in Kris Norris' series for a long list of tappers.

Tapping is also popular with contemporary acoustic guitarists, going back to Michael Hedges, and including Andy McKee, Kaki King, and JamPlay's own Erik Mongrain (that's right, he's ours now).

Lesson Contents

As with the sweeping lesson, Dennis starts with basic tapping maneuvers and progresses to more advanced techniques. Simple exercises are provided to introduce each technique.

It is important to remember that even though all this material is presented within 39 minutes, that doesn't mean you will master everything by the end of the lesson. Take your time with each exercise and make sure you are comfortable while playing. Be very aware of any tension throughout the body, especially the jaw, neck, shoulders, and arms. Chapter 2: (09:41) Basics Pt. 1 Dennis starts by quickly explaining the basic idea behind tapping, which is both hands are used to hammer onto the fretboard. He then discusses some different methods for the right hand, including tapping with the middle finger, index finger, or pick. The merits of each are different; whether you use the index or middle finger depends on how you hold the pick and using the pick results in a stronger, crisper attack. If you are using a finger, make sure you aren't throwing your whole hand at the guitar! Just as with left hand hammer-ons, you should keep the right hand stable and move only the tapping finger.

Exercise 1 (02:35)

In this Van Halen-esque tapping move, the right hand initiates the sound by using a finger or the pick to hammer-on at the 12th fret on the high E (1st string). The left hand index finger should already be holding the 5th fret on the same string. Then a pull-off is performed from the 12th fret (with the right hand finger or pick) to the 5th fret (left hand index finger). Dennis repeats this a few times and mentions this is a good way to practice it yourself. Next, hammer-on to the 7th fret with the left hand ring finger as normal.

The sequence then is: tap at 12, pull-off to 5, hammer-on to 7. Repeat slowly and steadily using the rhythm as written and played. Feel free to change frets and strings as Dennis demonstrates; following your creativity this way can make practicing more enjoyable.

Exercise 2 (03:20)

This is the same idea as above, except the sequence is changed. After tapping onto the 12th fret on the high E (1st string), Dennis has his ring finger in place on the 7th fret. He pulls off from the 12th fret to the 7th fret and then pulls off to the 5th fret as normal. The sequence now is: tap at 12, pull-off to 7, pull-off to 5.

Exercises 3 & 4 (04:29)

These are the same as Exercises 1 & 2, respectively. However, there is no longer a pause when repeating. Each note is played as a quarter note, receiving one full beat. At faster speeds these will sound like triplets.

Fight the urge to play super fast! Until all notes are equal in volume and your timing is steady, it will just sound clumsy. Speed will come gradually as ease of playing improves.

Exercise 5 (05:53)

This example goes back to Exercise 1 but adds an extra pull-off, so the sequence is: tap at 12, pull-off to 5, hammer-on to 7, pull-off to 5. On the high E (1st string), the right hand taps on the 12th fret. Then you pull-off to the 5th fret, which is held by the left hand index finger. After that you hammer-on to the 7th fret with the left hand ring finger and pull-off back to the 5th fret. Each note is played as a quarter note, so they should all last the same length of time. Again, Dennis changes strings and frets to create an unusual, non-diatonic sound.

Exercise 6 (06:44)

This is similar to Exercise 5, except it features a tap, pull-off, pull-off, hammer-on pattern. On the high E (1st string), tap at the 12th fret, pull-off to the 7th fret, pull-off to the 5th fret, and hammer-on to the 7th fret.

At 6:55, Dennis alternates between Exercises 5 and 6 back to back. He also demonstrates the same concept while changing frets in the context of Exercises 3 and 4. This is not written in the supplemental content, but it's an example of one way to creatively practice. Playing just one tapping pattern repeatedly can get boring, so it's good to mix things up sometimes. He also suggests practicing using each finger of the right hand, to start practicing coordination and building strength in all fingers. This will come in handy for the advanced material. Chapter 3: (07:27 ) Tapping Basics Pt. 2 Exercise 7 (00:10)

Dennis jumps right into the next exercise, which will use more left hand fingers while still only tapping with one. This method has also been used by Van Halen, notably in "Hot For Teacher" during the intro and before the solo, and during the intro of "The Philosopher" by Death. This technique calls for strong left hand legato playing. If your hammer-ons and pull-offs are weak, check out "Left Hand Overload" in Dennis' Metal series, and Nick Greathouse's "Legato Playing" lessons in his Speed and Technique series.

This is written and taught on the high E (1st string), but can and should be moved to other strings and frets. Dennis taps onto the 12th fret, pulls off to the 5th fret, hammers on to the 7th fret, and then with his pinky hammers onto the 8th fret. The left hand portion could all be played instead with index at the 5th fret, middle at 7, and ring at 8. After hammering onto the 8th fret, the pinky pulls off the 7th fret and the ring finger pulls off to the 5th fret. The whole sequence is then: tap at 12, pull-off to 5, hammer-on to 7, hammer-on to 8, pull-off to 7, pull-off to 5.

Dennis then moves the tapping finger from the 12th fret to the 13th and 10th frets. He then briefly improvises with A harmonic minor (A B C D E F G# A) and moves the left and right hands to create a melodic flurry of notes.

At 2:31 he switches to the B string but stays in A minor, so the frets used are not quite the same. Since F is in our A minor scale and not F#, Dennis now uses his middle finger on the left hand to play the 6th fret of the B string. He then plays a portion of "Hot For Teacher" to illustrate the sound of keeping the fingers on the same frets across the neck. It's a cool, weird sound, but it's not a diatonic sound. This is an important point: it's best to keep yourself open to learning things the "correct" way, and also the "who cares" approach, because there are certain situations where one or the other will sound best. Guys like John Petrucci and Kirk Hammett work things out to be as correct as possible, and guys like Van Halen and Dimebag (R.I.P.) went with whatever they thought sounded cool.

Exercise 8 (03:55)

Here Dennis introduces tap-slides. The right hand can still use either a pick or finger to strike a fret and then slide somewhere else just like a traditional slide with the fretting hand. On the high E (1st string), Dennis taps at the 10th fret and slides to the 12th fret, all with right hand. This part alone might take some time. You shouldn't apply too much pressure, because there is a genuine possibility of slicing a finger open. However, you need to apply just enough pressure to sustain the sound as you swiftly move between frets.

After the tap and slide, pull-off to the 5th fret and hammer-on to the 7th fret as in Exercise 1. Again, Dennis demonstrates changing strings while using this technique. He also performs it with each right hand finger. He also plays larger slides to get a different sound.

Exercise 9 (05:28)

Now it's time to slide up AND down after tapping. Dennis shows that smaller distances are easier to slide between, such as one or two frets, which is a similar condition with slide performed by the left hand. It's difficult to sustain the sound and land on the correct pitches if you are trying to slide 5 or more frets back and forth.

The written exercise is mostly to show you what it would look like in music; Dennis only hints at it in the video.

Exercise 10 (06:19)

This is the final "basic" tapping example. If you're still having trouble with tap-slides, especially sliding between notes, it would be better to spend time on those before trying this. If you insist on trying it (and we're not there to stop you anyway), strive for an even volume and tempo as you play.

On the high E (1st string), Dennis taps at the 10th fret, slides up a whole step to the 12th fret, and then slides back down to the 10th fret. After that he pulls off to the 7th fret, which pulls off to the 5th fret, and then hammers on to the 7th fret. Dennis then loops this 6 note sequence. All this notes are from E minor pentatonic (E G A B D). Dennis plays every note but the G from that scale. He then moves to the 2nd string and 3rd string, but keeps the frets the same on each string, as Van Halen is known to do.

At 6:45 Dennis continues to play a similar pattern along the high E string while staying in E minor pentatonic. This is not written but worth trying to figure out. Chapter 4: (10:41) Advanced Tapping Pt. 1 Okay. If you're here to work, you're in luck. This is where we toss the pick out completely and use all 8 fingers on the neck (though not all at once, we only have 6 strings!). Hop over to YouTube and search for "Stanley Jordan Autumn Leaves," Zack Kim, "Chris Broderick Mozart," "Jennifer Batten Flight of the Bumblebee," "Joe Satriani Midnight," "Chris Arp Imogen's Puzzle," Reggie (or Regi) Wooten, and Sam Triggy to see some crazy applications of this approach.

The tabs indicate fingering for the right hand, using the standard classical system of Spanish finger names.

I = indice (index)
M= medio (middle)
A= anular (ring)
O= this is what Guitar Pro uses for the pinky, there seems to be no history to it

IMPORTANT NOTES ABOUT THIS KIND OF PLAYING:

Most players who use this method have their action as low as possible without buzzing, and prefer light gauge strings (.009s) to make it easier on the right hand fingers. However, this will affect tone, typically making it "weaker." Also, to compensate for volume differences many players will use some sort of compressor (whether a pedal on the floor or a rackmount effect) to even out the sound, which unfortunately can strip dynamics out of the music. In this lesson Dennis is playing 9-gauge strings despite traditionally playing 10-gauge strings (it's a long, boring story as to why). Thicker strings, such as .010s or .011s, will increase strength and improve tone, but will wear your fingers out faster.

Exercise 1 (01:24)

The first exercise is a one octave G major scale on the top 3 strings (G, B, and E). Each finger fits within a four fret range (also known as "one finger per fret"). This is a pattern Dennis introduced in Lead Guitar lesson 1, "Major Scale Improvising." Now you will be playing it with the right hand only, hammering on all notes. Notice Dennis' left hand is resting on the strings lower on the neck to keep the open strings from ringing.

As you first go through this, practice alternating the notes on each string, and use all hammer-ons from nowhere. For example, instead of slurring from the index finger at the 12th fret on G (3rd string) to the 14th fret with the ring finger, strike them each as two separate notes. As Dennis mentions, work to make sure the volume is even from note to note. For extra practice, and to increase musicality, try adding vibrato to the notes as you play.

Once this is very comfortable (which may take days, weeks, months, etc.), practice it all legato (using hammer-ons and pull-offs). Make sure you avoid tension throughout the body! Check your jaw, neck, shoulders, and arms; if seated, make sure you're not lifting your legs, and if standing, don't lean too far one way or the other. It's important to go slow so that your body is relaxed and capable of producing the best sound possible.

Exercise 2 (06:14)

Beware! If Exercise 1 is giving you trouble, this exercise will most likely be even worse! Dennis puts the left and right hands to work simultaneously.

Dennis adds the left hand playing a one octave G major scale on the bottom 3 strings (E, A, and D) in 2nd position, using one finger per fret, starting with the middle finger on the 3rd fret of the low E (6th string). All notes are sounded by hammer-ons from nowhere, which will require some work to keep the strings from ringing out. Dennis points out some players use mutes or even hair ties or Scrunchies to mute the strings. In this lesson, Dennis just uses his left hand index finger to do most of the muting. When it's not hammering on, he lays it flat with enough pressure so that no strings ring but no frets are accidentally heard.

Dennis points out an interesting predicament with this style - only 6 notes maximum can ever be heard on a typical guitar, no matter how many fingers you're using. If you play a note with your left hand, say the 5th fret on the D (4th) string, and then tap a note on the same string at the 12th fret, the first note ends. If, however, you tap the 7th fret on the G (3rd) string carefully, you now hear two different pitches sounding together. Dennis purposely puts these two scales 2 octaves apart so that the two hands won't interfere with each other.

The first two notes present a slight problem. At 8:41, the left hand middle finger and right hand index hammer-on simultaneously. Students often struggle to use two different fingers at the same time. It will just take a few tries while playing slowly to get the hang of it. After that, the left hand pinky and right hand ring finger hammer-on to their notes. Again, go slow enough that you can keep track of which finger is going to which fret. Practice these two notes back and forth several times before going on.

The rest of the exercise isn't as tricky. Both hands use the same fingers at the same time. Once this is very easy, try to play it more legato as mentioned before, with hammer-ons and pull-offs between notes.

Around 9:30, Dennis expands on this exercise by playing the G major scale with the right hand starting on the note B (7th fret, 6th string E). Before trying this, work out what the frets for the left hand will be. As mentioned before, feel free to try ideas you might think of while practicing these. Don't feel restrained to the exercises Dennis or other teachers here (or anywhere, for that matter) give you. Practice creatively, and you'll play creatively! Chapter 5: (10:24 ) Advanced Tapping Pt. 2 Exercise 3 (0:00)

Right off the bat, Dennis starts with the next exercise, which is the hands combined playing G major one octave apart. Because of the problems mentioned above with limited strings and space (and to introduce more independence between hands), Dennis has re-fingered the left hand pattern. It is now in 7th position, one finger per fret, starting with the pinky at the 10th fret on the A (5th) string. The right hand remains the same. Practice the left hand alone first, as Dennis does at 1:16. Then proceed to put the two together slowly.

TIPS:

-Practice pairs of notes back and forth several times.
-Also, repeat each note 4 times (hands together) before moving to the next note.

This is much more of a challenge than Exercise 2. Most of this example uses different fingers on each hand, so this will require much concentration, coordination, and patience. Also, playing this exercise legato will be even harder than the previous exercises, but will make your playing much more satisfying to listeners. Take it slowly and focus on the feeling of the two hands working together. Also, now that all of your fingers are striking frets, notice the slight vibration each note makes as it's attacked. You should feel it under your fingertips as you hammer-on. This is one way to "feel" music.

Exercise 4 (04:04)

Next Dennis adds a simple ostinato in the left hand. All that means is there will be a repeating chord (in this case, G5) acting as accompaniment. The left hand hammers on to the 3rd fret, low E (6th string) and 5th fret, A (5th string) to create a G5. Each chord is a half note, lasting two beats.

The right hand plays up and down the first 5 notes of our G major scale in 12th position using quarter notes, or one note per beat. This creates a sound similar to a simple piano etude. The hands play together whenever a G chord tone (G, B, and D) is tapped. Dennis then repeats this without pause several times, and then expands on it by adding notes from the rest of the scale while continuing to tap the G5 chord in the left hand.

Exercise 5 (05:35)

This is practically the same thing as Exercise 4, except the left hand is now alternating between the root note of the chord (G) and the 5th of the chord (D), playing them as quarter notes. Now both hands are playing together the whole time until the final measure, where Dennis introduces some rhythmic trickiness.

At 5:49, Dennis tells a very lame joke.

Dennis demonstrates the exercise by repeating the first two measures several times. He also includes a demonstration of how these measures should sound when performed in a legato style. It's worth noting that even though it's not written this way in the tab, it's an effective way to practice. When presented with troublesome material, it's often helpful to isolate a difficult passage and repeat it as many times as you feel is necessary. To keep it from sounding boring, some musicians like to move the pattern around, such as up or down a fret every four times it's repeated.

The final measure contains a somewhat basic syncopation. The left hand outlines a G5 chord across the bottom 3 strings (E, A, and D) with quarter notes, while the right hand plays just the root note (G) and 5th of the chord (D) using dotted quarter notes. Next, the hands play together on count 1, then left hand alone on count 2, right hand alone on the "and" of count 2, and then left hand alone on count 3. They are then together on count 4. The whole measure, hands together, would then be counted:
"1 2 and 3 4."

At 6:58, Dennis demonstrates the whole exercise as written.

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