All About Tapping. Part 2: Beginner Tapping To Little Bit Of Advanced

Okay, I assume you read All About Tapping Pt. 1 or already know all there is to know about legato playing. Otherwise go back and practice legato first!

Well you all know what tapping is so I'm going to get down and dirty and start tabbing out the exercises.

You can use any finger on your picking hand the most used ones are either the first or the second finger.

It's always good to practice Tapping with a metronome

t = Tapp(with picking hand finger)
h = Hammer On
p = Pull Off

Firstly one string tapping:

e|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
B|--10-5-8--10-5-8-------------|-10-8-5-10-8-5---------------|
G|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
D|--------------and so forth---|---------------and so forth--|
A|--------------for as long as-|-----------------------------|
E|--------------you can--------|-----------------------------|
    T  p h  t  p h		 t  p p t  p p

If you can't do it properly without making the high e note ring try it on the high e string instead of B but work your way to B! Practicing with open string below you will help improve your accuracy.

Now we're going to move au a bit and change strings while tapping:

e|--------10-5-8--------10-5-8------------------------------|
B|-10-5-8--------10-5-8---------10-5-8----------------------|
G|----------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|
   t  p h t  p h t  p h  t p h  t p h
 
e|--------10-8-5--------10-8-5--------10-8-5----------------|
B|-10-8-5--------10-8-5--------10-8-5-----------------------|
G|----------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|
   t p p  t p p  t p p  t p p  t p p  t p p

Now It's getting harder: hammer on from nowhere before the tap:

e|------8-10-5--------8-10-5--------8-----------------------|
B|-10-5--------8-10-5--------8-10-5-------------------------|
G|----------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|
   t  p h t p h  t  p h t  p h t  p h
 
e|-10-8-7-5------------8-10-8-7-5------------8--------------|
B|----------8-10-8-7-5------------8-10-8-7-5----------------|
G|----------------------------------------------------------|
D|----------------------------------------------------------|
A|----------------------------------------------------------|
E|----------------------------------------------------------|
   t p p p  h t  p p p h t  p p p h t  p p p h

Now there's the act of moving your hands from their frets:

First: moving the tapping hand
e|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
B|--10-5-8--12-5-8- (repeat)---|-10-8-5-12-8-5--(repeat)-----|
G|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
D|--------------and so forth---|---------------and so forth--|
A|--------------for as long as-|-----------------------------|
E|--------------you can--------|-----------------------------|
    T  p h  t  p h		 t  p p t  p p
 
Moving the fretting hand:
e|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
B|--10-5-8--10-4-7--(Repeat)---|-10-8-5-10-7-4--(Repeat)-----|
G|-----------------------------|-----------------------------|
D|--------------and so forth---|---------------and so forth--|
A|--------------for as long as-|-----------------------------|
E|--------------you can--------|-----------------------------|
    T  p h  t  p h		 t  p p t  p p

This Will take many of you a while to master, in Part 3 I'll give you exercises for the insane tapper.

Thanks for reading this, hope the excercises helped.

Comments

[Thrash_Can]

Very usefull lesson, I read pt 1 too and it was pretty cool too.Eager to read pt 3 .

[mity88]

Part 3 better come quick!

[Ckinz]

I go practice now...

[PurpleBear102]

Sorry guys for the long wait on Part 3 but you'll have to wait a bit longer, I'm studying my ass off for a music theory grade 5 test in June and I started Grade 1 in February, so you understand my lack of time.

[kenz.94]

thank u for the lesson, but do we need our amplifier volume high..
i've a 19"inch amplifier, and i set the volumenot even1/4 of the knob, maybe only 1/6..because if i set it really loud it will annoy my neighbour..
so i set it to 1/4 and it sounds louder (but stillthe sound is small compared to picking sound)..
so what should i do to get a loud tapping sound???

[PurpleBear102]

Yea, sorry probably should've put this in:
don't put the amp louder that when you pic! It's gonna make you used to tapping softly.
Try to tap harder and release downward(sortof plucking the string as you remove your finger.
Hope this helped

[kenz.94]

PurpleBear102 wrote:

Yea, sorry probably should've put this in:
don't put the amp louder that when you pic! It's gonna make you used to tapping softly.
Try to tap harder and release downward(sortof plucking the string as you remove your finger.
Hope this helped

thanks, finally after training for a day i can get my pull off louder, at leas nearly the 3/4 of picking sound, than my pull off affect my hammering greatly, but i just make my amp. a libit louder, so it'll sound the same as tapping sound..

[PurpleBear102]

Ok great, just continue practicing and after a while you'll tap just as loud as you pic flawlessly, just never give up!

[Barmine]

These are pretty basic tapping licks. but looking for to part three for the "insane tapper"!

[rasta_mon]

this is pretty good, im learning to tap but my thrilling hand seems to get tired prettysoon. is this normal?

[PurpleBear102]

Barmine it's gonna be a while before I can write part 3 unfortunately I don't have much spare time nowadays, tightening up all my playing and theory almost every hour of the day that I don't have school. Part 3 will probably come in June.

Rasta_mon. Like with every new exercise you do it will get tired quickly, you're hand isn't used to the rapid movement yet. I'd give you this advice: don't JUST practice tapping, if you practice it a couple of minutes to an hour a day for 3 days and not at all for the 2 after that you'll see that it's improved greatly. this was the effect when I learned to tap and sweep. Both instances I was trying to get it right but then went on vacation with no room for my axe. But when I got back I was tapping and sweeping like a crazy mother F**ker. This is a pretty long comment, sorry! But just remember, giving your hand time to rest is almost just as important as practicing.
Sorry about the late replies guys, hope you get the trills under the belt(they look and sound pretty damn impressive when you can do them in 16ths)

[PurpleBear102]

P.S. the two days after I'm not talking about not practicing at all. Usually I practice my finger- and Hybrid-picking(more emphasis on the picking hand, more rest for the other one)