Tapping In Depth

Hello everybody. As I know that many of you have had difficulties learning tapping through the other lessons, I am going to try to make a more in depth lesson, for those who struggle. Because it is a fairly difficult technique to learn, but I wouldn't know because I had a video explain to me. However, for more advanced tapping folk, I highly suggest that you read another lesson, because this only covers the basic tapping technique, so don't get your hopes up. Enough of this intro though, and onto my lesson. To learn tapping, I am going to take you back to basics to start off with.

Hammer-ons.
The hammer-on, is a pretty basic technique. This requires you to use your left hand and pluck a note, perhapes to start with, use your index finger to fret it. After the note is plucked, leave it ringing and, without the right hand, push any other finger on it, so it gracefully switches to the new note that you just made. It may need excessive amounts of practicing (depending on your skill) to master, but I'm almost positive most of you know how to do it. On a tab, hammer-ons are usually represented by an "h," except on actual tabs, which have a curve thing with h. o. above it. But on net tabs, like the ones on this site, the "h" is the most common occurrence. Here is a visual example:

|--5h6---------------|
|--------6h8---------|
|--------------8h11--|
|--------------------|
|--------------------|
|--------------------|

Once you can do that (and I advise you be able to do all of it, especially being able to do 8h11 with at least your index finger and pinky. If you can't even do that, you need to learn how), then try this excercise below:

|-------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------------------|
|-------------------------------------------9h10h11h12--|
|--------------------------9h10h11h12-------------------|
|--------------5h6h7h8----------------------------------|
|--1h2h3h4----------------------------------------------|

|--------------1h2h3h4--|
|--5h6h7h8--------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|

Note: Those 2 chunks are the same excercise.

Now, I know some of you will be tempted to just slide your finger up the neck and say, "Hah! I can do that excercise!" Hell no. on this excercise, use all 4 fingers, and hammer on nice and clean. It doesn't have to be incredibally fast or anything, just make sure to use all your fingers, Once you can do that, we can proceed.

Pull-Offs.
Are the complete opposites of our friend, the hammer-on, above. Just put, say, your ring finger (the one next to the pinky) on a fret, and have a finger bhind it on a lower pitched fret behind it. Nowe just pull the higher pitched finger away, while sort of plucking it with the same finger, and be sure to leave the lower pitched finger on the same fret. The pitch should drop, its variance depending on the space you left between your fingers. On a net tab, a pull off is a "p," and on a regular tab, it is a curve with p. o above it. Heres a visual:

|--6p5--------------|
|--------7p5--------|
|--------------8p5--|
|-------------------|
|-------------------|
|-------------------|

Now, if you can do that, then try to do this excercise:

|--12p11p10p9------------------------------|
|-------------------8p7p6p5----------------|
|-------------------------------4p3p2p1p0--|
|------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------|

|------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------|
|--12p11p10p9------------------------------|
|-------------------8p7p6p5----------------|
|-------------------------------4p3p2p1p0--|

Now, just remember not to slide and to use all of your fingers. And no picking, except 1 to get started. Before you go on to the next section on trills, get comfortable with these babies first.

Trills.
Trills put everything covered above and utilize them to make a whole pile of legato phrasing. Legato means gracefully. So basically, no picks=legato. Everything above is forms of legato phrasing. So don't use picks for any of it. Also, trills and the stuff above is done with the left hand. Remember that. So, back to what I was saying, tills are combining hammer-ons and pull-offs into one crazy combo. All you have to be able to do, is be able to hammer-on then pull (with the same two fingers) fluently. It may seem difficult, but it will soon become a breeze.

First of try this:
|---------------------|
|--5h7p5h7p5h7p5h7p5--|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|

Now just remember to read the hs and ps and use your index and ring fingers to make that stretch. And, if you haven't done it YET, for heaven's sake use your left hand! I can't stress this enough, because if you are thinking, "Oh look at me I can tap," and you use your right hand for thse excercises, it won't sound anything like tapping. Now, I'm sure most of you won't do that, but you'd be surprised what people do these days. Heres a more difficult excercise:

|--1h3p1p0h1h3p1p0h1h3--|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|
|-----------------------|

Repeat that for a while, and you will be surprised how helpful it can be. This next excercise is good for trilling with all of your fingers:

|---5h6p5h7p5h8p5h7p5h6p5--|
|--------------------------|
|--------------------------|
|--------------------------|
|--------------------------|
|--------------------------|

Then try this: 
|---6h7p6h8p6h7p6--|
|------------------|
|------------------|
|------------------|
|------------------|
|------------------|

And finally this: 
|---7p8h7--|
|----------|
|----------|
|----------|
|----------|
|----------|

For the above three excercises, what you are essentially doing is keeping one finger stationary, while the others trill on it. If you practice all 3 of these alot, you will become an ultimate master (haha) at trilling. If you want a good audio example of a good trill excercise, listen to the begginning of AC/DC's thunderstruck. Practice that. If you want to see it, I will post it below: this is all done on the B string (second thinnest and second highest pitch).

|---0h4p0h7p0h4p0h7 Repeat a few times

|---0h5p0h8p0h5p0h8 Repeat a few times

Repeat above sequence twice, being sure to use your pinky and index finger to make that stretch. Following that, the rest of the intro is like this:

|---12p0h10p0h9p0h10p0h9p0h7p0h9p0

|---h5p0h7p0h4p0h5p0h4p0h5

In my opinion thats a good trill excercise. After you are comfortable with that, we can move onto the subject of the lesson.

Tapping.
The above tells it all. Tapping is one of the most overused techniques around these days. But I like it. So now, I should explain what tapping is. It's a giant trill. Only with an extra hand thrown in, to make phrasings that would otherwise e impossible with one hand, a breeze with two of them. So I want you to get your guitar, and just do this trill right here:

|--------------|
|---5h8p5h8p5--|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|
|--------------|

Now I want you to do it, but in slow motion. If possible, use you index and ring fingers to reach that stretch. it may seem hard now, but it will make things a bunch easier. Now do it in slow motion. Now, when you are ready, hammer-on your right index finger onto the twelfth fret (if your finger seems a bit weak at first, do not fret (I made a funny) you will get the hang of it in time), and then pull it off (all done in slow motion) and continue with the trill, with that newly added note. Now I'm guessing that it sounds kinda funky, but hopefully you aren't lost just yet. So play that piece with the added right finger and keep it going for as long as you can. Be sure not to use a pick, but you may feel more comfortablr with your right hand middle finger instead of your right hand index finger. Either way is fine, but do not use a pick. Tapping is still a form of legato phrasing, no matter how you look at it. So, you are probably saying, this is pretty lame. Well try this next excercise, and it will sound better:

       T   T    T
|---------------------|
|---12p5h8h12p5h8h12--|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|
|---------------------|

Notice the "T" means, you guessed it, Tap the note below it. Now, to get a nicer sound, when you get to the point where a finger is hammer-oned to the 8th fret, do not release it until the 12th fret has been tapped. Because you would have to move your finger on the 8th fret in order to pull off to the 5th fret, by the use of your right hand. Still don't get it? Well an audio example ought to help. Ever heard of a little song called Eruption? If you haven't, you probably should. It is by Van Halen on their first album entitled (get this) Van Halen. At the very end is a very nice sounding tapping part, that is actually not that difficult to do. Here is the tab for that part:

This is all done on the b string. 

 T T T
|---9p2h5h9p2h5h9p2h5

 T T T
|---10p2h5h10p2h5h10p2h5

 T T T
|---10p4h7h10p4h7h10

 T T T
|---12p4h712p4h7h12p4h7

 T T T
|---12p5h9h12p5h9h12p5h9 This is a hard stretch

 T T T
|---13p5h8h13p5h8h13p5h8

 T T T
|---15p7h10h15p7h10h15p7h10

 T T T 
|---17p9h12h17p9h12h17p9h12

Remember to take it step by step, and if you need to, slow it down a bit. For the rest of the tapping part, there are about a gazillion Eruption tabs out there, so go get it if you want it, but it s a bit difficult to do at this level. So folks thats it. You (hopefully) have mastered at least the basics of tapping, although, it covers the other techniques o, more so than the tapping, I find those are essential in learning to tap. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at [e-mail].

Comments

[Bamse]

nice lession
Heavy Metal to us all

[busted_rock4va]

hi this lesson has helped me alot and it is great thanks

[Greenback]

Good lesson, but I feel you should have stuck to tapping rather than going into hammers and pulls - that's really another lesson. But thanks anyway

[aotw552]

*now with more sodium* this lesson rocks. Thanks dude.

[Ceakoth]

THANK YOU!!!! finally i get it!!! yahoo!

[angusyoung123]

nice thx off to learn eruption

[Rock 101]

It's waaa..y easier then I thought it would be! I've been playing 6 months and im 13 and I can do it!

[Dirt Jumper1]

You can also use the edge of you pick instead of using your right index finger to tap good lesson, lots of info!

[kirk_rules!]

i didnt and still dont think there is much to tapping. its pretty easy. i figured it out on my own out of the explanation of the bends and that stuff in a metallica music book

[Pyro128]

First trill sounded like the crazy train solo, second was eruption. Stuff I already knew, but good for newbs

[milk_it_good]

Good asrticle for informing the masses what tapping is and basically how do it. I, for one, had no idea, being a beginner and living in a remote town where I doubt anybody even knows what a scale is.

[Red Shift]

Thank u so much, i'm extreamely greatful for this article.

[thegenrebasher]

this is the best lesson i've read in at least a year,for anything,including skills outside of guitar.Exlpaining how the hammerons and pulloffs i knew,but this tied those 2 techniques to tapping and explained how to read it,thanx

[metal_dude_ted]

I figured out tapping on my own. I didn't know how to do it, but wanted to learn Eruption. But then I just pretty much figured out what you had to do. I find it pretty easy.

[kirk_rules!]

little bit more tapping, less hammer/pulls

[crazysnake]

i love you

[AC16]

Good explanation, the thrills were helpful

[Cobain_Of_God]

nice job man i could tap shity before but this helped my speed alot thx

[aliceinnirvana]

Nice mate

[MetallicaTony]

metallica will be the kings of rock for ever!

[MetallicaTony]

metallica will be the kings of rock for ever!metallica will be the kings of rock for ever!metallica will be the kings of rock for ever!

[acdc101]

^ No, Elvis is the king. Ignorant kid.

Great lesson, 5 stars!

[justgivemetruth]

I loved this lesson. Even though I already knew how to tap, it clarified that I'm doing it right. It was perfect introduces trills and pulloffs/hammers first, as those are essential to know for tapping. Good job.

[Zarchon]

ROCKS, thx 4 the info.

[Virgoplatinum]

I really admire the work that you have done here, but I actually have just one question, and many of you may or may not be able to answer this. What is wrong with using a pick for your tapping? I use my pick and my middle, I do fine with both, but really, what is wrong with using a pick? lol

[Gitaris Giler]

tapping all the way.....van halen style...

[OutForJustice]

Good lesson - especially for newbs. And to all the people complaining that there was too much hammering / pulling theory, well it's entirely relevant - tapping is an extension of hammering and pulling, and you cant run before you can walk.

Good Stuff

[levelwisedallas]

Seems quite easy, but I can't play one or Eruption. I'm asuming that's not very unusual, to find those tapping solos difficult? I've been play a year. I can play the tapping part of One, but not all that fast. It sounds fairly shitty, it's fast but not FAST. Ehh.

[bobby27]

very informative and put into a easy to understand description of tapping which is kind of hard to explain clearly!!Good Article
5 star

[fenderlover]

nice lesson , i havent got pulling off yet

[depender]

salamat po ng marami sa lessons.....
malaki po ang naitulong sa akin sana po wag po kayong magsawang tumulong sa mga katulad kong nagnanais ding matutong magguitara...Thx po ulit...

[Libelul]

one HELL OF A FINGER WORKOUT, very nice.

[Andy T]

pardon my french but this shit fukin helped alot.these stupid shity books dont help you for shit!
and all i had to do was come here. Thanks a lot,I apprechiate it.^that guy up there is right,my fingers are ringin'.

[pleasentlyplump]

i'm gunna have to agree with the guy 3 boxes up

[inzaneguitarist]

disss wuz a gansgta f00 lesson dun and i tink dat youza a pwiddy coo gansgta foe writ-in diss lesson so holla ta u, mah homie

PEACE OWT

[gfh10h]

thanks for the help i actually understand now. i was wondering how kirk hammett did 12p3 and now i do.

[The_New_Slash]

trilling rocks!! im gonna show this to my buddys

[zephendrix]

i wish i had a stronger pinky

[MaggotMike]

thanx dude, this helped me out alot. now i finnally understand tapping.

[guitar21@WE]

nice lesson dude, hurt ur left wrist muscle a sh it load, but hey, thats wut practiing is for, i knew how to trill and all, i like the excersices u put inthere to strenghtend the wrist

[Horace]

I tried to teach myself and I've been doing tapping wrong this whole time. Wow, man, thanks. Outstanding article! (5 stars)

[JonnyRum]

ahh man i cant handle the pull offs man! i know what your saying but it just sound the same as if i pluck the string
wat the heck am i doing wrong??

[bubba_blink]

last exercise helped me out alot thx man

[crazee201]

i get it hahah, great example, i learnt thunderstuck at the same time :P

[mEtAlORc]

good

[noobistic]

i understand wat h/p means but wat does e number represents???

[Wickerman_18]

Ok one simple qt do u pluck the sting at the the fret area or to u hit the fret simple can anyone help me out here everyone i meet shows me a diffrent way
thx

[Wickerman_18]

lol string* (and Do You)* omg my spellings suck lol

[the_bear_shark]

noobistic:
i understand wat h/p means but wat does e number represents???
[POSTED: 10 August 2005 - 01:26]|

the number is the number of what fret u play. for example , if the number is 12, play the 12th fret.

and if its the 12h15p12 kinda number ur confused about. u just hammer-on with ur finger to hit that fret. so with this u'd hammer-on the to the 15th fret, hence the number 15.

[the_bear_shark]

lol i said the word hence

[GibsonSg12]

Hammer-ons.
The hammer-on, is a pretty basic technique. This requires you to use your left hand and pluck a note, perhapes to start with, use your index finger to fret it. After the note is plucked, leave it ringing and, without the right hand, push any other finger on it, so it gracefully switches to the new note that you just made. It may need excessive amounts of practicing (depending on your skill) to master, but I'm almost positive most of you know how to do it. On a tab, hammer-ons are usually represented by an "h," except on actual tabs, which have a curve thing with h. o. above it. But on net tabs, like the ones on this site, the "h" is the most common occurrence. Here is a visual example:

|--5h6---..|
|---..6h8---..|
|---..8h11--|

|---..|
|---..|
|---..|

so i pluck the 5th fret and let it ring and then put another finger on the 6th fret?

tahts the only part i didnt get...HELP ME!

[Trail]

Dude narly lesson i finaly understand tapping Sweet!!

[metallica king]

dude this lesson rocks ivv been trina learn it 4 ages!!!wooo keep rocking!!!

[Mupp]

thanks! i've been helped alot

[9mmpainpill]

This is a pretty damn good lesson, im glad you pointed out the importance of h-ons and p-offs in tapping\m/(^_^)\m/

[A Human]

Very nice. Hard 2 make the streches but very nice

[jozzo]

wat a lesson! thts amazin i always fort van halen was an alien wid 3 arms or summin but now i understand! thks

[jozzo]

wat a lesson. i always thort van halen was sum sort of mutant but i undrstand now thks alot.

[monkeysims]

can anyone tell me how to tap the intro to "Smile in
your sleep" by Silverstein

[gnr_revolver]

does --1h2h3h4-- mean that you pluck the 1,2,3,4 or do you just pluck the 1 and then hammer on all the rest?

[xanderLesPaul69]

thanks man, this really helped me

[Policia Caro]

Kick ass lesson, rock on peeps & u r just supposed to pluck the 1 and then hammer on all the rest gnr_revolver

[fretmaster13]

dude, thunderstruck doesn't trill at the beginning, he hits open B then goes to the 4th fret, then goes BACK to open B then 7th fret. and then it changes to the 5th and 8th frets...

[MetallicaNRoses]

gnr_revolver wrote:

does --1h2h3h4-- mean that you pluck the 1,2,3,4 or do you just pluck the 1 and then hammer on all the rest?

pluck 1 hammer on rest

[ryanmcd123]

hey, that isbt tapping you are trying to explain.....it is right handed hammer-ons.

[br4d]

Wow now i know how to do tapping thanks

[TasianSensation]

thanks! this helps a lot! great lesson

[franklin01]

wow, i can finally do this now, thanks man, awsome lesson

[almosthawk]

v good excellent i can hammer pulloff and trilll aswell as tap now hehehe!!!

[W_hiteboy]

Great Lesson! Thanks, I really appreciate it. The excercises were fantasic. 10/10

[W_hiteboy]

fretmaster13 wrote:

dude, thunderstruck doesn't trill at the beginning, he hits open B then goes to the 4th fret, then goes BACK to open B then 7th fret. and then it changes to the 5th and 8th frets...

I just also wanted to add, fret master you should know what you are talking about before you question the great guy that made this lesson. Have you ever seen them play this song? Angus' right hand is up in the air!! lol, how is he going to hit an open chord then? haha

[sarkinare]

i loved this artical it helped me imensly and its information on hammer-ons and pull-offs is better than any of the lessons on them

[demez]

i love you urgey_rock

[whatisemo?]

yes this is all great and all, but, in order to do proper tapping you must have a guitar with very low action and preferably extra light strings. without that it would be very sloppy and very frustration to learn. also you would want to have your best solo pickup selected. having the wrong pickup will make the sound dull and not as vibrant.

[Bossman123]

Great lesson, it has really improved my tapping, i cudnt play the tapping in Eruption before this! Nice Job!!!

[StringsRequired]

Can't put a lesson for tapping any better, but this is just easy tapping. Advanced tapping is much more difficult. Good Post!

[metalmania91]

Awesome lesson. I'm a complete noob when it comes to shredding but now I know how to tap. I also learned the end of Eruption and surprised the $hit out of my family.

[Jbetter_thanu]

i already understood the technique vaguely, but this helped me a lot, but is much harder to tap with an acoustic with only 20 frets thx

[Ramones Nutter]

great article for beginners

[JuicyFrets]

Get the song 'One' by Metallica and listen to the solo at the end when it goes all double kick drums and that really fast bit that kirk does uses tapping, look up the tab.
Nice lesson by the way better than quite a few i have seen in this section

[auranos]

Jbetter_thanu wrote:

i already understood the technique vaguely, but this helped me a lot, but is much harder to tap with an acoustic with only 20 frets thx

Yeah tapping on an electric is pretty easy, acoustic is where it gets difficult. Great lesson!

[theology]

cheers! this lesson has helped a lot.. your a champ

[simon87]

thanks dude, this lesson really helped!

[Killswitch_77]

great lesson, ive had a hard time learning pull-offs, now i can finally play those mettalica songs thnx agen

[k2k4]

nice-lesson-thaaaanx

[supermoose89]

thank you. You are fantastic mega useful to electric "noobs" like me.

[Hells_bell45]

^^What's a noob?^^

[Satchtastic]

metal_dude_ted said" I figured out tapping on my own..."

Are u trying to brag? cause we really dont care

[Reyco87]

thank you thank you thank you thank you!
i have read many lessons on tapping and this one finally showed me the light!

good job man!

[gutfeeling666]

i own a acoustic and i was able to tap on it easy.
Just practice dude!
Hectic lesson anyways

[whiteboy-tweak]

crazysnake wrote:

i love you

i love you

[I_Dont_Know]

Dirt Jumper1 wrote:

You can also use the edge of you pick instead of using your right index finger to tap good lesson, lots of info!

you know what you can do if you're doing a solo without a key? use the side of the pick to slide across like a pick slide and still play something else further down the string, that's an advantage of using your pick, but you can't multi finger tap with it though.

[I_Dont_Know]

Virgoplatinum wrote:

I really admire the work that you have done here, but I actually have just one question, and many of you may or may not be able to answer this. What is wrong with using a pick for your tapping? I use my pick and my middle, I do fine with both, but really, what is wrong with using a pick? lol

nothing these guys are just angry tehy didn't think of it haha, no it's just you can't go as fast and have as many notes gonig at once but if you're not planning to do that keep using the pick, but it helps to practise without the pick

[Gib-Gib-son-son]

Hey, both your lessons are awesom this one also helped me, you'll be gettin a 10 from me dude!

ROCK ON!

[Holy Magenta]

Kickass lesson.

I still suck, but hey. :p:

[eruption is me]

good for a beginner but i was hoping for a advanced tapping lesson

[downwefall72]

I didn't understand a word you said.

[I was here]

nice lesson, thanks to you i'm a tapping master

[mamoRai]

i always know that music hates me, but there's no harm in trying right.. your lessons are great and straight to the point, thanks a lot.. thanks to all..

[kurtcobainisme]

nice lesson man. this is thee best lesson on tapping by far on this cite!! considering im in my own band this will come in usefull. thanx a load man.

[sTx]

Hail Eddie Van Halen!

[foundation_7]

dude this lesson is so good it helped me understand tapping a lot better thanks man hope to see more lessons from you

[markieee]

ty ! I finnaly understand the basics now !

[pieman4567]

i get it but... i dont...plz help someone

[simonzwaan]

pretty cool

[coty_b_goode]

all right! I like how it sounds! it's not thaaat difficult, I thought that it was harder! I really like this lesson! great job

[VolucrisExNox]

Good lesson. Learned a lot.

[dcookie87]

nice job...keep up the good work...

[trivium200]

omg thanks man i never used to be able to "tap" on guitar but this made it loads easier thanks

[jammer-91]

THANKS I THINK I CAN FINALLY TAP... IM GONNA RATE THIS TOPS!

[Soul on Ice]

GREAT DUDE!
Before this i had no idea how to do, but now I'm doing the Eruption thing! Awesome lesson, 10/10!

[futureproskater]

hey dude, nice lesson i actually dont understand how to do tapping, hammer on and pull off...but when i read this its pretty good n i got now how to do it..juz need a lil practice....thanx...

[papat911]

hey this lesson helped alot, and i liked the examples you use, two awsome songs.... thanks

[GunsN'Roses_FAN]

Thnx this really helped me

[xXnvleadXx]

tapping is the shizz all the way, and u can do some really trippy stuff if u start tapping out several notes at once, kinda like a chord. rock on! \m/ \m/

[Stringtastic!!]

Thanks 4 the in depth really helped me!! I can make a pretty cool sound but am unsure about the (0) 4p3p2p1p0 is that open? i am a newb so im sorry if this is a dumb Q!! I put my 4 (L) fingers on fret 4321 & pluck with my (R) only once pulling off 4-1 is this right? or how does the open (0) come in with the (L) hand? hope that makes sense...

[Oblivionbot6000]

great lesson... i still cant tap
but that's my fault

[Dixie Wolf]

Im 14 and have been tapping for 2 yrs. (been playing for 5) lessons good 4 ideas, not much else

[Mad master mike]

is it bad that it sounds pretty... quiet, should i just hit the taped fret harder?

[Mad master mike]

btw, i think the van halen solo thing sounds better if you play each part tap thing 6x, so 9p2h5h9p2h5h9p2h5h9p2h5h9
p2h5h9p2h5

[XxXshadowboyXxX]

thanks! this was a big help, i like how you gave a lot of info on hammer ons and pull offs. I already knew how to do them but the exercises and all that helped me get way better so i can learn to tap.

[Dixie Wolf]

Mad Master Mike, Tapping is a technique meant to be used with alot of distortion. This may be one reason that your tapping is so quiet. If you are using distortion and it's still silent, then yeah, you need to tap harder

[theusedrocks]

thanks for the lesson! i'm going to use it in my daily practice from now on!

[I'm a real boy]

you gotta be kiddin me! for christ sake ive been playing for one year and it took me about an hour of practice to get decent at tapping. It really isnt that hard. Ill show you the technique that helped me:

first off, you must know your a minor scale pretty well(ie get it fast) just use that scale and do as following:

et10p8p7p5
b-----t10p8p6p5-----t10p8
p6p5
g-----t9p7p5p4

Keep doing that over and over and try to get it as clean and fast as you can, then try moving the tapping hand around but be sure to keep in key.

[I'm a real boy]

dont do what i just wrote by the way. when it posted it came out all wrong, so just ignore me and find an actual teacher rather than ultimate guitar.

[oscart]

Do I need any effects for my guitar if I wan't to tap?

[:demanufacture:]

Awesome lesson. I hadn't a great amount of experience in hammer-ons, pull-offs, trills, let alone tapping, so this essentially killed a good four birds with the same stone. Nice job.

[Mudvayne_LP]

F-ing awesome. Thnx alot.

[redhavok]

the t's dont line up dude

[dgme92]

bloody excellent lesson!!!! and by the way, anybody that's interested, i found out eddie van halen learnt how to pick with his middle finger and thumb, so he could switch to tapping with the index finger quickly. how cool is that?

[supergerbil]

Thanks for that. A brilliant lesson. I already new how to hammer on/ pull off, but that bit really helped because the trills were both of those and then adding in the extra note became easy.

[mattvh93]

the hammer on and pull off bit at the start is useless

[punk_metal2007]

WOW great lesson man I am new too guitar and all that is down pact now (still a newb but time will show diffrence)

[dio_dude]

I tap with three fingers. sounds way better in my opinion

[danceparty]

I just bought my self a Jackson DK2M Snow White, and started playing guitar 2 days ago.
This lesson really tout me the "easy way" of tapping.
Guys, I started 2 days ago, and tapping isn't that hard at all

[swing life away]

great lesson =)

[Metallisti_]

I've played that trill exercise with all fingers pretty much earlier. Then i read this lesson and now I do it about 3 times faster and add own tappings. I love this lesson!!!

[Karlboy]

I've been playing guitar for six years and i have to admit i actually found that somewhat helpful, but i agree with greenback, you should've stuck more to tapping and less to trilling.

[Ringtone]

Really great lesson, it helped me a ton. I already knew how to hammer-on/ pull-off, but the trilling and tapping part was excellent. Great work!

[0Billie0Joe0]

Wow I thought I would never understand tapping, but now I do! Thanks so much man!!!

[DaveBF]

This is a GREAT lesson... It is the reason I can play eruption THANK YOU

[kaushik312]

wow...this is jus too good..amazing lesson..

[rickswan87]

thanks this helped a lot i actually wanted to learn to tap just to be able to learn Eruption how ironic eh? thanks again.

[niqolaise]

Thanks, you've helped me alot!

[\m/Torin\m/]

thanks for the lesson bro it helps.

[killtrend]

good stuff mate but orginize the "T"'s over the corisponding number so kids dont try a croos hand tap(kids are slow these days)

[Jk3y]

thunderstruck (the RECORDING) is played with a pick but I think when playing live they do trills...anyway AWESOME lesson, its helped me HEAPS!!! maybe if you have time you can make another lesson going more in depth!

[urgey_rock]

Hey guys, it's me urgey_rock... I'm in the process of writing more lessons for the site, which I haven't done in quite some time, and I was thinking that rather than writing a lesson on any old topic, I have decided that you, the readers, should decide on the kinds of things that you would like to see in future lessons. So if you have anything that you would like to see, either message me or post something on this lesson. Thanks.

[BCrichwarlockz1]

this rocks!!!! i can acually tap now!!!! not all that great yet, but im getting the hang of it. Rock on

[Lord_Hondros]

Dude, awsome tut. This helped a lot man. Long live METAL

[Frankie Machart]

Hey i love tapping but i only have an acoustic guitar is at all posible to do on an acoustic

[Alix182]

I've just got my acoustic guitar with me atm so I've been practising tapping on that and it's not impossible... But it will sound much better on an electric...

And good lesson! Has help me quite alot!

[sergiotall]

Excuse me if I am wrong
But I think he messed up
In tabbing this part


T T T
|-----|
|---12p5h8h12p5h8h12--|
|-----|
|-----|
|---- -|


Is in it like this
T T T
|-----|
|---12p5h8h12p5h8h12--|
|-----|
|-----|
|---- -|
|-----|
It confused me a little
Can some one help me
Because I am new to reading
Tapping tabs

[sergiotall]

Wow when I posted my tabs they compressed and came out funny looking so screw it, I will explain what I mean. The second set of tabs in the tapping section I think the T's are set wrong they are on top of the 5,12 and 8 but I think all the three T's should be on top of all the twelve’s. right?

[nickbob00]

Great Lesson, playing Jeff's tapping part of seasons in teh abyss in 30 mins. Excellent

[Dr. Ed]

I would have preferred a more advanced lesson, but if I didn't know how to tap already, I would have been totally stoked! It was a good exercise at least! Congrats to you beginners that are learning how to do this for the first time, it should keep you occupied for a while, haha.

[Spaded_Ace]

the tapping is from eruption by eddie van halen

[metalheadrocker]

great lesson, help me ALOT

[JD Close]

I've been playing 6 months and im 13 and I can do it!

I hear ya dude, I'm 12, been playing for 6 months, and I just learned cross handed tapping, knowing this really helps 4/5

[JD Close]

Hey guys, it's me urgey_rock... I'm in the process of writing more lessons for the site, which I haven't done in quite some time, and I was thinking that rather than writing a lesson on any old topic, I have decided that you, the readers, should decide on the kinds of things that you would like to see in future lessons. So if you have anything that you would like to see, either message me or post something on this lesson. Thanks.

8 finger tapping

[RikcyG27xx]

milk_it_good wrote:

Good asrticle for informing the masses what tapping is and basically how do it. I, for one, had no idea, being a beginner and living in a remote town where I doubt anybody even knows what a scale is.

i know what your saying haha basically everyone around here has no idea what a pickup on a guitar is , thats sad lol but this is a great lesson and has informed a lot of ppl , i already saw it on a video but i figured imight as well read it since it was "in Depth"

[trumdth]

thanks soo much man i learned alot. but how do u tap an open string? 0h4p0h7p ??

[grover 69]

HOW DO YOU MUTE STRINGS WHILE TAPPING?????!!!!!

[grover 69]

HOW DO YOU MUTE STRINGS WHILE TAPPING?????!!!!!