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Tapping

Tapping refers to using the picking hand to hammer-on notes, usually involving arpeggiating a chord using all legato techniques on a single string. It is generally used as a speed technique, as it can be used to cleanly play a rapid succession of notes. It was made popular by Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads but is common for most lead players now. 

--7--t14--

Tapping is indicated via a "t" in tab.

PreReqs

Technique

The technique for tapping is generally no different than hammer-ons and pull-offs, except that you use the right hand. I like to use my middle finger, which allows me to continue holding the pick and start plucking without having to adjust. Some people like to use their index finger, which means you need to release the pick (unless you use a thumb pick or some strange grip). You can hold the pick in your mouth, your palm, a sticky surface on your guitar, a nearby table-top, etc.

Just like hammer-ons and pull-offs, tapping is legato, and you want to mute unused strings. Normally we do that with the combination of the right palm on the thicker strings and draping left hand fingers over the thinner strings. Well, we still do that here, but the right hand palm may feel a bit awkward doing so since it is now near or over the fretboard and you have to use one of its fingers to hammer-on a note. They key is to use the finger muscles to get your finger to hammer-on the note, not your wrist. If you use your wrist you will bounce on the muted strings and cause them to make noise. Also, now you have to worry about pushing the strings down into the frets, so you need to make sure you regulate your palm's pressure. Use just enough to mute the strings and no more, and keep the pressure constant even as you tap and release notes.

Some people actually use the side of the pick to tap. I don't like this. It's a different sound than using a finger, so it can make the tapped note stand out a bit too much. Also, I find it's more difficult to use the right hand palm to mute - you can't simply use your finger muscles to perform the tap but must use the wrist. Finally, I found trying to use the pick would quickly put small notches into it; unless you completely turn it over before tapping, you are left with a crappy pick that has trouble sliding through the strings during a normal picking motion. But turning it over takes time in itself, which can interpret the flow of your playing. 

--t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-h8-t12--

--t12-p8-p5-t12-p8-p5-t12-p8-p5-t12-p8-p5-t12--

These are the two most basic ways you'll see a tapping pattern - a simple arpeggio, with either ascending (first example) or descending (second example) notes. Practice on all strings.

The trick to getting excellent tapping is to start very slow. A lot of players try to go right into speed playing and develop bad habits that are hard to break. The key thing to remember is that the tapped note should have the same duration as other notes - the natural inclination is to tap the note and quickly release it, but you actually need to hold it. Start really slow, like 60 bpm, with 1 note per beat.

Also, you're usually going to pull-off the tapped note. Remember good pull-off technique - bend the note slightly before releasing so the next note has the same amount of energy.

Once you can play each note cleanly with equal duration and loudness, then start moving up the metronome and focusing on getting the technique up to speed.

Arpeggios

Here are some arpeggios for practicing tapping in tab format. We have root position, first inversion, and second inversion chords, with major and minor variations of each chord, with ascending and descending arpeggios for each variation.

Root Position

Major

  |---P5----|
  |-M3-|-m3-|
--5----9----12--

--t12-p5-h9-t12-p5-h9-t12-p5-h9-t12-p5-h9-t12--

--t12-p9-p5-t12-p9-p5-t12-p9-p5-t12-p9-p5-t12--

Minor

  |---P5----|
  |-m3-|-M3-|
--5----8----12--

--t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-h8-t12--

--t12-p8-p5-t12-p8-p5-t12-p8-p5-t12-p8-p5-t12--

1st Inversion

Major

  |---m6----|
  |-m3-|-P4-|
--4----7----12--

--t12-p4-h7-t12-p4-h7-t12-p4-h7-t12-p4-h7-t12--

--t12-p7-p4-t12-p7-p4-t12-p7-p4-t12-p7-p4-t12--

Minor

  |---M6----|
  |-M3-|-P4-|
--3----7----12--

--t12-p3-h7-t12-p3-h7-t12-p3-h7-t12-p3-h7-t12--

--t12-p7-p3-t12-p7-p3-t12-p7-p3-t12-p7-p3-t12--

2nd Inversion

Major

  |---M6----|
  |-P4-|-M3-|
--3----8----12--

--t12-p3-h8-t12-p3-h8-t12-p3-h8-t12-p3-h8-t12--

--t12-p8-p3-t12-p8-p3-t12-p8-p3-t12-p8-p3-t12--

Minor

  |---m6----|
  |-P4-|-m3-|
--4----9----12--

--t12-p4-h9-t12-p4-h9-t12-p4-h9-t12-p4-h9-t12--

--t12-p9-p4-t12-p9-p4-t12-p9-p4-t12-p9-p4-t12--

Advanced

Here are the same arpeggios from above, but arranged to make the sequence more interesting (and complicated!). Instead of repeating every 3 notes, these patterns repeat every 10 notes. 

--t12-p9-p5-t12-p5-p9-t12-p5-t12-p9-t12-p9-p5-t12-p5-h9-t12-p5-t12-p9-t12-

--t12-p8-p5-t12-p5-p8-t12-p5-t12-p8-t12-p8-p5-t12-p5-h8-t12-p5-t12-p8-t12-

--t12-p7-p4-t12-p4-p7-t12-p4-t12-p7-t12-p7-p4-t12-p4-h7-t12-p4-t12-p7-t12-

--t12-p7-p3-t12-p3-p7-t12-p3-t12-p7-t12-p7-p3-t12-p3-h7-t12-p3-t12-p7-t12-

--t12-p8-p3-t12-p3-p8-t12-p3-t12-p8-t12-p8-p3-t12-p3-h8-t12-p3-t12-p8-t12-

--t12-p9-p4-t12-p4-p9-t12-p4-t12-p9-t12-p9-p4-t12-p4-h9-t12-p4-t12-p9-t12-

Timing

The ameteur player never worries about how many arpeggios he taps per beat - he just taps as fast as he can. And he sounds like an ameteur. Spend some time to work on your timing to make sure each note has the proper duration and fits the rhythm.

Most tapping consists of simple 3 note ascending or descending arpeggios. These are commonly written as 16th note triplets, that's 6 notes per beat, or 2 arpeggios per beat. These are usually very simple to play to a beat, especially if the first note of the arpeggio is the tapped note - your right hand will tap on the beats and the "ands" between the beats. So 

1   n   uh  and n   uh  2   n   uh  and n   uh  3   n   uh  and n   uh  4   n   uh  and n   uh  1
---------6:4----------  ---------6:4----------  ---------6:4----------  ---------6:4----------
t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--h9--t12---

Here's a pattern of 2 triads + 2 additional notes, equalling 8 notes. When played as 16th notes, these consume 2 beats: 

  1   uh  and uh  2   uh  and uh  3   uh  and uh  4   uh  and uh  1   uh  and
--t12-p9--p5--t12-p5--p9--t12-p5--t12-p9--p5--t12-p5--h9--t12-p5--t12-p5--h9--

Where it gets tricky is when the tapping pattern doesn't repeat, or doesn't repeat on the beat.

Other Techniques/Uses

Tap and Bend/Bend and Tap

While tapping is often done for speed and arpeggios, it also works well to hammer-on a note higher than an accented, sustained note. See the example below: 

e-------5----t17--
b-5-6-8-----------
  E F G A     A

Here we ascend the A Minor scale up to A, then tap the octave above. 

e-----------------
b-5-6-8-b10--ht22--
  E F G A      A

Here's the same phrase, but we're bending into the A, then tapping. Notice the tab says to tap the 22nd fret, but this is misleading. We actually tap the 20th fret. See the 'h'? That means hold, so we hold the prior bend. The number '22' indicates the desired pitch, not the actual fret. Since we were using a whole bend from 8 to 10, we tap a step below the A (fret 20 instead of 22). We continue to hold the bend with our left hand while tapping with the right hand. 

e--------------------
b-5-6-8b10--ht17r15--
  E F G A     E  D

Here's the same thing, but after tapping (we initially tap on the 15th fret, which is bent to the pitch of the 17th), we release the bend. This allows the pitch descend from the high E to the D - the natural pitch of the 15th fret.

Trill

A trill is a quick succession of two notes alternating back and forth. Their timing is not really important, as long as they alternate back and forth very quickly. 

   1    2    3    4
b--5tr6-----------8--

b--5h6p5h6p5h6p5--8--

A trill is marked in tab with the 'tr' seen above, indicating to alternate between the two notes as fast as possible until the next note or rest. In the above example, you would trill on the E and F notes from beat 1 through 3 but then play the G on beat 4. Note that the 'tr' method of marking trills is preferred to the second example which displays it as a series of hammer-on and pull-offs, which is more difficult to write and rhythmically confusing.

Typically, a trill is performed by using hammer-ons and pull-offs - the legato on the same string ensures the trill is clean without having to worry about a ringing string when alternating strings or synchronizing the left and right hands. The problem is that this limits your trills to 2nds or 3rds, since there is only so much distance your left hand can cover on one string.

Tapping alleviates the distance constraint while maintaining the cleanliness of the single string legato.

Tapping is also an excellent way to perform a trill if you want to change the notes of the trill, say each beat. See the two examples below 

  1      2      3      4
--t12tr5-t12tr6-t12tr8-t12tr10-

Here the tapped note is constant while the lower note moves upwards. We can put our left hand in 5th position and use the index, middle, and pinky fingers to hold the 5, 6, and 8 frets. For beat 4, we simply slide up with our pinky held on the fret, sliding from fret 8 to 10 and continuing the trill. 

  1      2      3      4
--t12tr5-t14tr5-t16tr5-t17tr5--

Here the low note is held constant while the tapped note ascends. We just move our right hand up the fretboard each beat. 

  1      2      3      4
--t17tr5-t16tr6-t14tr8-t12tr10--

Here's a series of trills where both notes change each beat. The low and high notes seem to converge.

2-3 Octave Tapped Arpeggios

The idea here is to hammer-on/tap or pull-off all the notes, moving diagonal and skipping strings, so there is one octave per string. Each string repeats the same interval pattern and notes, only in different octaves. 

 E-----------------------------------------------------
 B--------------------h10h13t17p13p10------------------
 G-----------------------------------------------------
 D-----------h7-h10t14---------------t14p10p7----------
 A-----------------------------------------------------
 E--h5-h8-t12---------------------------------t12p8-p5-
     i  p  +  i  p  +  i  p  +  p  i  +  p  i  +  p  i

Two-Hand Tapping

Two-hand or 8-Finger Tapping is a technique that uses hammered-on notes from most to all fingers of both the left and right hands. It differs from plain ole tapping in that it approaches playing the guitar from a completely different perspective. While traditional tapping might appear for a phrase in a solo, two-hand tapping tends to be used exclusively for an entire song or major section of a song.

Two hand tapping allows arpeggiation of complex chords and fast movement from low to high registers, or vice versa. Its weaknesses are that it generally allows less expression (including the ability to accent) on each note and is difficult to play melodies that cover a smaller range of notes.

Unlike traditional tapping that uses several notes on the same string, two-hand tapping often involves hammering-on every note on various strings without pull-offs. The key to getting the technique right is to perform clean hammer-ons and get good mutes when releasing the notes. The hammer-ons must be precise, not hitting unused strings causing additional noise. A compressor is often used to even out note dynamics and lengthen sustain, but it is not a replacement for solid technique. The compressor will also make unwanted fret and string noise more apparent. Also, the hammer-ons should try to achieve equal dynamics without compression, as the differences will still be noticeable both in tone and how hard the compressor kicks on.

The biggest issue with this technique is muting undesirable ringing open strings. Often a wristband or a similar absorbant material is placed on top the strings over the 1st or 2nd fret to mute all the open strings.

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Homework

Practice all the tab on this page. Play each tapping pattern on multiple strings and different places on the guitar neck.

Play tapping trills for various intervals and scales on different strings and locations on the neck.

Play 2-3 octave tapped arpeggios for various chords and inversions.

Learn the tapping parts to the solos in the following songs:

  • Arsis - We Are The Nightmare
  • Buckethead - Jordan
  • Bumblefoot - Guitars Suck
  • Dave Martone - Fumble Fingers
  • Dave Martone - Starz Scarz
  • Dragonforce - Valley Of The Damned
  • Dream Theater - Under A Glass Moon
  • Dream Theater - Wait For Sleep
  • Dokken - Tooth And Nail
  • Extreme - Get The Funk Out
  • Guthrie Govan - Fives
  • Joe Satriani - Satch Boogie
  • Mattias Eklundh - Lisa's Passion For Heavy Metal
  • Metallica - One
  • Mr. Big - Green Tinted Sixties Mind
  • Necrophagist - Stabwound
  • Necrophagist - Symbiotic In Theory
  • Necrophagist - Fermented Offal Discharge
  • Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (beginning of solo + trills)
  • Paul Gilbert - Four Seasons
  • Paul Gilbert - Get Out Of My Yard (without human capo)
  • Protest The Hero - Bloodmeat
  • Reb Beach - Black Magic
  • Steve Vai - Building The Church
  • Steve Vai - Liberty
  • Steve Vai - Bad Horsie
  • Steve Vai - The Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover
  • Symphony X - Sea Of Lies
  • Symphony X - Of Sins And Shadows
  • Symphony X - Eve of Seduction
  • Van Halen - Dreams
  • Van Halen - Eruption
  • Van Halen - Hot For Teacher
  • Van Halen - Jump
  • Van Halen - 5150

Try These Examples of Two-Hand Tapping:

  • Many songs by Scale the Summit
  • see this SSO thread[1]: Jennifer Batten, Jeff Watson, Steve Lynch, Dave Celentano, Stanley Jordan, TJ Helmerich, Niels Vejlyt, Derryl Gabel, Ron Thal, Chris Broderik, Jeff Lumis, Matt Hale, Daniele Gottardo
  • Joe Satriani - Midnight, Day at the Beach, The Forgotten Pt. 1, The Headless Horseman
  • Steve Vai - The Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover (This is admittedly a weak example - Vai uses traditional tapping, but uses an additional finger from the right hand to extend the arpeggios one note higher.)
  • Dave Martone - Tap Thang
  • Kiko Loureiro - Tapping Into My Dark Tranquility
  • Angra - Heroes Of Sand
  • Zack Kim - Super Mario Theme
  • Stanley Jordan - Anything
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Q & A

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