Master Creative Guitar Tapping Using This Tutorial
By Tom Hess
Want to learn how to play with awesome guitar tapping technique?
You're in the right spot to learn about it.
I spent many years trying to play guitar tapping licks like my favorite guitarists at the time.
I couldn’t figure out what players like EVH or Steve Vai were doing that I wasn’t doing.
Finally, I took lessons with a local guitar teacher.
Then I saw what I was doing wrong.
With the help of a guitar teacher, I was able to transform my skills and become the player I am today.
The following video demonstrates the five things that changed my tapping technique forever:
I've got three more pieces of advice to help you become better at tapping.
Even better:
These things are easy to perform, so expert level skills are not required.
Have a look:
Guitar Tapping Tip #1. Use Two-Hand Tapping With Your Arpeggios
Tapping makes sweep picking arpeggios sound even more impressive and jaw-dropping than before.
Watch this video from one of my top guitar students to observe how this sounds:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L77Sj14MHlU
Want to practice what you saw in the video? Get the tab here (no email necessary).
Tip: Make this skill combination easier by keeping your picking hand closer to the neck pickup area. This helps you transition quickly between techniques.
Guitar Tapping Tip #2. Tap Out Your Harmonics
You can tap harmonics by simply tapping the fret five, seven or twelve frets higher than the one you are currently fretting.
This process helps you do it:
- Fret the 9th fret of the G string on your guitar.
- Lightly touch the 21st fret of the same string using the middle finger of your tapping hand, then move your finger away from the fretboard immediately.
This produces a harmonic.
Repeat this process by playing on frets 14 and 16 to play those harmonics.
Tip: Don't press the string down to create the harmonic. This will just produce a normal note instead.
Guitar Tapping Tip #3. Tapped Vibrato
Tapping with vibrato makes your guitar licks more expressive and melodic than before.
Here’s how you do it:
- Play any fret with your fretting hand.
- Tap any note that is higher in pitch than the one you fretted. Make sure it is in the same key.
- Apply vibrato to the note by using your fretting hand to create it.
Check out this free video to see a demonstration of tapped vibrato.
These are the keys to making your tapped vibrato sound excellent:
Key #1: Use fretting hand vibrato that is balanced between speed and depth.
Don't play too fast and narrow.
Don't play too slow and wide.
Here is what great vibrato sounds like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99fdscYeUkg&feature=emb_title
Key #2: Get rid of string noise.
Unwanted string noise has the potential to make anything sound bad.
How do you prevent it?
I teach three things to my students.
Here they are:
Embed infographic 3 Effective Ways To Mute Unwanted Guitar String Noise - Tom Hess.jpg
Now that you understand some cool way to tap on guitar, the next technique to improve is sweep picking.
Most guitarists only dream of sweeping fast & clean. It’s time for you to become one of the people who actually does it.
How?
Get this no-cost sweep picking eGuide and learn how to master sweep picking in no time.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, recording artist and composer. He teaches guitar players from all over the world in his online guitar lessons. Learn more on the Tom Hess Wikipedia page.
Post new comment
Please Register or Login to post new comment.