Tapping

[~AllRemovables~]

I have two questions about tapping:

1)On the lessons here at this site it says u should tap using one of your fingers. However some tabs say 'tap using the edge of your pick'. So which is it? Is it just that you use your pick for the higher notes and finger for lower notes?

2)How do you make a smoothe transition between picking normally and tapping and back again, both in terms of where your right hand along the guitar neck and how you are holding the pick?

Also does anyone know of any good tapping excersises or cool sounding licks which i could find?

Thanx for your help

[Andrew]

1)If the tab say's 'tap with the edge of your pick' it is pick tapping, which is different from normal tapping. In normal tapping, you will always use your fingers.

2)It comes with practice, but you could try picking closer to where you are going to tap ie over the fretboard. It shouldnt matter how you are holding your pick if you are using your middle finger to tap.

[smfulla]

1) ACTUALLY you can use either. If you go to a metallica tab on the net that has tapping, it'll usually say 'tap with edge of pick', but, Kirk never uses his pick to tap... he just uses his fingers. (Just one example)

2) tapping with your middle or ring finger will help the transition go faster, because you dont have to put the pick in any other position

[~AllRemovables~]

thanx for your help. Metallica was actually had in mind('one' to be precise). Do you know any other places with help on tapping?

[smfulla]

Hehe, it's always 'One'. Umm for help on tapping??? Well guitarmania would have been a great source, but at present the archives are ppv, BUT they will be free again. I'm not too sure if cyberfret has a tapping section or not? Riff Interactive has atleast one lesson on tapping

[Andrew]

www.guitarteacher.com has a lesson on tapping

tapping with the pick is quite different from tapping with your fingers. It is difficult to move quickly between different frets and strings, so in pick tapping you will usually stay at one fret on one string and just change the note you are fretting with your left hand.
Like this (pick-tap notes at 12) -

e:---12-5-12-5-12-5-12-7-12-7-12-7-12-8-12-8-12-8-12-9-12-9-12-9-


If a tab just says 'tapping', it will normally be very difficult or impossible to do it with your pick

[smfulla]

A good example of pick tapping is Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien

[WoofBark]

Try some of Bucketheads stuff...

He uses a 10 finger tapping technique, yes, thumbs too.

[Super_smack1]

i find that using your middle finger is best, it makes the pick to tapping transition much easier and it opens up the door for two finger tapping (using both your ring and middle)

[ThrashTillDeath]

I wanna know the name of that Maiden song in the Iron Maiden lesson...Does anyone know what it is(on the interactive guitar lesson site)?

[ThrashTillDeath]

C'MON! IS IT A YES OR A NO?!

[fretfire]

Originally posted by ThrashTillDeath
I wanna know the name of that Maiden song in the Iron Maiden lesson...Does anyone know what it is(on the interactive guitar lesson site)?

Give me a link to the site and I'll see if I can help you out.

[ThrashTillDeath]

http://www.riffinteractive.com/storms/archive.asp?dir=08-27-02

[Daledude2]

for number 2: you should end on a held out note on the left hand that your not tapping with.

[fizz]

THE TROOPER! (is the song it was)

screeeeam for me cyberfret!




SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEAM FOR ME CYBERFRET!



peh. they chose blaze instead of me, how rude!

[cyberfret]

Um...???..........AHHHHHHH!!!!

--Shawn

[punisher]

I've tried taping on peavey and gotten no sound at all. What am i doing wrong or could it be my guitar?

[animalchin]

i dont if this is normal but ive been playing with that tapping riff on cyberfret and my tapping is like 1/2 of my picking sound level, or less. i was wondering if this is normal or if i should hit it with more force or what?

[FlaminFender]

It helps if when you pull of... you sorta pluck to the side, it's hard to 'xplain. it's not as loud as normal picking unless you have lotsa distortion, or really strong fingers.

[fizz]

Yeh - You need to build callous on your tapping finger/s. (possibilities are endless)

[MadMattUK]

I find that when tapping the amplitude in sound output i get decreases :mad:

For example in Am I Evil covered by metallica, the solo has a part where u use legato (sounds really cool) then u change to tapping. Anyone know wot im on about?

Well its during this transition that i lose volume, wot should i do, TAP harder ?!!

[animalchin]

i dont see how randy plays the tapping in crazy train so loud or if it was studio change because i cant get it loud at all

[locouis]

aaaahhh....The DASH CUNNING use of FOOT PEDALS!......and VOLUME CONTROLS!!!!!....tsk tsk tsk

[GuitarGriff]

Tapping is the same thing as hammering isnt it? lol...

Anyways a good solo that has alot of hammering is the one in Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin. Another song that has alot of hammering is Eruption by Van Halen.

[zKing]

Originally posted by GuitarGriff
Tapping is the same thing as hammering isnt it? lol...

<snip>


It's been my experience that when people say "tapping" they mean two hand tapping, a la Eddie Van Halen as opposed to hammering or trilling which is just hammer ons and pull offs with the left hand.

All references in respect to a right hand guitar.

[GuitarGriff]

Ah, I gotcha

[distr0ided]

should u use the nail or fleshy part of your finger when tapping?

[Andrew]

The fleshy part.

[zKing]

On the topic of less volume while two hand tapping:

It is not usually the volume pedal that makes the volume even between tapping/picking parts (this would be too hard to control accurately), a volume pedal is just used to bring up the guitar for solo bits and lay back during vocals/riffs (in general).

The effect you want is: Compressor
These are used EXTENSIVELY in studios. Basically if a signal is above a certain level it will be applified up to a certain point, if the signal is above another level it gets lowered. This "compresses" the signal to a certain volume range and hopefully doesn't amplify low level noise too much.

Almost everything goes through some compression in the studio before it hits the master.

At radio stations they compress the CD's they play even more...what you get over the radio is HEAVILY compressed.

Another odd fact about compressors: You know how on TV you will be hearing background music and then when an anouncer speaks the music lowers smoothly in volume when he's talking...they call this a "duck". Some compressors have a "duck" signal line that will do this automatically...music on input, anouncer mic on duck. When he talks the compressor automatically lowers the level in a gentle way.

Probably 99% of the proffesional audio made in the last 20 years was run through compression at some point.