Guitar Technique: Basics of Tapping

What is tapping? Simply, it is using your picking hand to hammer on and off of the neck. It may be intimidating to the beginner, but in reality, it is actually very simple.

There are several different ways to tap onto the fretboard with your picking hand. The first method is tucking the pick into your palm and using your index finger to tap. The second method is keep your pick between your thumb and index finger and use your middle finger to tap. The third method is to use the edge of your pick to tap. It is all a matter of preference which method you decide to use. It may be quicker to switch between tapping and picking by using the first two methods but the sound created by using the edge of the pick may be clearer and sharper.

Now, onto the actual tapping. Just as a reminder, be sure to use a metronome for every exercise. It is important to always stay in time. I recommend starting at 60bpm (beats per minute) and slowly increasing in intervals of 2-5bpms.

Exercise 1: Using your picking hand, tap on the twelfth fret on the high e string and then pull off onto the fifth fret. For every click of the metronome, you will play two notes.

E||--12----5----12----5----||

B||------------------------||

G||------------------------||

D||------------------------||

A||------------------------||

E||------------------------||

Exercise 2: Add another finger into the equation. Same as before, but add a pull off from the fifth fret to the second fret. Also, keep in mind these notes are triplets, and you will be playing three notes per click.

E||--12----5----2----12----5----2----||

B||----------------------------------||

G||----------------------------------||

D||----------------------------------||

A||----------------------------------||

E||----------------------------------||

Exercise 3: Just like exercise two, but instead tap the twelfth fret to the second fret and then hammer on to the fifth fret. Once, again, three notes per click.

E||--12----2----5----12----2----5----||

B||----------------------------------||

G||----------------------------------||