How does one start learning the "tapping" technique?

[locallau]

After countless hours of marveling at the works of Erik Mongrain, Justin King, and the like, I've decided that it couldn't hurt to at least make an effort to try learning what they do. I'm not expecting many people to know how seeing as it's a really "out-of-the-box" way to play the acoustic. However, are there any tips, tricks, gear, sites, or anything people can recommend to help me get started? Thanks in advance.

[brahmz118]

I'm not a tapping expert, but I don't think there are any mysteries about how it's done in a mechanical sense. If you're interested in composing or improvising with tapping, I think you need the same fundamentals as any other guitar player who's composing or improvising without tapping -- you still have to have some idea about how to make a bunch of notes sound musical, whether as chords or as melodies.

 

On an unamplified acoustic, as you start to tap towards the higher frets, you have the added problem of hearing both sides of the string. Sometimes you might think you hear a harmony note, but it's not really in tune. I think acoustic tappers need to develop a more sophisticated muting technique to block those notes (unless they are going for an intentional non-tonal dissonant sound). Below the 5th fret I don't worry about muting too much, but 5 and above it becomes more and more essential.

 

It's easy to mute with your LH during RH tapping, and vice versa -- you just have to touch the string with your non-tapping finger. It's a little harder to mute with the same hand that's tapping, but this is a useful skill also.

 

Just try to tap two notes, like D and A on the 4th string (alternate RH and LH, respectively):

 

e|----------------|

b|----------------|

g|----------------|

D|--12--7--12--7--|

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

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

 

Without LH muting, it sounds like a traffic jam. But if you 'ride' the string with one of your other LH fingers you can reduce the noise.

 

For tapping intervals, I like tuning my 5th and 6th strings a fifth apart -- Drop D for example. Then I can tap that open fifth for a chordal accompaniment.

 

For example, in Drop D, you can hammer down these 'power chords' with your LH index finger, over the top of the fretboard. (My LH pinky rides those strings to mute.)

 

e|------------|

b|------------|

g|------------|

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

A|--5--8--10--|

D|--5--8--10--|

 

Beyond those basic tips, I would just experiment. Do all the traditional ornaments like hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides with both hands. (I really like the slides, because they break up the constant hammering sound.) And incorporate regular picking as well.

 

And remember to keep everything in a musical context. If you can do the technique, but can't use it to play something as simple as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, then I would focus more on learning the fretboard.

[BackPocket]

I started tapping like most guitar players by doing the typical electric style tapping. Tap-pull off-hammer on-hammer on-repeat. Van Halen style tapping

 

After that I practiced these exercises - http://www.gitaarnet.nl/magazine/workshops/carlosvamos/tabs.php3

 

The second exercise there is used to develop hand independence because they don't use the same rhythm in the base line has the simply melody thing on top.

 

There were some awesome more advanced tabs there but the links are dead now.

 

Following that I spent a lot of time just fretting chords and tapping with my right hand out of those chords. Working around the modes up the neck - adding in slides, hammer ons, pull offs, harmonics etc. Also tapping 2 and 3 notes at once to see what sound good together. I have written entire songs this way and it has a very nice effect.

 

From there I start experimenting with moving those fretted chords to create bass lines and then play other things over them with my right hand. Then including pulls off, hammer ons etc with the bass hand as well.

 

For years, my favorite touch style player is Carlos Vamos. He made that short lesson I posted the link to above. You can find him on youtube but here are some links anyway -

and http://youtube.com/watch?v=b2VyKdayElk .

 

I think a lot of Justin Kings songs are in DADGAD and other open tunings. You can find decent tabs for a bunch of his songs that you see on youtube. Erik Mongrain does not lap tap as much anymore. Those are older videos of him - if you have questions, you should go to his website because he responds to the web board (he used to at least) and I think he is making some instructional materials. Also, I think Mongrain uses an open tuning as well and runs the guitar through some pedals and amplifies it.

 

Besides checking out Carlos Vamos - look into Stanley Jordan (he plays electric but he is a master), Michael Hedges, Andy Mckee, Kaki King, Jennifer Batten, Don Caballero (Band), Minus The Bear, and Maps And Atlases. There are others but I'm hitting a blank right now.

 

Oh, one of the first known touch-style players was back in the 1950's was Jimmy Webster. Check him out here - http://www.geocities.com/websterfiles/webster.html In 1952, Webster wrote the first book on touch-style guitar playing. It was called "The Touch System for Electric and Amplified Spanish Guitar." It's out of print, I have tried to get my hands on it. No luck at all. There are excerpts here from a Gretch Guitar magazine with three pages on Websters style - http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gretschpages.com/media/img/memorabilia/guitarGuide_t190.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gretschpages.com/history/memorabilia/&h=259&w=190&sz=11&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=_HiDRgAj5-ab-M:&tbnh=112&tbnw=82&prev=/images%3Fq%3DJimmie%2BWebster%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG

 

Good luck - Also, having a lower action makes tapping a lot easier as long as you don't get crazy buzz.

[BackPocket]

Also - if you search Touch-Style Guitar or Touch Style Technique you can find information online. Unfortunately, it's often for the Chapman Stick, Warr Guitars, other extended scale touch instruments.

 

Stanley Jordan - "Getting started with Touch Technique" - http://www.stanleyjordan.com/Technique/starting.html

 

Also, guitar setup. I found tapping on my Seagull S6 is very easy. The wide fret board allows me to get my fingers in there well and the short-scale makes the tapping easier.

[notebene]

I find that different acoustics are more amenable to tapping than others. Also, the kind of pickup system you use can bring it out more. On my Taylor 710 (1989) I have a Baggs Duo Preamp with mic and pickup. I find the blend, running through a little compression brings out the tapping better. The best (IMHP) two guitarists I know of who use tapping to an art form are Michael Hedges and Phil Keaggy.

[guitarist21]

Honestly, I learned it by experimenting. Saw that one video of the dude on Youtube and was like "Hm that's pretty cool" and started hitting my guitar in weird places haha. Try laying the guitar on your lap and using the inside of your right forefinger to tap the guitar in areas of natural harmonics (the seventh and twelfth frets are good). Then try it in different tunings and incorporate fretted notes with your right hand. Lots of fun to experiment and you might learn something that a book or a website won't tell you.

 

Ellen

[johnkline]

It's always fun to throw in some tapping after you've bent a note up a step then add some tapping, I agree some acoustics are easier to tap higher up the fretboard than others....

[Hudman]

I'm with Ellen on the experimenting approach.

 

Acoustic tapping tends to be more percusive than electric tapping. Most acoustic tappers will utilize the fretboard, open strings and the actual body of the guitar.

 

The tapping / slapping technique on acoustic guitar reminds me more of electric bass technique than the technique used with the electric guitar.