Intermediate Rock Tapping
by Ioannis Anastassakis

Greetings fellow guitarists! This is the 1st installment in what will hopefully be an extended series of articles on Contemporary Rock Guitar Techniques. During the next few months we will be examining the most advanced techniques for the electric guitar, like right-hand tapping, sweep picking, string skipping, hybrid picking, wide stretches and various wild and crazy combinations of all of the above! In each article, I will present 3-5 examples of a given technique. This month we will examine the exciting technique of...

Right-Hand Tapping

Right-hand tapping was popularized (but certainly NOT invented) by the great rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen, in the late 1970s. The main advantage of tapping is that it offers the performer the opportunity to play much wider intervals than would be possible using conventional picking techniques and also gives the bonus of added speed, since it divides the fretting job between two hands!

Ideally, you should be using an electric guitar, with a medium/low string action. Humbucking pickups tend to sound better for tapping, since they produce higher output. Turn up the gain on your amplifier and let's rock!! All examples will be played twice - once very slowly and once fast at performance speed.

All of the following music examples are from my upcoming Book/DVD 60 Tapping Licks for Contemporary Rock Guitar to be published in 2007 by Mel Bay Publications!

Example #1

For our first example, here's a short pedal point lick. Pedal point is a melodic technique primarily used in the Baroque period, wherein the same bass note is alternated with other notes. This is a slightly classical-sounding phrase, but it will sound great over any rock tune in A minor, A Dorian or E minor.

Click to hear Example1.mp3!

Performance Tips: Rest your RH thumb on the upper edge of the fretboard, where the fret markers are. This will give you a firm point of reference. Tap with your middle finger and then pull-off in a downward motion. Make sure the tapped note rings very cleanly and be careful to avoid extraneous string noise. Use a metronome to guarantee accurate timing!

Example #2

The second example uses the trusty E minor pentatonic scale, played at the 12th position on the 1st string. This is an EXCELLENT lick for adding excitement to a rock/metal solo in E minor! This example is based on an idea by the great rock guitar virtuoso, Greg Howe.

Click to hear Example2.mp3!

Performance Tips: Again, rest your RH thumb on the top edge of the fretboard and use your middle finger to tap, being careful to avoid extraneous noise. Alternatively, you can try alternating RH fingers when tapping this lick really quickly! Use your middle finger for the 15th-fret taps and your ring finger for the 17th-fret taps.

Example #3

Next is the E natural minor scale! This GREAT lick, based on the playing of the amazing Steve Vai- is an excellent linear run that can be played very fast!

Click to hear Example3.mp3!

Performance Tips: Using the same hand position as before, use your middle finger to tap. Be aware of extraneous noise and use a metronome as correct timing is very important in this lick!!!

Suggested Listening:

• Van Halen "Van Halen"
• Steve Vai "Alien Love Secrets"
• Joe Satriani "Surfing with the Alien"
• Extreme "Pornograffitti"
• Mr. Big "Mr. Big"
• White Lion "White Lion"

Well, that's all for this month!!! Make sure you work on the examples slowly at first before trying to play them fast - a little patience will pay off quickly. Listen carefully to the MP3 recordings to get a clear idea of what each phrase is supposed to sound like at slow and fast speeds. If you have any comments on my articles, suggestions for future columns or any kind of relevant questions, feel free to email me at info@ioannis.org.

For latest news and updates, please check out my Myspace profile at www.myspace.com/ioannisanastassakis

Ioannis Anastassakis holds a Master of Arts degree in Guitar Performance and has taught guitar in several universities and guitar festivals in the US and Europe. He has studied electric guitar with Frank Gambale, Paul Gilbert, Vinnie Moore, Brett Garsed, Scott Henderson, Steve Vai, Marty Friedman and John Petrucci (Dream Theater). Currently, he teaches at the American College of Greece; he is preparing an extensive series of educational materials concentrating on both contemporary electric and flamenco guitar for Mel Bay Publications.

Please visit the official Ioannis Anastassakis website at www.ioannis.org.