How to Hammer Tap on Guitar Like Eddie Van Halen

Hammer tapping is a method of playing guitar which uses both the fret and the picking hands to rapidly play a series of notes. The technique, made popular by guitarist Eddie Van Halen in the late seventies with his blistering guitar solo "Eruption," can be achieved in several ways. Here you will learn the style used by Eddie Van Halen himself.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Hold down the B-string at the fifth fret with your fret hand's forefinger just as you normally would if you were going to play that single note. It is important that you do not lift your finger off of this string while tapping.
2. Transfer of the pick is the main benefit of Eddie's technique. Grip the pick with only the middle finger. Curl your middle finger in toward your palm and tuck the pick between the first knuckle and where your finger meets your hand. With a little practice, transferring the pick from a normal picking grip, to the middle finger grip, and back will become effortless.
3. Grip your pick out of the way in the bend of your middle finger, position your picking hand over the guitar neck near the twelfth fret. Grab the guitar neck gently with your thumb on the top and your ring finger and pinky finger on the bottom. Holding the neck lightly in this manner ensures that your finger is positioned correctly.
4. Press the B-string at the fifth fret with your fret hand, hammer on to the B-string at the twelfth fret with the forefinger of your tapping hand.
5. Pull your tapping finger off of the B-string with a slight upward motion. This will gently pluck the string, sounding the note you're still holding at the fifth fret with your fret hand.
6. Hammer on to the B-string at the eight fret with the pinky finger of your fret hand.
7. Repeat Steps 4 through 6.

Tips & Warnings

• The value in this method is in gripping the pick out of the way with your bent middle finger. When you practice this method be sure to start strumming something normally first so that you can practice transferring the pick to your middle finger.
• If you are new to hammer tapping, start slowly to develop good form.
• This method is very specific and creates an extremely stable position for hammer tapping.
• The problem with using your picking hand to tap is finding some way to get rid of the guitar pick. Some people will simply hold the pick between their thumb and forefinger and tap with their middle finger. This makes for a rapid transition from normal picking to tapping, but it is not a very stable position to tap in. Another option is to quickly transfer the pick to your mouth, thereby freeing up your forefinger for tapping. This can hardly be done quickly enough, and usually ends up in a dropped pick.