How to Use the Tapping Technique When Playing Lead Guitar

Series Summary

The guitar has been around for nearly 5,000 years, developed from even more ancient instruments akin to the sitar, it has been inspiring audiences since its first chord was strummed. It is the primary instrument involved with many genres of music including country, blues, flamenco, rock, and pop, and has been celebrated as one of the most expressive instruments in the world. Whether blending acoustic harmonies on a classical guitar or shredding solos on an electric guitar, the importance of the guitar to 20th century music cannot be ignored.

In this free video series, our expert Stephen Haediges will show you how to play the guitar from a left handed persons perspective. He will teach you how to play the guitar using a tapping technique made famous by Eddie Van Halen. Stephen will show you how to play the lead using the tapping technique, add hammer ons, pull offs, and several other variations. He will also show you how to add bends, harmonics, arpeggios, and he'll even show you how to do it with a pick!

Video Transcript

"Another common technique used in rock playing, especially with the advent of Eddie Van Halen was finger tapping. Again kind of an old school technique now, since it's been about thirty years since it was introduced and as far as in rock music. Basically what the purpose of it was was to add another dimension to what you could while playing lead or add to rhythms as well but in this primary example I'm going to show it as a lead technique. Basically what you do when you tap is I'm going to use A minor for the example, is you tap on the twelfth fret and it's almost like pulling off here to the eighth fret and then pulling off to the fifth fret A. So that would be going and you can just play that. That's the most basic form of finger tapping as far as using it in a lead context. And you do that on each string and then maybe go five seven here and then the twelfth fret on the G. "