Guitar Study
Finger Tapping: From Basic to Craziness!
Instructor: Sean Conklin
Total lessons in study:
In this study, we'll be exploring the very basics of finger tapping, then gradually increasing difficulty to some pretty difficult runs!
1. Beginner Finger Tapping
Welcome to the Finger Tapping Tutorial! This is a fairly large tutorial that spans from beginning to advanced levels. So no matter what skill level you're at, I'd encourage you to go through the whole thing from start to finish. There's something for everyone here. With that said, let's rock!
Well, what is finger tapping? ...Read More
Most of the time, you will be using both hands while finger tapping. When playing tapping passages, you'll usually either be hammering on from your fret-hand to your tapping-hand, or pulling off from your tapping-hand to your fret-hand.
In this exercise, we will be ascending and descending on the strings. While ascending, ...Read More
Now that you have a grasp on the basic execution of finger tapping, we are going to start working on the coordination of our fret-hand fingers while we tap.
There are four exercises in this lesson. The 1st exercise utilizes the index and middle fingers on the fretting hand. The 2nd exercise utilizes the index and ring fing...Read More
Using open strings while tapping is an excellent way to add some cool texture to your playing.
There are two ways to make an open string sound. An open string either sounds after being picked, or after a finger pulls off from a fretted note to the open string. Right now, we are going to discuss the latter, in the context o...Read More
Okay. Now that we practiced how to avoid unwanted open-string noise, we can work on tapping with an open string.
In this tapping exercise, you are going to be tapping with your index finger, then pulling off to your fret-hand index finger, then pulling off to the open B string, then hammering back on with your fret-hand in...Read More
2. Intermediate to Advanced Finger Tapping
Here is one more example of how we can incorporate an open string with tapping. In this exercise, we will be playing the open D string for every other note.Read More
In the next three lessons, we are going to learn three different ways we can tap the same 8 notes on two strings.
All the following exercises will be in the key of A minor. Practice them very slowly and do your best to copy the form and posture you see in the videos. Just a reminder, keep every note at an equal volume!
In...Read More
Note Variations - Exercise 2 of 3
In the next lesson, we'll look at the 3rd variation.Read More
Note Variations - Exercise 3 of 3
Good job. Now I recommend that you try your own variations using the same notes. There are infinite possibilities!
Head on over to the next lesson where we'll be looking at some Pentatonic tapping.Read More
If you desire to effectively implement tapping into your playing, you need to make sure that you are very comfortable finger tapping through scales. Finger tapping is a popular and sometimes necessary element to lead guitar playing. And if you want to be a successful lead guitarist, you will need to know how to apply finger...Read More
Now, let’s ascend on the B minor pentatonic scale, still playing three notes per string. To “ascend” means to start from a lower note and progress toward a higher note. Again, make sure every note is equal in volume.
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Lastly, we are going to merge descending and ascending together. In lengthy tapping runs, it is likely you will both ascend and descend through scales, as you can only do one or the other for so long until you run out of notes!
Try this exercise in different positions. Play the same shape at the lower end of the fretboard,...Read More
Pedal tones, as they pertain to guitar, are repeated notes played within a musical passage. Pedal tones are a very popular tapping technique. The concept of pedal tones is also heavily used in classical music.
So, let’s say you have a guitar melody. If you wanted to add a pedal tone to that melody, you would insert a...Read More
Let’s try another pedal tone variation. In this exercise, we will be playing a pedal tone melody within the E Major scale. The 12th fret of the E string will be the pedal tone note.
Once you feel comfortable with these pedal tones, try to come up with your own variations. Then, let's move on to string skipping in the...Read More
String skipping is pretty self-explanatory. It is the method of moving from one string to another while skipping a string. It is a technique used usually for practical purposes. A guitarist might choose to string-skip in the same fretboard position instead of playing notes on noticeably different parts of the fretboard. Usi...Read More
In this lesson, we are going to utilize the A Major diatonic scale. If you aren't sure what that means, don’t worry, the scale is outlined in the picture below. Notice the dots have different colors. The green dots represent the notes you’ll play with your fret-hand. The orange dots represent the notes you&rsquo...Read More
In this exercise, we will be grouping 3 strings together at a time while descending. In other words, we’ll descend on a set of 3 strings, then descend on the next set of 3 strings, and so on.
Playing with groups of strings can be a creative alternative to just ascending or descending straight through a scale.
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Slides can add a very cool element to your tapping. We do slides all the time with our fret-hand right? So let's slide with our tapping-hand as well!
In this exercise, we're going to practice sliding with all four fingers. Be sure to notice in the tab how I indicate which fingers to use.
Lastly, while you slide, make sure...Read More
Now we’ll use a more melodic approach with our slides. Watch out for the second measure. You’ll be sliding from the 5th fret to the 7th fret and back. So since you’re sliding a whole step apart, you’ll want to be extra careful in making sure the notes sustain during the slides.
Once you have these s...Read More
What is multi-finger tapping? It's pretty self-explanatory, as it simply involves the use of multiple tapping-hand fingers tapping through a passage. Its existence is for practical reasons, as sometimes it’s difficult to only use a single finger to tap. And of course, no one can deny that multi-finger tapping looks pr...Read More
Let's end this tutorial with a neat multi-finger tapping run in A minor. This one is pretty tough. I recommend practicing it literally note by note. Remember, you're in no rush! Take your time and concentrate on accuracy and proper form. Nothing else matters at this point. Also, pay very close attention to what fingers I in...Read More