Tapping is a guitar technique which uses hammer-on and pull-off motions that are applied by the picking hand on the fretboard. So basically it’s like adding more fingers to the fretting hand.

The most common tapping licks incorporate an extra finger on the fretboard, but there are also more advanced ideas, which add 2 or more fingers. These types of licks are commonly known as two handed tapping or multi-finger tapping.

Something really good about tapping is that you can actually shred with really easy to play licks. So in this course we will learn mainly easy tapping lines and a few more advanced ones.

A good start will be learning basic 1 string tapping patterns using the minor pentatonic and the natural minor scales. Then we will play those patterns on all strings.

Next let's learn the scales shapes we will be using.

This is the first position of the minor pentatonic and natural minor scales.


A Natural Minor Scale (Aeolian mode)

Shape 1

This is a slightly different shape which has 3 notes per string. This is the one that we will use for the A natural minor licks.

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So let's play a few 1 string patterns with the A minor pentatonic scale.

Pattern 1: On 1 String

So this pattern uses the notes of position 1 of the A minor pentatonic scale. In this case, we will start with the first string. Of course, the tapped note belongs to the A minor pentatonic scale. Tapping licks usually use the hammer-on and pull-of techniques.

Pattern 2: On 1 String

This is a variation from the first pattern, which we will call it "Pattern 2".

Pattern 1: On All Strings

Now we will apply pattern 1 on all strings.

Pattern 2: On All Strings

Now let's do the same with patten 2 on all strings. Notice that we are playing all the tapped notes in the 12^th fret, except on the 2^nd string, which we should play on the 13^th fret (C), since the note on the 12^th fret (B), doesn't belong to the pentatonic scale.

The next step will be adding more patterns with another scale. One of the most used scales after the pentatonic is the natural minor scale.

So let's learn and practice 2 more patterns with the A minor scale starting with 1 string.

Pattern 3: On 1 String

In this pattern, we will add another note, so we have 3 notes on the fretting hand now.

Pattern 3: On All Strings

Now let's apply pattern 3 on all strings.

Pattern 4: On 1 String

This is a variation from previous example which we will call "Pattern 4".

Pattern 4: On All Strings

This is a very easy turnaround lick which uses 2 string dominant 7th chords descending chromatically.

Another cool idea is to add more scale notes with the tapping hand. Let´s see some examples with the first 2 pentatonic patterns (patterns 1 and 2)

Pattern 1: Variation On 1 String

Pattern 1: Variation On All Strings

Pattern 2: Variation On 1 String

Pattern 2: Variation On All Strings

Now let's do the same thing with patterns 3 and 4, using the A natural minor scale.

Pattern 3: Variaiton On 1 String

Pattern 3: Variation On All Strings

Pattern 4: Variation On 1 String

Pattern 4: Variation on All Strings

So for the final examples, let's see some cool variations for the 4 patterns on 1 string. Then it's your task to apply them to all strings and of course, other scales and keys.

The idea is to double the tapped notes to create an interesting sound, check it out!

Pattern 1: Double Tapped Notes

Pattern 2: Double Tapped Notes

Pattern 3: Double Tapped Notes

Pattern 4: Double Tapped Notes

Alright, so that's cover pretty much all the most basic tapping licks. Of course that there are tons of different ideas and licks, but this is a great start for this awesome technique.

So once you learn these patterns and picks, before learning new ideas, be sure to try them in other scales and keys.

Good practice!

Silvio Gazquez