Angle of Right Hand for Tapping

[chaosMK]

Not a lot of people in my scene use tapping, so I havent had a lot of chances to observe a wide range of styles/techniques.

When I tap, I use two hands. Depending where and how I am tapping, my right hand is usually closer to perpendicular to the fretboard than parellel.

However, I've seen a few guys who have their RH parallel, right above the fretboad. These guys seem to use a lot of slides with the right hand.

I've been moving in the direction of using more and more tapping in my bass playing (have some songs currently where about half my basslines are tapping, one song in the works that may end up all done with tapping). However, I usually only use two fingers with my RH to hold melodic lines. Am I missing something by not developing the parallel to fretboard angle?

[gstbass]

Parallel tapping can be quite difficult for many people. All the guitarists I personally know tap perpendicularly. I personally tap using both, but perpendicular is easier for me.

Both methods have different uses; I uses perp tapping to hold out chords and parallel tapping for arpeggio/melody lines.

Your technique should be personal; any virtouso you can think of has adapted from a weakness that they had or found a way around something they couldn't achieve.

[Lalabadie]

I tap almost parallel, but my index and middle finger bend inwards, so I guess with straight fingers I'd play a little perpendicular. Pick what position allows you to play comfortably; that's the most important part, I guess.