tapping

[Fleaismyhero]

I wanna learn how to tap, I saw this one bass player do it real fast, now I wanna know how to do it. Any suggestions?

[Freaky Fender]

its kinda hard to explain it in person. but you should place your finger over a fret, press down on the string, and let it bounce off of the fret, and try to do it with one finger, then 2, the 3........ you get the idea. it may be horrible advice, but thats how i learned it

[melvin]

What kind of tapping do you mean? Stu Hamm tapping, or Eddie Van Halen tapping?

The Stu Hamm kind, is sorta (for lack of better words) like only hammer ons, yaknow pressing down the string, but no plucking.

The Eddie Van Halen kind is the kind all guitarist do. Its really hard to explain but Ill try.

Ok what you do is tap, say the 12 fret on the G string, then as you take your finger off that fret, you slide it off, so the open G rings, then you hammer on another fret, say the seventh. Make sense? Probably not.

[big daddy cool]

so what exactly is tapping? is it just like hammering but with the tips of your fingers or what?

[melvin]

Tapping is when you hammer on all the notes, you use both hands but your plucking hand is up on the fret board doing hammer ons too.

Hope that made sense

[FeTiS]

melvin, that actually made plenty sense. i thought it was more or less just pressing down the fret with a bit of force to make a sound, not a double handed deal.

[frankencow150]

ask ur teacher,ifu dont have one,go to the music store ask a guy to get a bass down and say what exactly is tapping,i dont get it?if he doesnt help you,ask another guy.

[Turock]

Originally posted by Fleaismyhero
I wanna learn how to tap, I saw this one bass player do it real fast, now I wanna know how to do it. Any suggestions?

Try here. This guy is incredible! This has got to be one of the best sites I've ever come across for tapping:
http://dannydaniels.com/

[cassanova]

Originally posted by Fleaismyhero
I wanna learn how to tap, I saw this one bass player do it real fast, now I wanna know how to do it. Any suggestions?

This is definatly one of those things thats easier to show you than it is to type out, but here goes

you need to get your fingers used to doing it

so you for example tap C on the E string with your left hand and C on the A string (high C, not 3rd fret C) with your right hand, tap both of them at the same time

now play the same notes,(at the same time again) but play them with all 4 fingers, starting with finger #1 then 2, 3, and 4

once you get that down start going up chromaticly (in unisin again) with each finger. C,C#,D,D#

once you get used to doing them in usisin try doing them opposite each other, 1/4 note fashion
ex:finger#1, left hand, then finger #1, right hand

try C major scale with only left hand tapping, then try it with the right hand (starting with C note on the A string, 15th Fret)

then try it in unisin, using both left and right hands again.

then try doing it alternating between hands again, Ex: left, right, left, etc.


i hope this didnt confuse you too much, but its late and the only way I could think of explaining it right now.


if you are really serious about learning how to tap, i suggest you go out and buy Stu Hams, Slap Pop and Tap for the electric bass, it covers many aspects of tapping.