Tapping mini-course

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #1 02-07-2006, 10:41 PM

Hi everybody.

Some friends at the Ernie Ball forums have told me about their interest on getting started on the two-handed tapping technique for bass, so last night I recorded some short videos trying to explain the basics of the technique just as a "vacation farewell". Of course, I want to share them with the TalkBass community as well. My intention was to upload the files to PutFile, but size limit was not enough for me, so I decided to use YouTube for this. PLEASE EXCUSE MY ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION. Currently I have nobody who can help me practicing it.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 5 is about practicing independence and as I said there, there are much simpler exercises for this, but I wanted to share that one because it's very cool (at least for me). Here's the transcription for that exercise:

There's an important remark about this exercise that I forgot to mention: In part 2, I said that the right thumb always must be on the top side of the neck. When playing double stops on adjacent strings, the situation is a bit different. Anchoring the thumb only works for intervals greater than a tritone (most likely tritone, perfect fifth and minor sixth), but the smaller ones (most likely perfect fourth, major third and minor third) become very awkard to play without letting your thumb float (actually, minor thirds must be played with the thumb and the middle finger).

I hope you'll find this information useful. I'm by no means an expert on the technique but I like it and have been struggling with that for years. My knowledge on this is very limited but I think it's very useful for the tapping newbie who really wants to get into this stuff. Have fun!

superbassman2000 · #2 02-07-2006, 11:36 PM

pretty cool!
thanks for the great post and vids!

**JoshB** · #3 02-08-2006, 12:46 AM

Thanks a ton!! Great resources!

bassist 4 life · #4 02-08-2006, 01:20 AM

Thanks Alvaro, you rock.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #5 02-08-2006, 05:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMASH

What do you use to make that notation in a graphic format?

Finale has a built-in tool for converting .MUS files to .TIFF format. After that, I use IrfanView to convert the .TIFF file to .JPG (I do that just because .JPG is a more popular format).

I'm glad you find this useful, guys!

tbone0813 · #6 02-08-2006, 07:58 AM

Coming from someone who hasn't attempted tapping in the past this is a good starting point. Thanks Alvaro.

Jason Carota · #7 02-08-2006, 09:31 AM

Very cool, Alvaro. Thanks, and have a great vacation!

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #8 02-08-2006, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason Carota

Very cool, Alvaro. Thanks, and have a great vacation!

Well, actually what I meant is that I'm saying goodbye to my vacation time

.

Jason Carota · #9 02-08-2006, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Well, actually what I meant is that I'm saying goodbye to my vacation time

.

Oops, my mistake! Vacation or not, the videos and transcription are still great.

jusaplaya · #10 02-08-2006, 03:59 PM

That is a great set of videos. Just one more reason to get DSL. I think that I will be adding tapping to repetoire soon.

Marcus · #11 02-08-2006, 10:09 PM

Alvaro... simply excellent.

This page has just been bookmarked.

phxlbrmpf · #12 02-09-2006, 05:46 AM

Wow, I had no idea you were "allowed" to fret the root with your thumb and the major third with your index finger, that's why fretting thirds always felt so awkward to me. It's a lot easier this way.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A. · #13 02-09-2006, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phxlbrmpf

Wow, I had no idea you were "allowed" to fret the root with your thumb and the major third with your index finger, that's why fretting thirds always felt so awkward to me. It's a lot easier this way.

Maybe you wanted to say "minor"? Although it also can be done for major thirds I feel it's not necessary, while for minor thirds is a must.

**Vorago** · #14 02-09-2006, 06:05 AM

awesome man, thanks a bunch

phxlbrmpf · #15 02-09-2006, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Maybe you wanted to say "minor"? Although it also can be done for major thirds I feel it's not necessary, while for minor thirds is a must.

Yeah, I meant "major", it feels a lot more comfortable to me to fret them with my thumb and index finger. If I use my middle finger for the root and my index finger for the third, I have to place my hand at a weird angle.

anonymous278347457 · #16 02-10-2006, 12:58 PM

that is truly awesome.

never realised tapping was that simple. I need to get my fingers stronger though. Im trying to put to much force into it, and now i get a funny feeling when I type

Warwickluvr · #17 02-15-2006, 05:39 PM

Thanks for the videos. Really helpful.

Kroy · #18 02-16-2006, 11:56 AM

Great videos and nice Van Halen chops

Eddard · #19 02-17-2006, 08:25 AM

Gran trabajo Alvaro, enhorabuena y gracias

(Great work Alvaro, congratulations and thank you)

Drake Kennedy · #20 02-17-2006, 05:49 PM

Alvaro, you rock. I've been wanting to learn how to tap for a while, but never got around to it in lessons, nor have found anywhere to buy a DVD, but this has really helped. Gracias!

On another note, how long have you been speaking English? Your pronunciation and grammar is a lot better than some native speakers I know