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2 hand tapping coordination

V

velvetkevorkian

Aug 23, 2004
1,405
1
40
Glasgow, Scotland
www.myspace.com
#1
ok, for all you crazy tappers out there- how do you get to the point of being able to play different things with each hand? i can play stuff in unison (or 5ths, etc.) but when it comes to playing even simple independent stuff (say a left hand arpeggio with a right hand melody) i completely lose it. this also happens when i try and play piano, even really easy stuff (e.g "the adult beginner at the piano volume 1")
any advice? just practice?
or am i missing something? :help:
cheers m'dears
Kyle
 
#2
velvetkevorkian said:
ok, for all you crazy tappers out there- how do you get to the point of being able to play different things with each hand? i can play stuff in unison (or 5ths, etc.) but when it comes to playing even simple independent stuff (say a left hand arpeggio with a right hand melody) i completely lose it. this also happens when i try and play piano, even really easy stuff (e.g "the adult beginner at the piano volume 1")
any advice? just practice?
or am i missing something? :help:
cheers m'dears
Kyle
Click to expand...

It's similar to playing the piano, just a lot more uncomfortable. When I do it, I think of the song as a whole (in my head), and just play along. But, practice is the best thing you can do. Practice the different parts with the given hand, then put it together as best as you can.
 
#3
Play one of your hands parts (probably your left's) until you can do it without thinking. Then add in the right hand and OMG you're doing both at the same time.
After you learn alot of tapping stuff then you won't need to think about each part seperately. BTW, USE YOUR PINKIES. I know alot of good bassists who never learn to tap with there pinkys (and your ring finger as it will become weaker than your pinky in the long run) and they suffer from it.
 
#4
I haven't tried it in a few months, to be honest. I've been tapping for almost as long as I've been playing bass (2.5 years -- tapping caught my interest very early) but I couldn't do it. It never REALLY appealed to me anyway. I picked up Progressive Tapping for Bass Guitar a few months ago and started working on it this weekend, it seems like a really good book (I also started back at the basics, since now I'm tapping without those icky metal bars fuglying up my bass).
My own written tapping parts are similar in concept to the first 40 seconds or so of Vic's version of Overjoyed in that the left and right hand parts aren't going off and doing their own thing that works out in the end like on a piano, but rather, the initial attack almost always runs separately so that the left and right hands aren't really moving independent of each other to create individual polyphonic melodies, but rather to create and support one whole melody.
That said, I'm going to be giving contrapuntal tapping another go (or several tries) in the next few months. I might not personally find a use for it, but it's better to have too many tricks in your bag than not enough.
 
#6
i think about it as chords kinda. i play the song thinking about what both hands are doing at the same time, and then piece it together as if there one piece.

in otherwords i dont think of my right hand playing one note and my left another, i think of them playing both the notes at the same time.
 
#7
brungus said:
i think about it as chords kinda. i play the song thinking about what both hands are doing at the same time, and then piece it together as if there one piece.

in otherwords i dont think of my right hand playing one note and my left another, i think of them playing both the notes at the same time.
Click to expand...

I'm offering this as a suggestion, not intending any disrespect to your tip , which by the way I think is helpful.

However, I think it may be counterproductive in some ways to approach two handed tapping like that. I think it's more important to approach it as two separate melodies, and get into the habit of hand independence. Approaching it the way you suggested makes the hands dependent on each other, which is ok if both the hands are playing in the same time signature. But for some more complex stuff it's often harder to do what you said if the left hand is playing a 3/4 and the right hand is playing 7/8. I would suggest getting some beginning drum method books which help teach indepenence between hands/limbs. Once you get used to the idea of hearing two melodies and playing them at once it lets you play a lot of cool stuff. I don't claim to have this level of independence myself, but i'm working on it.
 
#9
i reccomend practise...pick out classical piano pieces....or just guitar parts, like classical gas, the guitar part to stairway to heaven.....might i add to get your polyphonic tapping underway learn stuart hamms version of linus and lucy (The snoopy theme) its a great song to help with left and right hand independance....but basically just look into some stuart hamm, any steve vai, jpe satriani with steve vai in it...i reccomend blue powder..that'll get ya motivated ;)
 
#14
okay, I just got an email from stew..... :)

You guys all have great advice here.

The only thing missing is that you must practice very slow.

the way I do it:
1. know how each part sounds.
2. figure out the best fingering
3. practice both parts simultaneously - super slow.

If you still can't play it, slow it down more. Once you have it down start incrementally speeding it up until you can play it at the tempo you want.
 

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