Guitar Tapping for Beginners: Level Three
Welcome back to our tapping series. You’ve been building a solid foundation, and now it’s time to add a crucial new skill that will make your tapping licks sound more complete and professional. Here’s exactly what we’ll learn, and as always, be sure to follow if you find it valuable.
Evolving the Technique: Ascending and Descending
In this third level, we’re going to expand on the concepts we’ve already covered. The core idea remains the same, but we’re adding a new layer of complexity that will really open up your playing.
So, we’re going to keep with the same feeling of doing initial notes with our fretting hand on a scale and then tapping the upper notes with our middle finger. This approach keeps the workload balanced between your two hands and is the key to clean, fast tapping. But up until now, we’ve been doing a lot of ascending patterns, which means we do a lot of hammer-ons. This time, we incorporate both hammer-ons and pull-offs. This is what will allow you to create phrases that go up and down the scale, making your licks sound more like deliberate musical statements.
The Level 3 Tapping Lick: Combining Movements
This exercise uses the exact same notes and scale shape from our Level 2 lesson, but we’re going to play it both forwards and backwards. This will challenge your coordination and control, especially with the pull-offs.
The Ascending Pattern (The Hammer-On Section)
First, let’s quickly review the ascending part of the lick. It’s the same pattern we worked on previously, moving across three strings.
- Start on the fifth fret, A string, hammer on to the seventh fret, and tap the eighth fret.
- Move to the fifth fret, D string, hammer on to the seventh fret, and tap the eighth fret.
- Finally, move to the fifth fret, G string, hammer on to the seventh fret, and tap the ninth fret.
This part of the exercise should feel familiar. Focus on making the hammer-ons and the tapped notes clear and even in volume.
The Descending Pattern (The Pull-Off Section)
Now for the new part. Once you’ve reached the highest note (the tapped 9th fret on the G string), you’re going to reverse the entire pattern. And then I just want you to pull off in that same exact pattern, just backwards.
So, the sequence for the descending part is:
- Start with the tapped note on the G string (9th fret).
- Pull-off to the 7th fret (held by your fretting hand).
- Pull-off from the 7th fret to the 5th fret.
- Move to the D string and repeat: tap the 8th fret, pull-off to the 7th, then pull-off to the 5th.
- Move to the A string and do it one last time: tap the 8th fret, pull-off to the 7th, then pull-off to the 5th.
The key here is the “flick” motion on your pull-offs. For both your tapping finger and your fretting hand fingers, you need to slightly pluck the string as you pull away to keep the note sustaining clearly.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- How does this lesson build on the previous ones?
We’re going to keep with the same feeling of doing initial notes with our fretting hand on a scale and then tapping the upper notes with our middle finger. - What is the main new technique introduced in Level 3?
Up until now, we’ve been doing a lot of ascending patterns, so a lot of hammer-ons. This time, we incorporate both hammer-ons and pull-offs. - What is the note sequence for the ascending part?
Fifth fret A string, seventh fret, eighth fret; fifth fret D, 7, 8; fifth fret G, 7, 9. - How do you play the descending part of the lick?
And then I just want you to pull off in that same exact pattern, just backwards.
