The Key to Learning Two-Handed Tapping on Guitar

I’d been trying to learn two-handed tapping on guitar due to liking bands like Don Caballero and Maps and Atlases, this great new-to-me band Adebisi Shank, Marnie Stern, Hella, etc, and of course Van Halen etc but could never figure it out. I watched this video http://www.jamplay.com/guitar-lessons/full/basics-of-tapping-111.html and it taught me what I was missing! Basically, I was missing that you can “flick” the string to play a note you’re holding down, and you can flick it at a different fret than the note you’re currently fretting, at a fret that you’ll play later–so say you’re holding down the 3rd fret on the high e string, you can flick the high e with your right hand finger at the 12th fret to play the string, it will play the note of the fret you’re holding down such as the 3rd fret, then you can hammer on the fifth fret with your left hand, then with your right hand you can press down at the 12th fret or whatever for a cool two-hand tap triplet of the 3-5-12 notes. Anyway, I had been missing that “flick” motion to play notes, I had though you were supposed to sound certain notes by just hammering on, but the “flick” while actually holding down the note actually sounds a lot better. I would try to just hammer on say a 3rd fret instead of flicking the string first and it wouldn’t sound good or wouldn’t make any noise at all!

Picture of Ian Williams from:

DJ Premier–The Love is Gone

DJ Premier–Jaz O and Immobilaire–The Love is Gone

One of the best DJ Premier tracks I’ve heard in awhile. From a Youtube playlist

Tracks in the playlist include:
M.O.P. – Follow Instructions
Screwball – F.A.Y.B.A.N
Guru – The Anthem
Jaz-O & The Immobilarie – 718
Jaz-O & The Immobilarie-The Love is Gone
snoop dogg-the one and only
Pitch Black – It’s all real (alternate version)
MOP – Bloody Murder

Big Daddy Kane – Any Type Of Way

AZ-The Come Up