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Linear Tapping (Part 1)

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This video course is the first of three that will examine the linear tapping technique. Linear tapping is the style of tapping that was utilised by guitarists such as Steve Hackett and Ace Frehley in the early seventies and was later more widely popularised by Eddie Van Halen. It differs from the two-handed tapping techniques that we have seen so far in that it is based on long sequences of notes played on one string at a time. Using linear tapping, it’s possible to play very fast solo lines, making it a very popular technique with lead guitarists! This is not a technique that bass players are commonly called upon to use, although virtuosos such as Billy Sheehan and Stuart Hamm have made it a key part of their technical arsenal.

Don't forget to hit the Download Resources button above to receive the PDF worksheet that accompanies these lessons! This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. The Basics of Linear Tapping

In this lesson I’ll be demonstrating the basics of the linear tapping technique.

2. Adding More Notes

In this video we’ll be adding another note to the basic linear tapping figure, which will mean that we will now be playing triplets. We’ll explore this technique through a series of exercises which will also allow us to practice crossing strings.

3. Exercise #6

In this exercise we will play an ascending scale passage in the key of G major using the two linear tapping patterns covered so far.

4. Playing Major Scales

In this video we’ll look at how we can use the linear tapping technique to play scales. We’ll be playing a two-octave G major scale here.

5. Playing Minor Scales

We’ll now use the same ideas to play a two-octave A minor scale.

6. Exercise #12

This exercise puts the linear tapping technique to use, employing it to outline a series of chords. This is a common way of using the technique.

7. Exercise #13

This exercise has a chord sequence that uses several major seventh chords: Cmaj7, Ebmaj7, Abmaj7 followed by G7. For each one, chord tones are used to clearly outline each chord.