Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: charles92027
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 12:15 PM

I think tapping is cool. The musical style it evokes is more like electronica than folk, but there's nothing wrong with that if that sounds good to you. What about those flamenco guys who tap the top of the guitar like it's some sort of drum? There's no denying that's music.
Some people strum their guitars, and some finger-pick individual notes, which one of those are correct? I've even seen a guy play the back with a pair of drumsticks, and I thought that was pretty cool

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 12:09 PM

Thanks, Nick. Amazing the man makes his guitar sound like a harp...beautiful.

I wish I could find a good clip of Santaolalla playing.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 11:57 AM

Eric was magical to watch - his work full of lyricism and excitement.

Steve Hicks once said to me - 'When Eric tapped the guitar it sounded wonderful. Whereas when you do it Al...... it sounds like someone mending a shed.'

That's what friends are for, to tell you......

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Grab
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 11:28 AM

Yeah, what I've heard of Roche's work was over-technical and under-musical. I think Leeb puts the musicality into it.

Nick, thanks for the Tommy Emmanuel clip - the man is a god! I'm sure he *is* showing off, but it doesn't mean it isn't good music.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Nick
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 11:06 AM

I think the Eric Roche clip has 'slapped harmonics' created by striking the guitar with the underside of the finger on a node point rather than tapping as in the first clip but what the heck.

Here's another technique that you could either consider 'flashy' and showing off or - as I do - a masterful guitarist/musician beautifully executing a difficult technique to enhance the music.

Tommy Emmanuel - Somewhere Over the Rainbow - if you haven't seen this I think it's a beautiful piece of playing

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Scrump
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 10:36 AM

What, the sledge hammer? I agree.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Wesley S
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 10:34 AM

I find it interesting as an accent to a well rounded concert. But definatly nothing I'd want to hear repeated for half an hour or more. A tool to be used sparingly.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Scrump
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 10:25 AM

Rather than tapping guitars, I prefer to tap shakey eggs...


... with sledge hammers.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: katlaughing
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 09:43 AM

Thanks for the link, Grab. I liked Leeb's playing better than the Roche sample, all except for the armpit one.:-)

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Nick
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 09:28 AM

Agree 100% with you Graham and well put.

On a practical note tapping allows you to play things that you physically cannot reach/play on a guitar and I can't see that as a problem, more an opportunity.

When I went to see Tommy Emmanuel play recently he played a piece which he wrote to try and suggest the sounds of the Australian outback (if I remember). Most of it consisted of hitting the guitar with a brush - smacking it with his palm - creating feedback - bending the notes by bending the headstock - scratching the body etc etc (Eric Roche does similar and explores some possibilities in his Acoustic Guitar Bible book)

Is that a gimmick or is it more exploring the potential of the instrument?

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Grab
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 08:59 AM

Thomas Leeb (a student of Eric Roche's) uses it very well. Some videos.

It's a technique - use it or don't use it, it's up to you. Whether you use it in a musical manner or not will depend on how you use it, and where. Maybe it doesn't suit your style - fine. Maybe that particular musician isn't doing a good job of it (which they aren't) - also fine. But you can't just write off an entire technique and every last person using it, simply because it doesn't suit your style and you've not seen anyone who *can* use it well - or simply because Guitar Hero X (insert name here) didn't use it as part of their style.

Or rather you can, if you want - but it betrays narrow-mindedness and a lack of musical imagination.

As BWL says, some players do just use tapping as a gimmick to say "hey, look what I can do!" I've also seen bluegrass mandolin players use picking speed as a gimmick, without having anything interesting to say musically. And slide players. And eBow users. Such is life. That doesn't mean there isn't anything worth saying with a bluegrass mandolin or a bottleneck slide or an eBow.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: s&r
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 03:10 AM

The above was me sans cookie

Stu

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Mar 07 - 02:41 AM

Sadly Eric died. He was a nice man and a wonderful guitarist in many styles - tapping was part of his armoury of skills, but his incorporation of percussion in his instrumentals went further than tapping out the melody on the strings, or producing fast tapped ornaments. One of my top ten guitarists

Stu

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 11:29 PM

I thought you guys had plans to carry your own beer supply on tap in your guitars...

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: katlaughing
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 10:29 PM

Okay, Murray, yer on! **bg**

I like the sound of tapped guitar; hadn't ever seen a visual of it until I posted the example which Murray used in this thread, in the youtube permathread yesterday.

I can see that it may be somewhat of a parlour piece/show-off thing, but I still like the sound of it. Some of it reminds me of Gustavo Santaolla's playing which is out of this world, esp. on his CD "Ronrocco." I don't know if he uses this technique or not.

Not being a geetar player I don't know anything about the skill, etc., but I know what my ears like.:-)

kat

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 09:44 PM

Harmonic tapping can be used as a gimmick or a genuine musical tool, depending upon the player. Vicki Genfan blew the audience at this past year's Florida Folk Festival away with her tap-style playing, but I've seen lesser players for whom tapping is obviously just a way of showing off.

I wouldn't mind adding tapping to my own bag of tricks, but I wear fingerpicks and tapping requires naked fingers.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Dave of Mawkin
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 09:03 PM

Gentlemen, Mr Eric Roche

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 08:50 PM

Clever party trick. But I've never heard it used to make music I'd really want to hear, let alone try to play.

Subject: RE: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Jim Lad
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 08:29 PM

Okay, I get it. For those on dial up, it's a demonstration of someone tapping the strings rather than playing properly. Not really worth the time to load up unless the paint is already dry and you're looking for entertainment of the same ilk.
Not a dig at you, Murray. Just letting folks know.
"Self Indulgent" is probably the best description, I can give it. Sometimes you spend years playing the same instrument the same old way and then you find something new. An open tuning or, in this case, guitar tapping and suddenly a whole new dimension opens up to you. You fall in love with the instrument all over again and you just can't put it down.
But I can!
Bang on.
Jim

Subject: Tapped Guitar. Opinions ?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 19 Mar 07 - 07:14 PM

Over the last couple of decades, the " tapped guitar " phenomenon appears to have swept the world.

If you surf YouTube as often as I do you can't help but notice the huge interest in the " tapped guitar ".

Players you have never heard of are racking up viewing figures of tens of thousands.

But, is the music they play of any worth ?

In the vast majority of cases my answer would have to be a resounding "NO".

It seems to me a very easy way to appear super-skilled without actually having to possess a great degree of competence.

There is no doubt that some of the exponents of the art (Michael Hedges for example, who is to blame for the whole phenomenon) are in fact supremely gifted, but no matter how clever they may be , the whole thing leaves me cold.


The day Doc Watson records a tapped guitar instrumental, I might change my mind ...

If you have no idea what all this is about, then you might like to watch and listen to This technically impressive clip