➧ CHOPS ➧

Tappin’ the Blues

BY BOB BALSLEY

➧
SO, YOU THINK TWO-HAND TAPPING wannabes, and bass monsters such as Stu
Hamm? Truth is, there’s a fun way to incorporate
tapping into your everyday blues, jazz, and rock
playing, and it starts with learning the simple
move in Ex. 1—a simultaneous tap on the fourth
and second strings with the picking hand’s index
(i) and middle (m) fingers.
To put this approach in motion, try the
swingin’ maneuvers in Ex. 2, which work great
over a minor blues in E. The phrase starts with
the open low string being sounded with your
thumb. Next, pluck the Em7 triad. From this
is only for metal freaks, shredders, Van Halen point on, the rest of the first measure is slurred,
Ex. 1 Ex. 2
1.
Freely Em7 A9
Em
including our dual-tap at the 12th fret. In bar 2,
a juicy, close-voiced A9 is plucked and imme-
diately livened up with a dual-tap at the 7th fret.
Finally, in the second ending, you’ll find a tasty,
tap-happy II-V turnaround, with C9 acting as a
tritone substitution for the II chord.
Bob Balsley is a guitar and recording instruc-
tor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Visit
him online at mp3.com/balsley. g
2.
G/A C9 B9

   4         
Swing feel
 
1

    
 
     
2

     
  

2 4

 4 
1




























1

3 1

*T
T
3
T T

T
12 T  8
7
7 8 12 7 8 2
4
7 2 3  5
7
10 5 4
6
9 4
A 12 A 9 7 9 12 7 9 5 7 5 8 10 8 7 9 7
B B
0 5 8 7
*T = tap w/ i and m.

E7 E7
3
  =  G6 D7 G7 C
   
G5

D7

     
      

  

2

      1
4  ( ) ( )

( ) () 
4
     
4

  
( ) 1 1 3 4

  

4 4 3 2 1 1

4 ( ) ( ) 2

  

2 1
2
1
hold hold hold

let ring - - - - -

grad. pre- pre-
B* - - - - - - - B1/2 B-------- B--------

T
12 12 13 13 14 14 15 13 (13)
A
15 (17) 15 14 (14) 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 (11)
B
17 14 14 17 16 (16) (15) (15) 14 14 13 13 12
15 (19) (19) 17 17 16 15 (15)
10 (10)
*Bend string off fretboard.