Welcome to my twelfth column at the world's greatest guitar site, “Chops From Hell”!!!! Be sure to check out my advanced shred instructional CD-ROM entitled Stringmaster Series 01. I've included some video clips at the end of this lesson to demonstrate visually some of the many techniques I cover in my CD-ROM. I've also included some updated links to stuff relating to myself online.

Today, I would like to discuss a couple of different ways I like to use tapping. I would also encourage you to check out the styles of TJ Helmerich and Greg Howe to hear some very unique uses of this valuable technique.

Lick #1 shows a clever way to apply tapping to the chromatic scale to ascend and descend quickly without a whole bunch of finger-sliding and picking strokes. You should experiment with this all over the neck to create cool passing tone phrases within your own soloing.

Lick #2 shows you a six-fingered way you can use tapping to create what I call “Unison effects”. By playing a lick with your left hand, and tapping it in unison elsewhere on the neck; you can create an almost echo type effect of the original lick being played, double the speed of a lick by repeating one hand after the other, etc. Try this with different two, three, and four fingered licks; to then expand them to six, seven, and eight fingered ideas all around the neck in any scale.

Enjoy my shred video clips, and these various links of interest:

Andy live at Jemfest 2005 US: http://www.jemfest.com/2005/videos/webcam_index.htm  

Samples of his new CD “Atlantis”: http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/andygarrett_music.htm

  Email me at garrettocala1@yahoo.com with any questions you have about my playing or any guitar-related subjects at all. I love to discuss different techniques.

Andy Garrett (nicknamed “StringMaster” by his friends) has played guitar and bass for 30 years, performed 100's of shows (including Jemfest 2005 US), and has worked professionally testing strings for Dean Markley/American Winding Company. He continues to release his instrumental guitar music independently through his own label “GBM Records” in Ocala, Florida. Check out his first