Welcome to my first column on the site. First I’d like I thank Joel Wanasek for asking me to contribute some ideas and share information with other players. Joel studied with me for about 2 years and was by far my best student ever. He was the guy who would show up with the previous weeks lesson mastered and be hungry for more keeping me busy preparing for him each time. There is no better reward for teaching someone the power of creating music than to watch their progress as a musician and step back and let them grow and develop into who they really are musically. We can all learn something from everyone regardless of years of playing experience and hearing Joel play after some time away was a great inspiration.

I’ve always loved the possibilities of two hand tapping and Stanley Jordan was the first guy I saw using it that really motivated me to work on the technique. Although Stanley tunes his B and high E up to C and F, to make scale patterns more accessible, standard tuning will work fine. All of the examples shown use hammer- ons and pull-offs using the right hand and will help to develop your dexterity. One key note is to always support your hand with the thumb on the neck. This makes it a loteasier on your wrist and gives strength to your tapping. When working on these exercises, always leave your fingers down until you change to the next string so the notes are legato and don’t push yourself too hard. Remember to have fun and don’t sacrifice quality for speed. Using a metronome will help you progress smoothly.

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See Ya Soon………

Questions? Comments?

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