GUEST COLUMNIST:

ANDY GARRETT

Legato Tapping 7's


Welcome to my second column at the world's greatest guitar site, “Chops From Hell”!!!!

Today, we are going to look at yet another approach I like to use in my personal playing style. This is quite similar to the “Legato Picking” technique that I talked about in my previous column, except that it utilizes instead a form of “Legato Tapping” using the middle finger of your right-hand to tap notes on to the fretboard. I also like to use this style of playing to work on odd-groupings of notes (5's, 7's, 10's, etc.) within my solo runs to create a totally different dynamic to the sound.

Lick #1 demonstrates a way to use this approach in an ascending run of 7's symmetrically from low to high. When played up to speed you can get this stuff blazing pretty fast and free flowing.


Lick #2 demonstrates another way to apply this same idea to a single string ascending and descending 7's approach. This riff can definitely turn some heads when played up to speed.


Practice both of these licks slow at first in time with a metronome before combining them and bringing them both up to speed. Pay close attention to muting the strings you are not using to keep them from ringing out, which is always a challenge when playing any kind of tapping riffs through a high-gain amplifier. These licks also work well within any type of 3-note-per-string scale groupings (major, minor, diminished, augmented, etc.) in any position on the neck. Have fun with this stuff and email me with any questions you might have.

Andy Garrett (nicknamed “StringMaster” by his friends) has played guitar and bass for 30 years, performed 100's of shows, 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; and is putting the finishing touches on material for his first instructional CD-ROM explaining his advanced shred techniques. You can contact Andy by email at pag1111@prodigy.net and also download and burn your own CD-R of his free MP3 shred demos at http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/andygarrettmusic.htm and music.download.com.