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Right hand tapping, two handed tapping, fretboard
tapping, or the "Van Halen thing". These are all names
for the same guitar technique. Whether you want to play some Van
Halen licks, or some Sevendust, Allan Holdsworth, Metallica, etc.
Right hand tapping, or two handed tapping is the technique for
you.
The Tap
The "tap" in right hand tapping is really
just a hammer-on
with a right hand finger, usually the 1st or 2nd. After tapping
a note, the next step is to do a pull-off
to another lower note.
Which finger do I use to tap, and what do I do with
my pick? The answer will vary from guitar player to guitar player,
but here are the basic possibilities.
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1. Use your 2nd finger on your right hand for the tap.
This lets you continue to hold your pick with your thumb
and 1st finger. Doing this helps you move from picking to
tapping smoothly.
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2. Tap with your 1st finger on your right hand, and hold
your pick with your 2nd finger and thumb. This still allows
you to pick, and gives you the power of your first finger
when hammering on to the fretboard. You can also hold on
to the neck of the guitar with your 3rd and 4th fingers
for more support.
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3. Tap with your 1st finger on your right hand, but hold
the pick with your 2nd finger only. A little tricky at first,
but Van Halen does this a lot. You can also hold on to the
neck of the guitar with your 3rd and 4th fingers as well
as your thumb for more support.
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Page 2, notation used for right
hand tapping 
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