Playing with variety

Tapping with variety
Master Class Daniel Schell-Oli Verschueren June 4 2011, Zandaam in teh Tap-Guitar Seminar organized Ron Baggerman-Frank Leurs
Tappers are close to guitar and piano. However often produce solos which are less interesting or expressive than guitar players. And they miss also some elements from the piano. Why is that

Guitar: expressivity,

• - Expressivity: tappers often play all the notes with the same volume. Express variety and dynamic p to f
• - Vary the sounds: tap tap tap is boring. Guitar players have a multitude of picking effects, back and forth. We have beside tap, glide, hammer on, pull off.
• - Expanding the playing domain: We mainly concentrate on one region of the board. We should expand. Two region players have this problem, because thay have to concentrate on two regions and have only one brain.
  • o Linear playing with two hands on one region. But also, thinking one voice on the two regions.
  • o Playing "double guitar", doubing notes on both regions, playing close intervals
  • o Moving the hand on the whole board.

• - Harmonic interest: Piano players know more harmony and chords than the guitar players and than us. Develop: The solution is ; Arpeggios. Chords on the left hand (piano bar style), walking bass with chords on the RH. Both hands should have the same harmonic skill. (that is rarely the case)
• - Rhytm is hand independence. What can we do like the piano: all thepiano rhythmic is possible
• - Repeating notes: we can do better.
  • o "tabla" percussion
  • o Including repeated notes in runs. Borrow from violin players
• - Freedom in the rhythm independence. By practicing RH( halves, fourths, triplets, eights) on a fixed LH, motive.
• - Polyrythms:
  • o Straight polyrhythms 3/8 on 7/8 etc. but that is rapoidly boring and again inexpressive
  • o Introducing polyrythmlic interest: varying the patters Example "remi" where we use mirror patterns.
  • o Musical polyrhythms: Play polyrhythms on "rumba" 4/4 accompaniment. Produce an interesting "phasing" effect