Pick tapping (or
'Pick Trilling') is a fast
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
playing technique wherein the pick (or
plectrumA plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
) is used to sharply fret notes on the instrument's fretboard. In some ways it is similar to regular 'one-handed'
tappingTapping is a playing technique generally associated with the electric guitar, although the technique may be performed on almost any stringed instrument...
, except that the sharp edge of the pick is specifically used to sound the notes rather than the tip of the finger. Because of the strength and accuracy needed to perform regular tapping using the fingers only, pick tapping can often be used as an alternative to produce a noticeably sharper and louder sound (even without the heavy use of
distortionDistortion is an effect often applied to electric guitars, though it is not limited to any one musical instrument. It can be accomplished by electronically altering the dynamic range compression or clipping the input signal, this effect adds additional harmonics and overtones to the signal,...
).
Pick tapping (or
'Pick Trilling') is a fast
guitarThe guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
playing technique wherein the pick (or
plectrumA plectrum is a small flat tool used to pluck or strum a stringed instrument. For guitars and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand...
) is used to sharply fret notes on the instrument's fretboard. In some ways it is similar to regular 'one-handed'
tappingTapping is a playing technique generally associated with the electric guitar, although the technique may be performed on almost any stringed instrument...
, except that the sharp edge of the pick is specifically used to sound the notes rather than the tip of the finger. Because of the strength and accuracy needed to perform regular tapping using the fingers only, pick tapping can often be used as an alternative to produce a noticeably sharper and louder sound (even without the heavy use of
distortionDistortion is an effect often applied to electric guitars, though it is not limited to any one musical instrument. It can be accomplished by electronically altering the dynamic range compression or clipping the input signal, this effect adds additional harmonics and overtones to the signal,...
). Generally, it is easier to tap more rapidly with the pick than the finger, which makes pick tapping a preferable method to produce extremely fast sequences of
trillThe trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
s.
However, despite the unique sound of the technique, it is sometimes shunned by advocates of the aforementioned fingertapping (that of which incorporates solely the tips of the fingers to produce pure
legatoIn musical notation the Italian word legato indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence...
notes), because the tonal qualities of pick tapping are more comparable to simple two-note trilling rather than true legato passages. Thus, the tendency for the technique to rely on rapid sequences of
hammer-onHammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off...
s and
pull-offA pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by plucking a string by "pulling" the string off the fingerboard with one of the fingers being used to fret the note.-Description:...
s can sometimes sound cold and 'robotic' to some, if overused in a passage.
Nonetheless, an effective example of this technique can be heard near the beginning of
Randy RhoadsRandall William "Randy" Rhoads was an American heavy metal guitarist who played with Ozzy Osbourne and Quiet Riot. Despite his short career, he is cited as an influence by many contemporary heavy metal guitarists. A devoted student of classical guitar, Rhoads often combined his classical music...
' guitar solo on
Ozzy Osbourne'sJohn Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English singer-songwriter, whose career has now spanned four decades. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead vocalist of pioneering British heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and eventually achieved a multi-platinum solo career which revolutionized the heavy metal genre...
"
Crazy Train"Crazy Train" is a heavy metal song written by Ozzy Osbourne, Randy Rhoads and Bob Daisley. It was released in 1980 on the album Blizzard of Ozz. This song was Ozzy Osbourne's first single as a solo artist after leaving Black Sabbath. The song was recorded live in 1981, and later included on the...
", where rapid taps using the pick on the third string (G) are performed while the left hand is slowly bending and releasing a fretted note lower down on the string. This gives an effect similar to that of a whammy bar being depressed and released. Another example of the rigid, trill-orientated nature of the technique can be heard in
DragonforceDragonForce are an English power metal band from London, formed in 1999. They are known for fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game influenced sound.-Formation:...
's songs, "
Through The Fire And Flames"Through the Fire and Flames" is a song by English power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band...
", "Fury Of The Storm" and most of their other music being used constantly throughout the songs.
An almost identical technique can be performed using the fingernail, though it is potentially damaging to the nail, and stylistically inconvenient because the technique is most commonly used in music where a pick is used.