"I use a mute that is really nice for some of those tricky two handed tapping parts! Guys to check out that utilize these same techniques are Greg Howe -- not Greg Howerd -- Guthrie Govan, and Bumble Foot!

"To start this solo I wrote a theme or melody. This helped me to have something to tie everything together. It is nice to think of a melody before really digging into anything else. I took the progression and played off of it trying to create small melodic lines that sounded unique. I think the best way of doing this is to set up a mini disc recorder or even a cheap hand held recorder that you would find at Radio S*** and record the jam. Then you compile all the takes. I like to then take some time away from it so that when I hear it again it is a bit more fresh to the ears. Youll notice that the main melody uses some of the blue tones of the minor pentatonic scale. It also follows the exact note of the chords walking up. This helps to set up your solo and helps to lock you in with what the bassist is doing.

"The next part is a two handed tapping technique. This follows the chords exactly. This is where knowing how to make an arpeggio comes in very handy. You will notice that I am playing the 1-3-5 of each chord. In the first arpeggio we outline a C minor chord then we go to a Bb major chord then to an Ab major chord and then all the way down to the G. The next section goes from C minor to Bb major and the walk up goes Ab major, Bb Major, B major and Db Major. It is really important that you learn where all of these arpeggios exist. Tied with the higher root of each of the chords this makes quite a cool sound. The other thing I will start talking about is the tap from nowhere. This is where your left hand finger slams down to sound a note on a string that has not been played. Guys like Greg Howe are so good at these techniques that you really cant tell the difference between his picking and his taps from nowhere. Pretty awesome! Imagine all of the new ideas you can come up with simply using the Minor and Minor Pentatonic shapes. Imagine if you knew all of the chord tones that were passing by as well. This thought always starts to make my head explode. There is just so much to learn on the guitar and I think that is one of the reasons why I love it so much. Even with the information that we know now we could reapply it to different parts of the fret board and learn it in all of the keys as well. Really milk these ideas for everything they are worth. Once we go through that series of arpeggios we then move back to the C minor then to the Bb major and this is where it gets a bit tricky. Here we outline the walk up with a neat tapping sequence. The chords to outline are Ab major, Bb Major, B major and Db Major. This is one of those taps from nowhere so really take your time and read the tabs very closely. Think (Left Tap, Right Tap)LT RT LT RT and so on. Dont be afraid to really experiment with this and move it around through all kinds of different shapes."

[Editor's note -- Check out the video link above. Such a sweet and clear tone he achieves using picking and two-handed tapping on 6-string! No sticky playing required, even though he uses a mute as on a dedicated touchstyle instrument.]

Thanks to YouTube - katodesu100's Channel for choosing Traktor's True Bossa Rhythm lesson, and demo song!

The typical westernized 'latin rhythm' we've heard on a thousand songs, and played slowly on a thousand ballads. And yet ... it's not authentic. In this simple video, Traktor explains the difference between the rhythm we've all heard and the *true* bossa rhythm -- both the bass and the rhythm-guitar parts -- as can be easily played via two-handed tapping technique on any specialty instrument used for touchstyle music.

Learn how it's done, and then hear a sweet bossa nova tune demonstrating the method ...

In fact, you can sign up to get a complete two-handed tapping method book at no cost. This method book can be used to learn to play Chapman Stick, Warr Guitar, or Mobius Megatar touchstyle musical instruments, as well as normal guitar or bass (with a little application).

For example, suppose you have The Stick, and you'd like a little help learning to play it. Well, we can help. For example ...

Some folks don't realize that the makers of Mobius Megatar are big FANS of Chapman Stick instruments! What? A big FAN of a competitor's instrument?

You bet! Why not?

The Stick is a TERRIFIC instrument, and loads of fun to play as well.

Now, look. We *ALSO* have made a lot of extremely-important *IMPROVEMENTS* on the design on the Stick's design, and we'd be happy to tell you about those. But that's not the point. The point is that this two-handed tapping method (largely developed by Emmett Chapman) is a huge step forward in creating music and having lots of fun.

And we've *ALSO* made some HUGE IMPROVEMENTS in the learning method. In fact, if you want to try using the simpler tuning that we recommend, and you use our method, you will discover that you can learn to play two times, perhaps three times as fast. And that makes learning fun.

But whichever instrument you have, and whichever tuning you have on the instrument, we can provide Chapman Stick music and Chapman Stick lessons, and we provide these, absolutely free, in the MegaTapper Newsletter.

Sure, we think the Megatar enhancements create a better instrument, easier to play and even better sounding. Sure we think that you can save $1000 or more. And if you can get more, get delivery faster, and save $1000 ... well, this doesn't take rocket science to figure out. It's just a good deal.

What's more, the revolutionary fast-learning method that we developed works equally well on Mobius Megatar or Chapman Stick instruments.

Yeah, sure, we'd be tickled if you played a Mobius Megatar, and you'd save money and get outstanding tone. But you know what?

If you play Chapman Stick music, we're still in the same family!

And so ... sign up for this great two-handed tapping newsletter today. The MegaTapper Newsletter brings free tapping lessons and news about two-handed touch-style around the world.

It's the Tappening Thing to do!

And here's the kicker ...

Because when you receive your second issue of the MegaTapper Newsletter, we'll send you a copy of our revolutionary fast-learning tapping method book, Easy Touch-Style Bassics, at no cost.

If along the way, something led you to buy a Chapman Stick, then hey! We salute you as just another member of the family. So here's to your Chapman Stick lessons, your Chapman Stick music, and your Chapman Stick video on youtube. Soon you'll be all over the place, and having a ball!

(And if you ever wish to upgrade to a Megatar, we'll be right here to help.)

On the updated website, they have posted a detailed daily schedule of all the Stick and guitar classes. Click each of the links below for the detailed Thursday, Friday and Saturday schedules.

http://college.interlochen.org/files/guitar-festival-workshop-chapman-stick-workshop-schedule-day-1/586
http://college.interlochen.org/files/guitar-festival-workshop-chapman-stick-workshop-schedule-day-2/587
http://college.interlochen.org/files/guitar-festival-workshop-chapman-stick-workshop-schedule-day-3/588

There are also more detailed descriptions of each course written by the course instructors at
http://college.interlochen.org/files/chapman-stick-workshop-descriptive-schedule/1945

You can also find detailed descriptions of the guitar courses at
http://college.interlochen.org/files/guitar-festival-and-workshop-descriptive-schedule/822

Also remember that tuition includes a ticket to each of the three concerts, one on each night featuring all of the Stick and guitar instructors. This is a $78 dollar value as the ticket price is $26 per evening. The concerts are held in the Corson Auditorium and are part of the their regular summer

This is a further contribution from Steve Adelson, whose Stickology educational books was published last year by the Mel Bay company.

Congratulations, Steve, for making two-handed tapping and specialty tapping instruments better known to the world at large!

Over 20 signups but some room remains for those as are quick. Very quick.

However, at any age, the practice of music is really fun, and with application and a smart approach, your progress can be rapid. (If you are learning two-handed touchstyle technique, you can get a free book that reveals the method simply by signing up for the free tapping newsletter here: MegaTapper News.

If you're working on your own, one of the approaches that can help a lot is to focus on the "key essentials."

A very interesting and simplified approach is described on the How To Play Music website. He says:

"I started to place things into groups and finding common occurrences between different things. I eventually came up with a few (not a thousand) groups. Each group however contained hundreds of different variations to various things. I soon figured out that these things are organized into several subjects, each subject containing a certain formula. I now know, that most of music theory, consists, of four basic subjects. These subjects are:

1. 1. Scales
2. 2. Chords
3. 3. Arpeggios
4. 4. Approaches"

"Everything else is less important, or can be classified under these four subjects."

The purpose in learning music is to play songs or to compose musical pieces. Breaking it down in this way can make the subject easier to approach, and this leads to greater mastery in a shorter time.