Eddie Van Halen, a name synonymous with legendary guitar work, high-energy solos, and a technique that changed rock and roll forever. But… what if I told you that his most iconic move—the two-hand tapping technique—wasn’t actually his invention?”
That’s right. Some guitarists claim that Eddie borrowed—or dare we say stole—this groundbreaking style from others. Guitarist Harvey Mandel claims to be the pioneer of tapping technique, long before Van Halen exploded onto the scene.
Let’s take a trip back in time—to the psychedelic blues scene of the late 1960s. Long before Eddie Van Halen shredded his way into the rock pantheon, Harvey Mandel was already experimenting with an unusual way of playing guitar.
Mandel, best known for his work with Canned Heat, had been tapping on the fretboard in ways that left people scratching their heads. Fast forward to today, and in a recent interview, he called out the fact that he doesn’t get nearly enough credit for his role in pioneering this technique.
Speaking with Guitar World, he said:
“Not really. On YouTube, I get credit for it, but the truth is that, back then, unfortunately, when I was doing the tapping, I wasn’t with a known band, as opposed to Van Halen, who had a hit record, so he did it, and the world got to hear it. When I did it, the audience that got to hear me do it was much more limited.”
Going further into the matter, Mandel pointed out that he himself learned about two-hand tapping from guitarist Randy Resnick back in the late 1960s. The two were together in several bands, sharing guitar duties.
Mandel said: “He did it in a very melodic but simple way. I didn’t want to do it in front of him. But once I saw him do it, I was able to practice it and figure out how he was doing it.”
Most importantly, Mandel pointed out that his use of the technique came before Eddie Van Halen. He added: “I was actually doing it way before Van Halen and way before almost everyone else did after him. People heard my stuff and thought I was a jazz player!”
