Eric Roche: acoustic guitar style

An audio and tab lesson on how to play like the legendary master

Guitar Techniques (Stuart Ryan), Wed 25 Nov 2009, 4:57 pm GMT

Classically trained and initially influenced by guitarists such as Michael Hedges and Preston Reed, Eric Roche developed a very personal guitar style which featured driving percussion and 'extended' techniques such as two-handed tapping (still quite unusual on acoustic guitar at the time when he was pioneering his style) and the use of artificial harmonics.

Eric's music was always melodic and composed - in essence he wrote music rather than 'exercises', which is always a potential pitfall with any style that's built on specific techniques or stylistic traits.

Beyond his dextrous fretboard (and 'rest of the guitar') skills, his personable nature and compositional flair, it was his live work that set Eric apart from the crowd, with a huge tone that engulfed every concert hall he performed in.

It was his live work that set Eric apart from the crowd, with a huge tone that engulfed every concert hall

It's also worth noting that whilst Eric was highly proficient in percussion techniques, tapping and all the other styles we consider as 'modern', he was also a master of conventional fingerpicking.

The lesson

It's best to view this piece as three lessons in one. The first part examines the tapping as an accompaniment approach - the fretting hand keeps a hypnotic hammer-on and pull-off sequence whilst the picking hand taps out the accompanying bass notes.

The next section combines fretting hand tapping and percussion and picking hand slapped and tapped harmonics. The percussive part (the muted 'x's) can be played anywhere on the body but we'd recommend the upper bout to start off with.

For example, you can hammer on the 3rd fret of the fifth and sixth strings with the fretting hand fingers then quickly move the same hand over to the upper bout of your guitar (basically where the neck joins the body) and then slap the guitar for the percussive effect. Experiment and you'll soon find the areas of the body that work best for you, and the wildly different tones that each one elicits.

Finally, there's a simpler section where you maintain a hammer-on and pull-off sequence whilst tapping out a rhythm on the upper bout of the guitar, this time with the nails on the picking hand for an almost 'castanets' tone. It was an honour for us to count Eric as a friend, mentor and inspiration. He may have gone but neither he nor his music will be forgotten.