Originally Posted by
Terry
Some parts of the Mean Streets Intro I can do. The tapped harmonics parts of the intro I can do, mostly because I started with DTNA and the Women In Love intro and the Spanish Fly intro to learn the technique.
The beginning of the intro where he's doing that slap funk bass technique with his thumb and index finger I can't do. I've seen the close-up footage of him doing it and watched other people on youtube who can do it: I understand the physicality of where the thumb and index finger need to be placed on the fretboard, along with the muffling Ed is doing with his left/fretting hand. I simply can't alternate the thumb and index finger quick enough and slap them on the neck precisely enough to make it sound like it should. Nope, not even close.
I should say, though, with the tapped harmonics in general I couldn't figure out how that was done until the late 1990s/early 2000s when tabs came out describing how to do it and I started collecting VH live video boots that showcased Ed's hands close-up. Pinched harmonics and natural plucked harmonics I learned fairly quickly after I started playing, along with finger tapping, but tapped harmonics not so much.