Steve Hackett says Eddie Van Halen credited him as influence for his “prototype” tapping technique

Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett says he created the “prototype” for the tapping technique which went on to become famously associated with Eddie Van Halen’s playing.

According to Hackett, EVH acknowledged him as an influence for the technique in interviews throughout the years.

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Hackett is set to embark on the North American Genesis Revisited tour, which kicks off this October, and celebrates over 50 years of the band’s Foxtrot album. He will also be playing some of his solo material along the way.

In an interview with Metal Voice (via Ultimate Guitar), Hackett reflected on his approach to playing, and how he integrated tapping techniques into the band’s music from 1971 onwards.

“Well, it’s prototype tapping, the technique that I did, and that he [Eddie Van Halen] named. [It’s] something that I was doing from 1971 onwards. You can hear it on [1971 Genesis album] Nursery Cryme, [on the song] The Musical Box. You can hear it on Return Of The Giant Hogweed on the same album; you can hear it on another album, [1973’s] Selling England By The Pound, on the first track, Dancing With The Moonlit Knight.

He continues, “We were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame [by] the band Phish; they were talking about that, about the guitar solo. So, the first thing that gets talked about is that guitar solo, which includes sweep picking, tapping, and octave jumps, all of which are part of the glossary of terms.”

Hackett later added that EVH acknowledged him as an influence “in print” and “in interviews that he gave” over his career, and remarked that it was a “great shame” he never met the guitarist in-person, as he believes they would have worked together at some point.

Watch the interview below:

Get tickets for the Genesis Revisited tour via Steve Hackett’s official website.