Notice
Measure 7 should be played entirely legato (with no picking at all).
In measure 8, the first slide should be played with the pinky, and the second one with the pointer.
The purpose of the strange fingering of the arp at the end of measure 14 is to facilitate an easier transition to the tapping lick in the next measure. Here is how I would finger it, if fingers from pointer to pinky are numbered 1-4: first six notes are 4,1,3,3,3,1; next six notes are 3,2,1,2,1,4. Then pull off from fret 16 to your poiner finger on fret 12, pull off to an open string, (while the open string is playing, shift the left hand down), hammer from the open string to fret 7. Then, tap at 12, pull off to 7, and then to open again; this time, during the open string, you can shift again so your pinky can play the 7 and your pointer can play the 4. I know this seems really complicated, but if you try it a little, I have found that it works quite smoothly, considering that you are moving from position 16 to position 4.
The timing in measures 15 and 16 is very loose; basically just repeat the figure a few times, switching between the 16th note triplets and the 32nd notes. This is really a short cadenza, and probably should be marked as free time, but I tabbed it the way it sounds.
Measures 23-26 are also a cadenza, and have loose timing constraints. Basically, play it as fast as you can. The rhythmic groupings in those measures are more guidelines than rules. In measures 23-24 pick ONLY when notated, and in measures 25-26, do not pick at all.
Compared to some ascii tabs that I have seen on the web, my fingering for the main theme is a little unconventional. However, I think it works better.
In measure 49, tap on the 10th fret, then slide the tapped finger up to the 12th fret without lifting it off (this technique is called a tap-slide).
In measures 86 through 91, only pick when moving to a higher string. If you can manage to not pick at all, go for it, but with this type of pattern, most people find it works best if you pick only when moving to a higher string.
Going from measure 87-88 is a bit of a cross string jump, and can be tricky at first. I apologize, but that is the best I can come up with. Practice it a bunch, and it will become easier.
Somebody will undoubtedly mention that if, in measure 90, you started on the B string at the 8th fret, you could avoid all of the annoying slides. My answer is, by all means, go ahead. Try going from pointer finger on the 9th fret A string to pinky finger on the B string 8th fret. Then try that up to speed. I think you will see my point.
I hope these comments were helpful. Email me with any questions.
Joe the Shredder
