Stanley Jordan

Stanley Jordan is a jazz/jazz fusion guitarist, best known for his development of the touch technique for playing guitar. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 31, 1959. He received an A.B. in music from Princeton University in 1981.

Stanley Jordan is a jazz/jazz fusion guitarist, best known for his development of the touch technique for playing guitar. He was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 31, 1959. He received an A.B. in music from Princeton University in 1981.

Normally, a guitarist must use two hands to play each note. One hand will press down a guitar string at a specific fret to prepare the note, and the other hand will either pluck or strum the string to play that note. Jordan's touch technique is an advanced form of tapping, which allows a guitarist to produce a note using only one finger. Instead of carefully pressing the string against a specific fret, the guitarist quickly taps (or "hammers") his finger down behind that fret. The force of impact causes the string to vibrate enough to immediately sound the note. The note's volume can be controlled by varying the force of impact: tapping with greater force produces a louder note.