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--3--h5--h7-/(8)--p7--p5-\(3)--h5--h7-/(8)--p7--p5-\(3)-- i m p p m i i m p p m i i
* whole-whole, whole-half
-----14-p13-p11--\(9)-h13-p11--p9--\(7)-h11--p9--p7--\(6)--h9--p7--p6--\(4)--h7--p6--p4--\(2)-- p r i i p m i i p m i i p m i i p r i i So that's a complete major scale on one string ascending and descending in groups of 4. == Grace Notes ==<u>Grace Notes</u> are very quick, soft notes that lead into another note or phrase. They can hint at a tonality, and can add flair to a melody. E--(11)/12------------------------ B-------------13------------------- G------------------14-----(12)/14
So that's a complete major scale on one string ascending and descending.
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Legato is a technique where the notes seem to flow into one another. It is the opposite of staccato, where each note's attack is emphasized and sustain minimized. The primary means to achieve legato on guitar is through note-sounding techniques that do not use picking or plucking the strings.
== PreReqs ==
* [[Basic Technique]]
==Hammer-on==
--4--/(5)--5--\(4)-|-4--/(6)--6--\(4)-|-4--/(7)--7--\(4)-|-4--/(8)--8--\(4)--
Notice the /'s and \'s and in the tab above. This indicates a slide. In generaltab, a slide isn't is implicity a legato technique; however, there are numerous times when a slide should be picked. The I put the ()'s around the next note to explicitly indicate legato. OtherwiseThere's no simple way in tab to explicitly indicate to slide ''and'' pick. Note, you would pick your current position when / or \ are encountered and immediately begin sliding into there is no previously played note on that string, it implies that the noteshould be picked while being slid into, either from above or below depending on whether / or \ is used.
This exercise is simple - we are just sliding up and down 1, 2, 3, and 4 frets. You should only use one of your left-hand fingers for the entire exercise. Start on the index finger, but practice on all fingers. Also, repeat on all strings. Remember to slide quickly but more importantly accurately. Remember to maintain pressure against the string, so you can hear every fret (albeit extremely briefly) along the way. Once you have mastered this, try extending the number of frets you are sliding. And as the number of frets gets larger, it may help more and more to play along with a metronome. You don't want the slide transition to occur on the beat; you want to arrive at your destination note precisely ''on'' the beat.
If done correctly, a slide should sound different than a hammer-on or pull-off, giving you another option in your legato arsenal.
Since / and \ are often used in relation to whammy bar techniques, often slides are written simply using ''s''. The above example would be: --4--s(5)--5--s(4)-|-4--s(6)--6--s(4)-|-4--s(7)--7--s(4)-|-4--s(8)--8--s(4)-- ==Fine-Tuning your Technique==HammerLegato uses less energy per note than using the pick. This means the notes you are playing are more susceptible to ringing open strings, fretting sounds, or other unwanted noises. Distorted sounds are particularly prone to this - your pure-sounding legato notes (sounds like 'oooooo') clash with dissonant unwanted pitches. This is where excellent right and left-hand muting technique really helps out. Take a wrist band or a small piece of foam and a rubber band and place it on top of the first 3-4 frets - this will act as a damper. This should completely mute all the open strings, so that if you strum the guitar, you hear a bunch of muffled muted percussive sounds, not anything resembling sustained notes. Now start playing legato phrases on any frets above the damper. It should be quite clean - the only sounds your guitar is making are the notes you are fretting with the left-hand. Some guitarists will actually grab the neck with their right hand over the first few frets, using their entire palm as a damper like the wrist-band above. This works great for lengthy passages that are completely legato. But in real-life, legato is usually only used for parts of phrases - we won't be able to dedicate our right hand to dampening open strings. This is where good muting technique comes in handy. You can use the right hand palm (the part nearest the wrist on + Pullthe pinky-side of the hand) to dampen the thicker strings above the one you're playing. For the thinner strings, you can use the middle, ring, or pinky fingers of your right hand. Since legato involves no picking, this frees up the right hand to do so, albeit quickly and temporarily. For strings adjacent to the one you're playing, you can use the left-hand index finger to rest on them, at least partially. This works even if you are using that finger to fret a note - your finger-tip will fret the string you are playing, while your fingerprint can rest against the next string. fig e--(mute with right middle finger)----- b--(mute with left-hand index finger)-- g---h6---h7---h9---p7---p6---h7---h9--- d--(mute with right-hand palm)---offs------ a--(mute with right-hand palm)--------- e--(mute with right-hand palm)--------- ==Putting them Together==
Think you've mastered the above techniques separately? Let's try them together.
i r p i m p m i p r i r p i m p m i p r i
Excercises! Excercises! EXCERSISESEXCERCISES!! Oh No!!!! Just stick with it and get through them.
* Fig 15 - half-whole pattern on both strings
* Fig 16 - whole-half pattern on both strings
fig 22
--3--h5--h7-/(8)--p7--p5-\(3)--h5--h7-/(8)--p7--p5-\(3)--
i m p p r i i m p p r i i
--4--h6--h7-/(9)--p7--p6-\(4)--h6--h7-/(9)--p7--p6-\(4)--
i r p p m i i r p p m i i
--4--h5--h7-/(9)--p7--p5-\(4)--h5--h7-/(9)--p7--p5-\(4)--
i m p p m i i m p p m i i
--3--h5--h7-/(9)--p7--p5-\(3)--h5--h7-/(9)--p7--p5-\(3)--
Here's 4 exercises capturing two neighboring positions with 3 notes per position, played all with legato. Two hammer-ons, a slide-up, two pull-offs, and a slide down.
Notice the patterns:
* whole-whole, whole-half
* whole-half, half-whole
* half-whole, whole-whole
* whole-whole, whole-whole
Each higher position pattern matches the next exercise's lower position pattern. Let's put 'em all together!
--2--h4--h6--/(47)--p4--h6--h7--/(9)--p6--h7--h9-/(11)--p7--h9-h11-/(13)--p9-h11-h13-/(14)-p11-h13-h14-- i m p p i r p p i m p p i m p p i m p p
== Why Legato?==
=== Tone ===
By effectively removing the transient from the attack of the sound, legato effectively sounds different than picking. Transients have lots of noise or other non-harmonic elements of the sound. This can make picking sound percussive and aggressive. But sometimes you want a cleaner, purer harmonic tone; and you can use legato to get it. It's the same reason a composer will arrange a certain part of a piece of music for flute as opposed to harpsichord.
== Q & A ==
== Related Lessons ==
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[[Category:Guitar]]
[[Category:Technique]]
[[Category:Legato]]
[[Category:Notation]]