Legato (Hammer-on, Pull-off)
Legato is a technique where the notes seem to flow into one another. It is the opposite of stacatto, 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.
Contents
Hammer-on
A hammer-on is a technique where you quickly fret a note with the left hand. It is most commonly used on a string that already has a sustaining note, repurposing that resonant energy to sustain the new note.
Open String Hammer-ons
fig 1
--0-h1----0-h2----0-h3----0-h4--
i m r p
Figure 1 shows some open string hammer-ons in first position. First pluck the open string. While the open string is sustaining, quickly fret the first fret. Notice the "h" in front of the fret number - this indicates to hammer-on instead of pick that note. If done quickly and accurately, you will now be sustaining the first fret's note. Repeat for all fingers as indicated in the tab. Repeat for all strings.
fig 2
--0-h9----0-h10---0-h11---0-h12--
i m r p
Figure 2 is the exact same exercise, but in 9th position. This is just to give you a different feel for hammering-on open strings higher up the fretboard.
The main points to watch are the quality, speed, and accuracy of your hammer-on fretting. If you fret right behind the fret using the tip of your finger quickly, you should have no trouble sustaining the prior note.
Fretted Note Hammer-ons
fig 3 --1-h2----1-h3----1-h4-- i m i r i p
Figure 3 is the same exercise, but in first position - now we're hammering-on between index and the other fingers, one at a time. The index-pinky hammer-on might be difficult right now, particularly in 1st position. Work on stretching and strengthening that pinky!
Move this exercise to different positions over the fretboard, and try it on all strings.
fig 4 --1-h2----1-h3----1-h4----2-h3----2-h4----3-h4-- i m i r i p m r m p r p
Figure 4 is our inter-finger hammer-on exercise. This covers hammering on from each finger to every other possible finger. Practice all of them, identify the ones you are worst at performing and practice those the most. Move up and down the fretboard and use all the strings.
2 Hammer-ons per String
fig 5 --5-h6-h8--5-h6-h8--5-h7-h8--5-h7-h8--5-h7-h9--5-h7-h9 i m p i m p i r p i r p i m p i m p
Figure 5 introduces two hammer-on's in a row, for our most common 3 note per string shapes (half-whole or middle, whole-half or ring, and whole-whole or stretch). So now you are not just carrying over a picked note into a hammer-on, but a picked note that has already been hammered-on. If your technique is good, you shouldn't have any trouble getting the pinky to sustain the note.
Once you are decent at getting the notes to sound smoothly and consistently, try using a metronome. You want each note to have equal duration. Practice slow and build up speed.
fig 6 -----------5-h6-h8-----------5-h7-h8-----------5-h7-h9 --5-h6-h8-----------5-h7-h8-----------5-h7-h9--------- i m p i m p i r p i r p i m p i m p
Figure 6 is the same as figure 5, but uses two strings.
Hammer-on from Nothing
fig 7 --h1--(x)--h2--(x)--h3--(x)--h4-- i m r p
Figure 7 displays another hammer-on technique. Here the string is muted - it has no resonant energy. Your hammer-on will supply that energy. To get a good-sounding note, you have to be accurate, fast, and strong. But don't fret the note too hard, which will cause it to go sharp. You want to hammer-on strong, but sustain the note with as little force necessary to maintain a clean fret-job. This exercise uses all fingers - try moving it around the fretboard and try all strings.
Notice the x's. In tab, these typically indicate a muted stroke - you would pick the string while muting it with the left hand to get a percussive sound. Unfortunately, tab does not have any rest notation, so I'm using (x)'s to indicate unpicked mutes. It just means mute the string, but do not pick it.
fig 8 ----------h5-h6-h8----------h5-h7-h8----------h5-h7-h9 -h5-h6-h8----------h5-h7-h8----------h5-h7-h9--------- i m p i m p i r p i r p i m p i m p
Figure 8 is a repeat of figure 6 but uses no picking at all - every note is hammered-on. It should sound nice and smooth - much different than if you were to pick each note.
Again, once you get the technique fundamentals, practice against a metronome - make sure each note has equal duration, starting slow and building speed.
Pull-Off
A pull-off is similar to a hammer-on in reverse. Here you are removing your fretting finger, allowing the resonant energy of the string to sustain on an open string or lower fret. But there is a slight twist:
Simply removing your fretting finger quickly is usually not good enough. As you move your finger away, it is still touching the string and dampening it, causing the next note to be weak. A good pull-off applies a very slight bend to the note before removing the fretting finger. It is almost like a very subtle finger pick. If done too strongly, the next note will get too much attack and sound more like a picked note than a legato pull-off. The sustain of the first note and entirety of the next note should be consistent dynamically, like the first note flows into the next one.
Another key aspect to remember: the lower fret (if not an open string) must be fretted before the pull-off is executed. If you try to basically hammer-on the next note as you pull-off, you may hear some open string, muted string, or other noise between the two notes, which is not true to a legato tone.
Open String Pull-offs
fig 9 --4-p0----3-p0----2-p0----1-p0-- p r m i
Figure 9 contains first position, open-string pull-offs. In the tab, like the h's for hammer-ons, the p's indicate the note is pulled-off, not picked. Remember the sustain of the picked note should flow smoothly into the pulled-off note. Practice on all strings. Try other positions.
Fretted Pull-offs
fig 10 --4-p1----3-p1----2-p1-- p i r i m i
Here's the basic exercise to practice pulling off onto fretted notes. It's the exact same mechanic as figure 9 - just remember to fret the index finger before pulling off.
fig 11 --4-p1----3-p1----2-p1----4-p2----3-p2----4-p3-- p i r i m i p m r m p r
Here's the tough exercise that practices each finger combination. Take it slow and make sure you are getting consistency between each pair of notes. Practice all strings and various positions on the neck.
2 Pull-offs per String
fig 12 --8-p6-p5--8-p6-p5--8-p7-p5--8-p7-p5--9-p7-p5--9-p7-p5 p m i p m i p r i p r i p m i p m i
Figure 12 introduces two pull-off's in a row, for our most common 3 note per string shapes (half-whole or middle, whole-half or ring, and whole-whole or stretch). So now you are not just carrying over a picked note into a pull-off, but a picked note that has already been pulled-off. If your technique is good, you shouldn't have any trouble getting an even tone for both pulled off notes equal to the sustain of the first picked note.
Once you are decent at getting the notes to sound smoothly and consistently, try using a metronome. You want each note to have equal duration. Practice slow and build up speed.
fig 13 --8-p6-p5-----------8-p7-p5-----------9-p7-p5--------- -----------8-p6-p5-----------8-p7-p5-----------9-p7-p5 p m i p m i p r i p r i p m i p m i
Figure 13 is the same exercise but using two strings.
Hammer-on + Pull-offs
Think you've mastered the above techniques separately? Let's try them together.
fig 14 --h6-h7-h9-p7-p6-h7-h9-p7---p6-h8-h9-p8-p6-h8-h9-p8---p6-h8-h10-p8-p6-h8-h10-p8-p6--- i m p m i m p m i r p r i r p r i m p m i m p m i
Figure 14 is straight step-wise motion up and down on a single string using all hammer-on and pull-offs for all three common 3 note per string patterns (half-whole, whole-half, and whole-whole). All notes should be equal volume and duration - use a metronome. Practice on other strings/positions.
fig 15 -----------h6-h7-h9-p7-p6----------------h6-h7-h9-p7-p6----------- --h6-h7-h9----------------h9-p7-p6-h7-h9----------------h9-p7-p6-- i m p i m p m i p m i m p i m p m i p m i
fig 16 -----------h6-h8-h9-p8-p6----------------h6-h8-h9-p8-p6----------- --h6-h8-h9----------------h9-p8-p6-h8-h9----------------h9-p8-p6-- i r p i r p r i p r i r p i r p r i p r i
fig 17 ------------h6-h8-h10-p8-p6------------------h6-h8-h10-p8-p6----------- --h6-h8-h10-----------------h10-p8-p6-h8-h10-----------------h10-p8-p6-- i m p i m p m i p m i m p i m p m i p m i
fig 18 -----------h6-h8-h9-p8-p6----------------h6-h8-h9-p8-p6----------- --h6-h7-h9----------------h9-p7-p6-h7-h9----------------h9-p7-p6-- i m p i r p r i p m i m p i r p r i p m i
fig 19 -----------h6-h8-h10-p8-p6----------------h6-h8-h10-p8-p6----------- --h6-h8-h9-----------------h9-p8-p6-h8-h9-----------------h9-p8-p6-- i r p i m p m i p r i r p i m p m i p r i
Excercises! Excercises! EXCERSISES!! 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 17 - whole-whole pattern on both strings
- Fig 18 - half-whole on bass string, whole-half on treble string
- Fig 18 - whole-half on bass string, whole-whole on treble string
Advanced Exercises
Here's some arthritis-inducing stuff if you really wanna get good:
fig 20 --6-|:h7--h9--p6--h9--p7--p6--h9--p6-:| i m p i p m i p i
Figure 20 alternates between step-wise motion and thirds, both ascending and descending.
fig 21 e-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| b-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| g-------------------------------------------------------------------------------h9--h10-h12-| d-----------------------------------------------h7-h9--h10-----------h9--h10-h12------------| a------------h5--h7--h8-------------h7--h8--h10-----------h8--h10-h12-----------------------| e-h5-h7--h8--------------h7--h8--h10--------------------------------------------------------| e---------------------------------------------------------h13-h15-h17-----------h15-h17-h19-|/20---- b------------------------h12-h13-h15-----------h13-h15-h17-----------h15-h17-h18------------|------- g------------h10-h12-h14------------h12-h14-h16---------------------------------------------|------- dh10-h12-h14--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------- a-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------- e-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------