8,720
edits
Changes
m
→Hammer-on
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
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