Basic Legato Technique

So next I'd like to discuss with you a little bit of basic legato technique.

Understanding Legato Technique

Legato technique is simply hammer-ons and pull-offs. These are the two main types of legato techniques we have on guitar.

Demonstrating the G Major Scale

I'm going to play for you now a G major scale descending down. I'm going to pick it all first, and then I'm going to play it legato so you can hear the difference.

• The meaning of legato is smooth.
• Hopefully, it will come across that when I pick it, although it sounds kind of clean, it doesn't necessarily sound smooth.
• Then, when I play it legato, I hope you'll agree that it sounds smoother when I use hammer-ons and pull-offs than when I play it all picked.

Descending G Major Scale

Here's the G major scale descension using pull-offs:

• I'm just picking with my right hand.
• As I cross the strings, I'm picking the first new note on each new string.
• Other than that, all the power from the notes is generated from my left hand.

Introducing Hammer-Ons

Now, let me demonstrate hammer-ons real quick, and then we'll do some finer examples.

Here's the G major scale performed ascending using hammer-ons:

• Okay, so again, it sounds nice and smooth on the way up.

Practicing Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

There are a few ways to practice hammer-ons and pull-offs. Let me show you them in isolation.

Hammer-On Technique

1. Let's pick a string: D string.
2. We're going to pick the open D note.
3. Then, using any finger on your left hand (I'll use my second finger), I'm going to hammer on to the second fret.

When I say hammer on, what that means is just my left hand physically hammering onto the fretboard.

• My right hand, my picking hand, isn't going to touch the string after I've played that first note.
• Here it is really slow: I'm going to pick and then hammer on.

If I'm not putting enough energy into the string, I'll get a really quiet hammer-on, which we don't want. We want the hammer-on to sound the same volume as the picked note, if possible.

Pull-Off Technique

Now, let's practice a pull-off:

1. Pick the second fret first, and then
2. Remove my right hand (it's not going to do anything).
3. I'm going to pull off to the open D string without picking it.

You can see that what I'm doing is pulling off to the side of the string. It's important not to come directly off the string because that will yield a quiet sound.

• Treat the string like an elastic band that you're going to flick back on itself to achieve a nice powerful pull-off.

Combining Techniques

If we put them together, we can get a hammer-on and pull-off:

• I'm going to pick the open D string, hammer on, and then pull off, and we get this sound.

If we add a lot of those together quickly, we create what's called a trill.

Practicing Trills

Here's a trill with the first finger:

• This is something you can practice on any open string and any fretted note.
• You could also do it on two fretted notes if you wanted to.

For example, let's say, second fret on the G string, hammering on and pulling off from the fourth fret on the B string:

• This requires more strength from your left hand as you must keep that back-end note fretted at all times.
• Your first finger will stay solid, while your third finger generates the energy for the hammer-on and the pull-off.

Applying Techniques to Scales and Melodies

As soon as you're comfortable with it on one string, it's time to start applying it to scales or melodies that you may have learned.

Returning to our G major scale, we can begin at the bottom:

• Pick the first note on each new string: pick, pick, hammer on, hammer on, pick, hammer on, hammer on, pick.

When going back down:

• Still pick the first note on each string, but pull off in the opposite direction.

You just get that really smooth sound. In contrast, all picks will sound much rougher.

This is something you can apply to your everyday playing. Once you have a reasonable grounding in that technique, it's a cool thing to incorporate into songs that you may have learned.