Basic Legato Technique

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

What is Legato Technique?

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

Demonstration

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

• Meaning of Legato: The term "legato" means smooth.
  • When I pick it, although it sounds kind of clean, it doesn't necessarily sound smooth.
  • When I play it legato, I hope you'll agree that it sounds smoother with hammer-ons and pull-offs than when I play it all picked.

G Major Scale

Here's the G major scale being played:

• Legato: When playing legato, I'm only picking with my right hand as I cross the strings.
  • I'm picking the first new note on each new string.
  • All the power from the notes is generated from my left hand.

So that was me descending the G major scale using pull-offs.

Pull-Offs and Hammer-Ons

• Pull-offs are used when moving down a legato phrase.
• Hammer-ons are used when moving up.

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

Ascending with Hammer-Ons

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

• It sounds nice and smooth on the way up.

Practicing Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

Now, let's explore ways of practicing hammer-ons and pull-offs in isolation.

Step 1: Hammer-On Practice

1. Pick a string, let's choose the D string.
2. Pick the open D note.
3. With any finger on your left hand (I'll use my second finger), hammer on to the second fret of the D string.

• Hammer On:
  • Physically, it means I'm hammering onto the fretboard.
  • My right hand won't touch the string after I play the first note.

Really slow, I'm going to get this pick and then hammer on. You can see that my right hand's out of the way.

• 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.

Step 2: Pull-Off Practice

Now, let's reverse that and practice pull-offs:

1. Pick the second fret first.
2. I'm going to remove my right hand, it won't do anything.
3. Pull off to the open D string without picking it.

And you get this sound.

• Technique:
  • Pull off to the side of the string, not directly off, to generate energy into the open string.
  • Treat the string like an elastic band that you're going to flick back on itself to get a nice powerful pull-off.

Combining Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

Putting these together, we can perform a hammer-on followed by a pull-off.

• Pick the open D string, hammer on, and then pull off:

This combination creates a "trill" if done quickly. Here's a trill using the first finger.

• This is something you can practice on any open string and any fretted note.

Advanced Practice

You could also try it on two fretted notes if you wanted to. For example:

• Hammering on from the second fret on the G string and pulling off from the fourth fret on the B string.

This requires a bit more strength from your left hand since the back-end note must be fretted all the time.

• The first finger stays solid while the third finger generates energy for the hammer-on and elastic pull-off.

Application to Scales and Melodies

Once you're comfortable with it on one string, start applying it to scales or melodies that you may have learned.

• Example with G Major Scale:

  • Start at the bottom and pick the first note on each new string:
    • Pick, pick, hammer on, hammer on, pick, hammer on, hammer on, pick.

• When descending, do the opposite, still picking the first note on each string but pulling off in the opposite direction.

This technique gives you a really smooth sound, as opposed to all picks, which just sounds much smoother.

Conclusion

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