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Good morning, left hand!
(10 Oct 02)
Pull-Offs and Combinations
Let's get to the opposite, the pull-off...
Here is the basic idea:
This is the opposite of the first hammer-on exercise. You fret the D at the 7th fret, pick it, and quickly remove your ring finger to sound the C (which you previously fretted at the 5th fret). Pull off the finger with some force, maybe moving slightly downwards to have the C ring out clearly. It might take a while, but you'll soon figure out the movement.
Here are the opposites of the hammer-on exercises:
Measure 1: the same thing I described above
Measure 2: Again, we're in the C Major Pentatonic scale, changing strings while pulling off from the first note to the second.
Measure 3: E Minor scale, pulling off two notes per string
Measure 4: Our C Major scale, descending this time.
I don't think that I have to describe a lot here... those are the "mirror images" of the hammer on-exercises on the previous page.
You might have guessed it, here are the chromatic exercises...
Again, all this should inspire you to make up your own exercises and sequences for pull-offs. Work on both hammer-on's and pull-off's till it feels natural to play that way, then follow me as I get to the fun-part, combining both...
Combining HO & PO
As you might have guessed by now, hammer on's and pull-off's usually are used in combination. That way, you can create fast repeating licks, very "fluid" runs and sequences etc.
One of the most popular solos using that technique (repeating patterns using HO & PO) would be the legendary guitar-break of Led Zeppelin's "Heartbreaker". That solo also inspired Eddie Van Halen quite a bit to work on his tapping technique (we'll get to tapping another time). For shred-freaks, check out Joe Satriani's "Echoes".
Here we go... the first exercise / lick is a very typical Joe Satriani-sequence.
First, we play it on the high E-String. And yes, this is the legato-version of a typical, basic Yngwie / PG-picking lick. In measure 2 I moved the whole thing to the B-string (I left out the HO / PO- indicators, I think they should be obvious by now). Key is E Major. Try to get this to flow evenly, with all notes in time, evenly distributed. Then move on to Satch-signature lick no.2:
Here, we move from string to string in the key of Emajor, using the simple sequence above. Try that with different patterns too! Once you notice that there is a problem, isolate it. Try to get your hammer-on and pull-off techniques to an equal level.
Here is one of my trademark-licks / sequences, also from my solo-spot:
The key again is E minor, and here we are playing in the lower areas of the neck. Note the timing: 5 notes per beat. Try it slow, then speed it up. Of course, you should try to move further up the neck in the key of E minor. If you need some hints about where to move (pattern-wise) check the fast ascending run at the end of the previous page...
Another cool thing you can do (again: this is just an introduction and overview, there are billions of things you can work on, I'm just giving you an idea here) is string skipping.
Key of E Major:
This really might be easier to play with legato than it would be with alternate picking. Once you feel comfortable with it, try it an octave lower. I picked up this kinda lick from guys like Greg Howe and Brett Garsed (Garsed incorporates some huge leaps in those kinda licks, skipping i.e. from the B- to the LOW E-String!)
OK, here is a variation of a lick I played in my song "Pay By The Note" (can be listened to at my website). This basically is in the key of F Major. I here play fast pull-off's, with the second one pulling off to the open string (Nuno Bettencourt-style).
In measure two I incorporate the note C#, which gives it a nice, mean sound, too. This one sounds really difficult, but once you feel comfortable with fast pull-off's, it gets quite easy, since the lick incorporates open strings.
Ok, here is
THE CHOP-BUILDING NECK-BREAKING LICK FOR TODAY
( proceed only if you dare... )
That one might look familiar to some of you. It is based on the m11-arp that I discussed with Thorsten Koehne in "Shred Talk". He played a really cool sweeping-solo based on that arp during that conversation. I love the sound of the m11-Arp. Two of my songs are based on it. I think the guy who turned both Thorsten and me on to that chord would be... Joe Satriani. And guess what, the exercise above is an exercise by the Satch.
He used something similar in "The Mystical Potatoe Head Groove Thing". The exercise above is from a short etude he once recorded for a guitar mag. It was called "The Power Cosmic" (on "Engines Of Creation", which was recorded years later, there also is a tune called "The Power Cosmic Pt.2", and something similar to the thing above can be heard in there).
Anyway, this exercise is not for the faint hearted, and should be approached very CAREFULLY and SLOWLY. Can ya say "tendonitis" ?
There are some WIDE stretches in here, and the toughest part is that none of these notes are picked. All of them are hammered on with the left hand (you might wanna use your left hand or something like a sock or a bandana to mute the strings at the 1st fret)!!!
When I first heard "Power Cosmic" I thought he was sweeping it, and that at about light-speed.
This exercise is not really something you HAVE to do, but it's a chop-builder for the left hand, working on the strength and coordination of the fingers of your left hand. Please be careful... start in the upper areas of the neck to get used to the chord shape. Playing that Am11 in the first measure is tough because it has some huge stretches.
Conclusion
Mmkay, that was my introduction (and overview) to legato-style. Of course there is more to discuss (legato-slides, tapping etc.) but regarding hammer-ons and pull-offs, this should give you a good idea of how to do it and maybe what to do with it.
I also am planning on an article of combining picking with legato-stuff, which makes sense after I wrote so much about both topics. Stay tuned for that, coming to iBreatheMusic soon...
HAPPY PICKING...uhmmmm... Happy Hammering... uhhhhh.. Happy Pulling ? Ah, what the heck, KEEP ON PLAYING !
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Eric started playing the guitar at age 10. He attended GIT and studied with Scott Henderson, Brett Garsed, Dan Gilbert amo. Eric is involved in several bands and recording projects and his instrumental debut - Hidden Creek - plus his instructional book Talking Hands - A Guide To Contemporary Lead Guitar Techniques is available HERE
Visit his website at www.ericvandenberg.net
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