Descending legato runs (Pull offs)

[InAbsentia_]

I just can't do these! I'm mostly fine with the High E, but descending downwards (especially in a chromatic scale) is ridiculously difficult for me, and when I get to the A and low E string, it's basically impossible.

I'm not a beginner by any means, but it's a beginner thing which I should have sorted out. How do I fix this? Speed isn't an issue, I can't do it properly at any speed having the notes ring out clearly and cleanly every time.

Thanks in advance!

 

[ShadyDavey]

It may sound obvious, but start slowly.

For me it was a combination of two things - finger excercises (In pairs, groups of three and finally all four digits) which emphasied pull-offs through scale patterns (killing two birds with one stone as it were) and also sheer monotonous repetitions of licks which descened by hammering-on to a new string, and also those which moved to an adjacent string with picking.

No substitute for good, solid practice I'm afraid

There's almost certainly going to be an issue with the weaker end of your hand (ring finger/pinky) so if you can address those concerns immediately then they should fall into line with the naturally stronger 1st/2nd fingers - another tip is to practice with a clean tone as hiding behind distortion/excess gain can disguise problems.

 

[Konfyouzd]

^ Slow and steady wins the race.

Also, depending on who you talk to, that's not "true legato" (all hammer-ons from what I gather)

But back on topic, slow practice is how I began to develop the technique. That's how I developed pretty much every technique tbh. It sucks at first but it's worth it to slow down and learn it well.

 

[failshredder]

ShadyDavey is right on, although I want to point out that playing with only clean tone can teach you bad habits as well, if you want to be able to play with distortion -- you definitely need both (well, not definitely -- my legato is pretty decent and I never bothered playing clean). It can make your muting all weird and stuff.

 

[ShadyDavey]

True dat ^ I should have qualified my comment by saying "until you get the hang of the technique, then switch to distortion to prevent ugly muting"

I think the "True/Kvlt/Real" Legato is all well and good but unless your name is Allan it's incredibly hard work (Marshall uses a LOT of compression) and for the rock/metal guys I think a little "meow" as the string is pulled slightly sidewise can add a bit of attitude to your playing. Let's be honest, most of the renowned players still play legato/slurs in that style and we're not going to lynch them for it

 

[AvantGuardian]

I found that practicing trills slowly with a metronome did a lot to even out my legato technique. You can isolate each finger and quickly figure out where you need the most work.

 

[PirateMetalTroy]

I found that practicing trills slowly with a metronome did a lot to even out my legato technique. You can isolate each finger and quickly figure out where you need the most work.

Pinky. I'm looking at you...All of you.

 

[failshredder]

It wasn't the pinky for me, it was the ring-plus-pinky. That was horrible.

 

[Randy]

It wasn't the pinky for me, it was the ring-plus-pinky. That was horrible.

Considering the way the bones in the hand are, I don't see any way of "conquering" the ring-plus-pinky thing, beyond just finding a way around it or compressing your signal more to even it out.

 

[failshredder]

With enough work, one can actually make the ring and pinky fairly independent, and thus usable in the same shape without workarounds. At least, I did at one point (all that extra muscle in my forearms is gone after two months of goofing around and not playing).

 

[Randy]

If you can hammer-on ring->pinky as hard as you can hammer middle->pinky or index->pinky, you are a much better man than I.

 

[failshredder]

Oh, not as hard. But it's not the force with which you thrust, it's the angle in which you put your dick into the vagina. Guitar strings have G-spots.

 

[InAbsentia_]

I'll try out the trills and going even slower, but I don't think my fingers will comply.

For example, if I'm doing a lick which is say 12p10p8 on the High E and continues like that upwards, I'll do it fine on the High E, but when it comes to moving up a string and then continuing the lick without breaking the flow of the legato I fail hard and it just sounds like a botched three note per string pattern with a rest in between.

I'm just so used to picking the 12 that i'll move my pinky there, instead of moving my index finger to the 8th fret so I can pull off on the others.

I hope somebody understands what I'm trying to say. How do I deal with that? Am I just doing it wrong? Are you supposed to 'barre' the 8?

 

[Soulthief]

you can do the same as me and go something like this:
solo's i'm going for rythm!!