Nailing It with the Hammer-on!

Yesterday, I was sitting with my guitar- going through all my usual warm-up exercises- you know the ones- chromatic “spider exercises” etc, (if you’re not familiar with how to play these, check out the “Exercises” section of the site).  Anyway, I realised something that’s very simple, but at the same time probably has the greatest effect on any guitar technique. I mean, what does every single guitar technique have in common? Yes, you heard me, EVERY guitar technique there is. There’s one thing that- if you practice and improve it (even a tiny bit)- can have a dramatic effect on every other guitar technique you use.

What is this “miracle” exercise? Well if you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know how important such things as economy of motion and finger strength are…they should definitely be the “top two” in your list of things to improve (always!). However, there should be a third item on that list- something that is more important than most other techniques…

Legato

That’s right, plain old hammer-ons and pull-offs! You see, with good economy of motion comes playing speed (without any extra tension), and with good strong fingers comes finger independence and agility, but by practicing hammer-ons and pull offs you’re strengthening your fingers at the same time as making them faster. You see, in order to play hammer-ons your fingers need to be able to deliver enough power to get the string vibrating, yet deliver that power quick enough to enable you to play the note on time. Therefore, if you’re practicing hammer-ons and pull-offs, you’re automatically practicing the two main components of great guitar playing technique!

So what does every guitar technique have in common? A combination of finger strength, independence and agility. Of course there are some that require co-ordination between both hands (such as: alternate picking or sweep picking) and they need to be practiced separately aswell- don’t think I’m saying they shouldn’t! The point is that if you include legato into your practice routine you’ll be practicing the main skills- and strengthening the right muscles- for every other fretting hand technique.

Technical Exercises for Legato

So how do you incorporate this essential technique into your practice session? Well, if you go here you’ll find a selection of fretting hand workouts and exercises (including legato techniques and hammer-ons), and if you’ve been following my three point practice plan just add a few of these legato exercises when you warm-up.

Just in case you need a demonstration of how awesome you can be after mastering the hammer-on technique, watch this video of guitarist Joe Satriani playing “The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing”. The first time he does the legato section is at about 1:50 in the video.

…and that’s what you call “pure mastery” of hammer-ons!
Rob.

June 29, 2010 at 11:00 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises, Practicing and Practice Routine | No comments