Intro
In this lesson we’ll be learning about the 5 types of articulation you need to give your playing a more lyrical quality.
Remember, the more your playing can emulate the human voice, the greater the impact will be on your listeners because you’ll sound way more musical.
Also, if you spend enough time working on these techniques you’ll start to develop your own way of phrasing which is an essential part of finding your unique voice on the guitar.
If you’d like a copy of the tabbed examples along with a backing track that you can use to dial these techniques into your playing, just sign up further down this page.
The five techniques we’ll be looking at are:
1. Hammer Ons
2. Pull Offs
3. Slides
4. String Bending
5. Vibrato
Let’s get to it!
If you’d like to get a PDF download of this lesson along with more examples and exercises, PLUS a backing track to jam to, just click the button below...
Hammer Ons
Hammer ons are a type of slur which results in a smooth legato sound.
So a hammer on is when you play a single note and literally ‘hammer on’ to the next note. Essentially I’m getting two notes to sound out even though I only pick the string once.
Here’s a minor pentatonic scale played using hammer ons:
From a rhythmic perspective you have two options when playing hammer ons.
Option #1 is to play both the picked note and hammered note in time:
So you can clearly hear both notes ringing out.
Option #2 is where you use what we call a grace note which involves hammering on to the next note as soon as you pick the string:
That means that you don’t really hear that first note.
Let’s contrast those two rhythmic approaches:
Let’s check out some variations!
Hammer on to a note from the open string:
Hammer ons using double stops:
Hammer on to multiple notes:
So make sure you get comfortable with all these variations!
Pull Offs
Next up we have pull offs which is like a hammer on in reverse, except you need to flick the string a bit in order to get the second note to sound out strong.
So I’m picking a note and then pulling off to the lower note:
Here’s a minor pentatonic scale played using pull offs:
Again from a rhythmic perspective you have the same two options when playing pull offs...
Option #1 is to play the pull off in time where you clearly hear the previous note.
Option #2 is where you use what we call a grace note which involves pulling off to the next note as soon as you pick the string.
Let’s contrast them:
Now let’s check out a couple of variations…
Pulling off to an open string:
Play pull offs using double stops:
Pulling off to multiple notes:
Be careful not to sound any other strings when you’re playing a pull off. This is where string muting becomes very valuable.
Slides
Just as the name suggests, you literally slide your finger across the string from one note to the next.
You have the same two rhythmic variations we looked at before...
Option #1: in time
Option #2: grace note
Let’s check out a few variations!
Sliding single notes:
Sliding double stops - power chords:
...and inverted power chords:
Sliding octaves:
Sliding triads:
Sliding into chords:
Sliding across multiple notes:
Slides covering small areas on the neck:
...or covering bigger areas:
Slides are a ton of fun and it’s a great way to cover big areas of the neck with ease.
Bends
Next up we’re going to bend steel with our bare hands!
Of course I’m referring to string bending.
We do this by picking a note and then bending up to the next note:
Make sure you use your other fingers to support the string bend and avoid any injury. You can also anchor your thumb across the neck to make the bends easier.
Again you have the same two rhythmic options where you can have a bend in time:
...or a grace note bend:
The five most common distances you’ll use when bending will be...
A quarter tone bend, also known as a curl. You literally just bend the string slightly to hint at the next note.
A semitone bend which is the distance of 1 fret.
A whole tone bend which is the distance of 2 frets.
A minor third bend which is the distance of 3 frets.
Or a two tone bend which is the distance of 4 frets.
When bending strings, pay close attention to the tuning of your bends because nothing sounds quite as bad as an out of tune bend!
Vibrato
Vibrato involves a rapid variation in pitch when you play a note:
You can make the variation as small and subtle, or wide and intense, as you like.
However, this is a technique that can add a lot of emotion to your playing so but be careful not to overuse (or overdo) it!
Outro
There you have it! The 5 essential articulation techniques every guitarist needs to know if they want to have a more lyrical and musical sound to their playing.
If you’d like to get a PDF download of this lesson along with more examples and exercises, PLUS a backing track to jam to, just click the button below...
