Guitar Techniques
Guitar technique, is without a doubt a important as the the song you choose to play. You can play all the correct notes at the correct time, but that can sound pretty bland. Guitar playing is as much about variety as it is skill, and its important to get a feel for how certain notes can be played in the context of your song, even if its not by the book. Pull-offs and Hammer-ons are not simply the preserve of the lead guitarist, every fledgling guitarist should have thier eys mastering these skill as they gain in confidence.
Each of the techniques mentioned here can be found in the rhythm section of many different songs. Even if you only play rhythm guitar for a band, it is still important to have a firm grasp of how to use these techniques.
Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs
Hammer-ons & pull-offs are very similar techniques. If the song calls for multiple notes to be sounded on a single string then rather than picking and fretting each note indivudally the fretting hand is used to produce the sound. If the note is higher on the string, then the guitarist hammers-on the new note by fretting it with enough force to sound the new note.
A pull off is the opposite of the hammer-on when the note is lower on the string. The name is a misnomer, you don’t simply pull off the note, you actually pluck the string with the fretting hand as you pull your finger away in order to sound the note. Hammer ons and Pull-offs are best used when you have a fast sequence of notes all of which are close together.
Bending
Bending is the act of changing the pitch of a note by pushing a ringing string along a fret. A great bend will allow for easy movement between notes and uses changes in string tension to produce the sound. This movement through the microtones of two notes can be very effective in slow bends. You can also unbend a string back to the original note for the opposite effect. A great many lead and rhytm riffs are based aounf this technique.
However, this technique can be difficult to learn. You do need to be able to hear when the string has reached the pitch you want when bending. If you get it wrong then the note will sound flat or sharp (depends on whether you over or under bend the string). This can be a more frustrating technique to first learn, but it really makes a huge difference in your playing, and you will be very glad for the effort you put into it once you actually learn to bend the string properly.
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