By Dale Schmidt
Learning these four simple techniques can take your playing up a notch and add style and feeling to the music you make.
First up is the slide. When playing a melody, scale or lead line, slide from one note to another. When? Whenever you feel it. Sometimes, just one slide at the right time can change the feel of the music. Use them sparingly with just the right touch. Slides are a great way to help you move up and down the neck in a smooth and musical way.
The hammer on. A hammer on is when you play one note then "hammer down" a finger (of your left hand) to create another note. For example, play the fourth string on the 2nd fret then hammer down the same string to the 4th fret to create a new note. Hammer ons are used a lot in all kinds of music. You can even include a hammer on when you're strumming a chord or playing a simple scale. Just make sure both notes you create sound clean and clear.
The opposite of the hammer on is the pull off. As you may guess from the name, you play a note (string) at the 4th fret for example, then "pull off" your finger to play the same string open. You only pick (with your right hand) the string one time. The pull off creates the second note. This takes a little practice (and a little strength) to play clearly but pull offs sound great both on electric and acoustic. Practice them every day to make them part of your style.
Last is the bend or "bending" a note. Although you hear string bending a lot in Rock and Blues, you can make it work with any kind of music. You'll find that it's easier to bend notes (strings) on electric than an acoustic, but keep at if you're an acoustic player. You don't have to make huge bends to add some spice to what you're playing. A slight little bend at the right time can sound great.
Some music, particularly guitar tablature, often shows you "how much" to bend a string. You might see a ¼ bend (bending the note so it sounds one quarter of a step higher) to a full bend where the note created by the bend is one whole step higher (a C to a C# for example). Some players bend the string up while others bend the string down. You can do either and still get the same effect. However, you can't bend the first string down or the sixth string down as you would be pulling them off the neck of the guitar so learn to bend the first string up and the sixth string down.
Add these four techniques to your bag of tricks and you'll become a better guitar player in the process.
Dale Schmidt is a guitar teacher in Washington state and author of Your Private Guitar Teacher. For more information: http://www.yourprivateguitarteacher.com
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