Any tips for pull offs? I realised I've been doing them wrong

adamm82 · September 2017

Probably the weakest part of my playing for years I sort of played them without the 'pluck' to really make the note sound. For example the lick in the stairway to heaven he does 11 times doesn't sound right like it's missing a note.

I'd say the way I have been playing them is if you recorded me doing a hammer on a reversed it.

The skin on my finger tip on my ring finger feels soft Where as my first 2 are nice and calloused up.

Chuffola · September 2017

Must ... resist ... obvious ... joke...

Plectrum · September 2017

A pull-off is more of a plucking motion than a reverse hammer-on. But like a hammer-on it's important to let the note develop before doing the pull-off.

stratman3142 · September 2017

adamm82 said:

...I'd say the way I have been playing them is if you recorded me doing a hammer on a reversed it...

Marshall Harrison would argue that that's the right way to do Holdsworth type legato (i.e. all hammers and no actual pull offs).

Having said that, I do pull offs. I move my pull off finger sideways across the guitar neck towards the floor.

adamm82 · September 2017

stratman3142 said:

adamm82 said:

...I'd say the way I have been playing them is if you recorded me doing a hammer on a reversed it...

Marshall Harrison would argue that that's the right way to do Holdsworth type legato (i.e. all hammers and no actual pull offs).

Having said that, I do pull offs. I move my pull off finger sideways across the guitar neck towards the floor.

that's what I was trying this evening if i deliberately move my finger towards the floor it works. but I tend to play with my hand slanted, I'm trying to play with a hand more straight on as it cleans things that I do that are a bit sloppy.

The way I have been doing it has been fine if I am using say an 80s rock tone as that picks up everything. but in more of a traditional crunch tone it doesn't sound quite right.

Legionreturns · September 2017

I'd say practice them acoustically. Worked for me in that I can now get them pretty consistent across the fretboard, and if you can get them ringing without pickups they'll sound great once you plug back in.

TheBlueWolf · September 2017

Years ago I read a legato lesson by Guthrie Govan in which he suggested imagining there's a speck off dust on the string that you'r*Reading that back it's a lot easier to show someone than try to explain it :)e ( ahem

" alt="

" height="18" /> ) pulling off from. If you drag your fret finger off the string ( as if lightly dragging the speck of dust off) you're in the right ball park for pull offs.*

mike_l · September 2017

I pull slightly down towards the floor on pull offs. It's easier with gain and volume.

AxeInsight · September 2017

If you want your ring or little finger to be more callous, I would advise you to spend time every day just pressing all 4 fingers quite hard against the A or the low E string, until it hurts and you have the lines printed on your fingertips. Over time this should help you. (Don't do it until you bleed though, that's too much).

As far as pull offs go, the other guys on this thread did a great job, so the only thing I would add is to pull off fast, and I don't mean play a lot of pull offs very fast, I mean that you should try to execute the motion of pulling off fast.
It will make your legato strong without requiring you to pull very hard on the string, allowing you to control your legato better and even make it easier to go up in speed if you want to.

Max

DLM · September 2017

AxeInsight said:

If you want your ring or little finger to be more callous

@AxeInsight Interesting method. Mine's more effective: I just send my ring and little fingers off to get Skype lessons from terrorist cells...

AxeInsight · September 2017

DLM said:

AxeInsight said:

If you want your ring or little finger to be more callous

@AxeInsight Interesting method. Mine's more effective: I just send my ring and little fingers off to get Skype lessons from terrorist cells...

Well that's interesting too! (I think I didn't get the joke tho

Image: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/plugins/EmojiExtender/emoji/fb/confused.png

)

DLM · September 2017

https://kathleenwcurry.wordpress.com/2016/07/26/easily-confused-words-callus-vs-callous/

AxeInsight · September 2017

ahah I see, pardon my broken english, it's not my mother tongue, I'm actually french. Still don't get the terrorist thing tho.

DLM · September 2017

@AxeInsight My apologies. I didn't realise you weren't a native speaker – otherwise your written English is actually much better than that of the majority of the users of this forum (who are native speakers) based on the few posts you've made so far.

Terrorist acts are invariably callous. That was the joke.

AxeInsight · September 2017

Oh ok, I didn't get that because I thought "callous" was a very soft word to qualify terrorist actions. But yet again, I'm not a native speaker so maybe I'm wrong