hi
i`ve been practicing wish you were here from the
beginner song and have more or less nailed it much too
my suprise. so i decided to try the solo intro my problem is
i cant seem to get much of a sound when i try pull offs
or hammer on, i`m using a acoustic and wondered if it
the guitar set-up or more likely me, any tips. i tried to follow
tricks of the trade but still can`t get much of a sound.
many thanks
bryan
trying to learn the guitar with my 50 birthday just around the corner SH*T it`s come and gone
hammer-ons and pull-offs are tricky when you first start doing them.
To get good sound on a pull-off you have to push the string down a bit just before you liff the finger, and then you have to come off fast and clean.
It's possible to get good tone on an acoustic, but it is harder than on an electric for a couple of reasons. Electric's strings are generally thinner and the amplifier generally provides some compression.
Keep at it though, and you can learn to do it.
This is one of those things that beginners should probably just spend some time running over the neck hammer-on and pull-off full chromatic scales, eventually you'll start getting it to sound right.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
For a hammer on, the faster your finger comes down, the louder the unpicked note will sound (I'm talking finger speed, not time after the picked note - one of my students had trouble with the definition of 'do it faster'!)
For a pull-off, it helps if you can lift your finger on an angle, either towards the ceiling or towards the floor. That puts a sort of oblique picking motion to the string as the finger is released, helping you generate the sound... if you lift straight up, it's hard to get volume.
The angle of release for the finger shouldn't be so shallow that you hit the adjacent string; it takes a bit of practice, but it's not hard to do.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
All I can say is don't feel alone.
I can do hammers and pulls pretty good now but I started off just like you are right now.
Patience and practice and it will all come together.
thanks for the help. it`s like i thought
it`s me not the guitar. BAD workman
blames his tools. :roll:
bry
trying to learn the guitar with my 50 birthday just around the corner SH*T it`s come and gone
i'm still at the chord-learning stage... could someone please explain what you mean by "pull-off" and "hammer on"? or post a link to an article that explains it? is this something you do with your fretting hand or strumming hand?
thanks!!
Hammer on is where you pick a string at a certain fret or open, then without picking again rapidly place a finger at a higher fret to sound that note.
Pull off is pretty much the opposite.
They are ways a guitar plays slurs. Where 2 or more different notes are tied together.
You want to sound each note but only the 1st one will have the sound of the pick or finger striking the string.
PS: it is done with the fretting hand
I used to do more of a 'flick off' type thing when I just started. I would fret the note, then bend my finger and sort of dig into the fretboard right below the string and flick it up to open position. Since it sounded alright (sometimes), I continued doing this for a while. I had almost gotten stuck in the habit, but just a couple weeks ago I decided to do literally what the term said - I 'pull' down ever so slightly after plucking a fretted note and then just let the string go - and voila! It sounded perfect! It even seems to come more naturally than the old flick off I used to do sort of hit or miss.
I think its just a small beginners obstacle - once you start getting used to the whole feel and idea of fretting notes, and playing, it'll come a whole lot easier.
P.S: I'm still a beginner myself so probably should let the answers come from the experts - just thought i'd share...take my advise for what its worth.
i'm still at the chord-learning stage... could someone please explain what you mean by "pull-off" and "hammer on"? or post a link to an article that explains it? is this something you do with your fretting hand or strumming hand?
thanks!!
Hammer on: Note generated by lightly snapping your finger on behind a fret
Pull-off: Note generated by removing your finger from a string, slightly pulling on the string as you do.
See the link to Nick Torres' lesson on this subject:
