Slurs, not against anyone...

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SunnyOne

Blues Newbie
I am on lesson one (Slurs) and notice that i have to strike the string very hard (strumming hand) in order to get the "echo"  when doing the 6-8, example 1 (pg. 8-9). I do not strum HARD when I play. Will I have to learn to strum HARD like that when I play all the time. It seems like a lot of force to me which feels unnatural.

Thanks.
 
luckylarry

luckylarry

Student Of The Blues
Sunny Example 1 is a hammer on. That means you have to hammer the 8 with your finger. You should not have to strum hard. You should hear the note change with the hammer on. Maybe your amp is not turned on high enough. I think you should be able to do most of these exercises with out having to strum harder, it is more of a left hand technique. Now having said all that the pros will tell both of us what we need to do. ;)
 
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SunnyOne

Blues Newbie
yeah, i know to pick and not strum, was trying to get across that it was my strumming/picking hand...never know how to phrase it....hmm, methinks the amp needs to be turned up...and page 8-9 are SLURS. I'm looking at it as I type.  :p
 
L

Lame_Pinky

Guest
Have you watched the DVD of Griff explaining it & showing how to peform the above mentioned slur ?

LP
 
R

RichC

Guest
The idea is to get the level of volume of the slurred notes and the picked notes equal. It takes a lot of practice and proper technique to get to this point. But the volume of the amp and guitar are certaintly relevant. Mabey go out on the internet and watch slurs explained by various sources will help with your technique as well.
Good Luck
Rich C
 
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SunnyOne

Blues Newbie
yep i watched Griff's lesson, of course!  :p
i am thinking it is an amp issue as i keep it on the down low.
 
MikeS

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Sunny,
Griff considers Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, tweedlys, Slide up and Slide down all Slurs.
Slurs are definitely a Fret Hand technique and have very little to to with the picking hand.
Actually, if your guitar and amp are up high enough, you don't need to pluck the string at all. Lots of performers use this technique. At lower volume or on an acoustic, you really need to come down with some force on the hammer-on, pull off or tweedly, but your picking hand really shouldn't have to change.
 
5

560sdl

Blues Newbie
A year or so ago I saw ZZ Top play and Billy Gibbons pretty much played an entire solo without picking a note.  In fact the whole time he was playing the solo he was waving at the crowd and taking sips off his drink. 

I was pretty blown away but I guess with hot pickups and a hot amp, you can do that.

Also at the place where we have done our open mic nights, there is a bass player who had had a stroke and has very limited use of his right hand.  He has re-learned the bass doing nothing but hammer on's and pull offs.  Strangest thing you have ever seen the first time you watch him.
 
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Cyberthrasher_706

Blues Newbie
You don't really need higher volume to pull it off, that just makes it easier for learning. The note's going to happen when you hit the string with authority, whether you're on acoustic, electric, or plugged into a wall of Marshall's. It takes practice and you just need to work on hitting hard enough to get it to sing. The reason you're having better luck when you pick really hard is because you're "priming" the note by making more sound available to change, so you're doing half the work with your pick already.

My advice that I use daily is to simulate what Alan just said about Billy Gibbons. Put your right hand behind your back and just practice that hammer-on/pull-off. You may want to plug in and turn up until you get enough power in your finger to really get it going on it's own.
 
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SunnyOne

Blues Newbie
ok, thank you for the info. very interesting stuff! amazing actually! how fun to learn these little tricks, slurs, tweedlys, et cet!
 
Alexander Blue

Alexander Blue

Surfers Rule !!!
A year or so ago I saw ZZ Top play and Billy Gibbons pretty much played an entire solo without picking a note.  In fact the whole time he was playing the solo he was waving at the crowd and taking sips off his drink. 

I was pretty blown away but I guess with hot pickups and a hot amp, you can do that.

Also at the place where we have done our open mic nights, there is a bass player who had had a stroke and has very limited use of his right hand.  He has re-learned the bass doing nothing but hammer on's and pull offs.  Strangest thing you have ever seen the first time you watch him.
Click to expand...
Pretty amazing stuff Brah  :) ... how cool it is that we (us monkeys) can adapt and accentuate skills so we can go down another avenue but reach nearly the same end, or perhaps even better ... I salute the "Re-learned" bass player  [smiley=thumbsup.gif] ...
         And Sunny,
   Like folks are saying, just do hammer-ons and pull-offs without picking ... slap them hammer-ons and semi pluck them pull-offs with your "Fret Hand" of course ... you should have the concept down very shortly ... Duck Soup ... a walk in the park   ;)
 
L

Lame_Pinky

Guest
When you can do it on your electric "unplugged"  then yer talkin' !

LP
 
Alexander Blue

Alexander Blue

Surfers Rule !!!
When you can do it on your electric "unplugged"  then yer talkin' !

LP
Click to expand...
Hey Sunny,
   LP has this wired tight ... I practice a bunch on my Mexican Strat [glow=yellow,2,300]unplugged[/glow] ... when you can do hammer-ons and pull-offs, slides and bends unplugged so it sounds good to you (in a quiet environment of course) it's really great ... try it  :)
 
Griff

Griff

Vice Assistant General Manager
Staff member
Hey guys - sorry I've been out the last few days. I'm feeling better - about 90% today. So I'm back to forum posting:)

The slurs are ALL about the left hand. But more than force and playing harder, they are about playing quicker. The trick to a well-executed hammer-on is to get the finger from not on the string to on the string instantly.

Try this to help visualize how this works -
pick the open high e string. Not extra, just solid. Then slowly touch the 5th fret with your middle finger (or whatever finger is comfortable.)

You'll notice that the string dies because you moved slowly. Now pluck the string - then count to 2, then put your middle finger down as quickly as you can. Now the string still rings. And the amount of vibrational energy left in the string is directly related to the speed with which you get your finger on the string.

The reason I say to count to 2 is because each note still has to ring. And the most common thing to do with hammer-ons is to rush the beat because you are thinking about quick.

Does this make any sense at all?
Griff
 
Griff

Griff

Vice Assistant General Manager
Staff member
By the way - if you have distortion on you add a ton of compression to the tone, and that's what makes it so easy to do slurs all day long. A little bit of overdrive will really help and make this easier.

That being said - I can pull off the Billy Gibbons thing on an acoustic. It's technique, not tone that makes it happen. The compression from overdrive just makes it a lot easier at first.

Griff
 
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Cyberthrasher_706

Blues Newbie
Perfect sense Griff. Welcome back. That's pretty much what I was trying to say. The only reason I mentioned force is because you do have to actually make sure you're completely fretting the string when you do it. I've seen a lot of beginners get the motion down, but all they succeed in doing is muting the string. As always, Griff saves the day and clears up my rambling train of thought.  ;D
 
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