Three-note-per-string legato runs for guitar
The A minor three-notes-per-string shape again, but only the first note on each string is picked and the other two are hammered on or pulled off. This is the core of flowing legato soloing: fewer pick strokes, a smoother line and more speed for less effort. It also trains muting the strings you aren't playing, which matters more the less you pick.
Opens in the player looped and counted in, with the metronome on, and speeds up 5 % every 2 loops to 90 bpm. No account or microphone needed.
- Goal tempo
- 90 bpm
- Starts at
- 54 bpm
- Length
- 3 bars, looped
- Tuning
- E standard
How to play it
Only the first note on each string is picked; rest the picking hand's palm on the strings below.
Going up, pick the first note on each string and hammer on the next two. Coming down, pick the first note on each string, now the highest one, and pull off to the two below it. The shape is the A minor scale from the 5th fret, in triplets.
With so few pick strokes, the strings you're not playing are free to ring. Rest the side of the picking hand on the lower strings and let the fretting fingers' undersides touch the higher ones.
Mistakes to watch for
- The picked note much louder than the two slurred ones. Pick lightly and hammer firmly to even them out.
- Open strings ringing behind the run because nothing mutes them.
- Rushing the hammer-ons and arriving at the next string early.
A speed plan
The player starts at 60 % of the goal and plays each tempo twice before stepping up:
- 54
- 59
- 63
- 68
- 72
- 77
- 81
- 86
- 90
That's 16 loops and about 3 minutes before you're playing at 90 bpm. If it stops being clean on the way, stop the ramp there and loop that tempo until it is. With a microphone or an audio interface you can record while you play instead: Demiurg checks every loop and steps up only after two clean ones in a row, and back down after a poor one.
Questions
How fast should I play Three-note legato runs?
The goal is 90 bpm in eighth-note triplets, which is 4.5 notes a second. Start wherever every note is clean: the player begins at 54 bpm. Signed in, you can set a goal of your own, slower or faster, on the Exercises page.
What does legato mean on guitar?
Playing notes smoothly joined, by hammering on and pulling off instead of picking each one. It gives a flowing sound and lets you play fast with less picking.
Should I practise this before or after the picking version?
It doesn't matter much, but doing both helps: the picked A minor, three notes per string exercise teaches the shape and the timing, and this one builds fretting-hand strength on the same notes.