ROCKING legato

1. NF: I hear this word Legato all the time in rock and metal, but is it the same thing in Jazz and Blues and other genres too?

I think it's meaning has evolved, like a lot of the English language I suppose. But essentially Legato is the opposite to Staccato. You can look these words up, but I'll show you what Legato sounds like compared to Staccato and then it should make sense. Legato is when each note lasts until the next one is played. Staccato is when you cut the note short leaving a gap of silence before the next note is played - using whichever guitar technique you want.

NF: Sure.. but how does learning staccato actually improve my legato?

Well first off, you'll be able to recognise it[Legato] when you hear it. Learning to be a musician is about being able to hear things and recognise them. This concept is so basic and fundamental. By learning to play Staccato you are also developing more control over your technique because in order to shorten the plucked note, you add muting control to your left or right hand - it's this additional technical control that gives you the ability to really appreciate and control the legato sound - because you know it has to be the total opposite to staccato.

NF: Ok, so legato sounds easy enough if I play a scale slowly, but what if I need to play the scale really fast - do I change my technique to get Legato?

Yes, exactly and the most fluid sounding legato at speed is when you use the HO and PO techniques. HO as you ascend and PO when you descend the scale. But you'll need exercises to develop these techniques first. It's a simple principle, but legato comes in different amounts, how much you need depends upon how fast you go and how you want the phrase to sound in context with the music.

NF: thanks now I get it - so if I'm going to use legato techniques I have to decide how much legato to use?

Yeah that's the thing. If you play three notes on one string for example, you can pick just the first note and HO the second and third, or just HO the 2nd or just HO the 3rd. This is why you need to do some work and think about it to really master it.

NF: So there are different levels of legato and which level depends on how I want my lick or riff to sound and how fast it is?

Yep, that's about the size of it, and if you happen to be playing fast then you'll probably notice that your right hand gets out of sync sometimes and sounds sloppy. This is down to coordination between your picking hand and fretting hand. A no-brainer when you play slowly, but turn up to about 144 bpm with 16th notes and you'll be out of sync pretty fast unless you've done some work.

NF: What kind of work do I need to do then to get up to that kind of speed?

If you are going to teach yourself then you need to analyse what's going on and make sure you cover every technique involved in the task. In your right hand you have upstrokes and down-strokes - these are never equally strong. Then you have left hand fingers and you have to train all of them to behave. Then you have the coordination between the two hands. So already you have 3 separate exercises to focus on.

I'll show you 3 exercises that focus on building these 3 techniques. I'll use the same F scale again to keep it in context

Yeah, absolutely. In fact I'd say that most of the time I use these techniques it isn't about speed necessarily, it's more about changing the dynamics of a lick or riff. It's all the dynamic nuance and subtlety of HO and PO that I really think makes everything sound more musical. Play 6 notes all at the exact same volume and you'll sound like drone; throw in a hammer-on or pull-off and the volume changes automatically.

NF: Maybe you can show me a couple of licks with and without legato so I can hear the difference in dynamics?

Absolutely, here are 2 licks that I'll play first with alternate picking slow and fast, then I'll switch to use legato and make them sound more fluid.