Hi everybody. This article is about something you probably know already, but that I have recently discovered, and since I haven't found anything about it in this website, I want to write about it.
Well... straight to the point. After playing guitar for a long time, and studying several different techniques, especially pull-offs, I have found that there are two types of them.
Perhaps you're thinking "
This guy is wrong, there is only one pull-off", but believe me when I say what I say.
First, there is one type that all of us know, and that type consists basically in playing a note fretted by one finger, and then, while the note is still sounding, placing another finger directly behind the first one and 'pulling' this one off the string, in order to sound the note that is being fretted by the second finger without picking it.
This is O.K., but I have found another type:
It is basically the same, but with this difference: Once you have played (with your picking hand) the note fretted by the first finger, you pull this finger off, but instead getting this finger out of action as you would normally do when pulling-off, you pick the string with the tip of your first finger.
You would probably think that the effect of this "second type" of pull-off technique is the same, but if you have a good musician ear, you will note the difference.
In my opinion, the advantage of this type is that by doing what I have described, the notes produced will be enhanced, producing a cleaner sound; so, your pull-offs will be "well-heard" by you and your audience. Thus, this type of pull-off is vital in order to perform trills, whether if they begin with a hammer-on or with a pull-off.
I have heard several guitarists who don't know this, and the sound produced by the trills they perform are weak, because once they have played the first note(with their picking hand), the vibration of the string (and the notes) played decreases, yielding nothing but weak notes and weak sound.
So, once you now know it, give it a try. It's not difficult; you only need three things:
1. Knowing how to play pull-offs;
2. Hard finger-callousses;
3. Practice.
This way, your pull-offs and your trills will sound much better, and won't lack of strength.
Cheers,
JC Rea
