Legato — hammer, pull, same volume

Legato is when the left hand keeps the line going after one pick attack: hammer-ons, pull-offs, and linked cells. Unpicked notes must match the picked one in volume — otherwise it is a smear, not legato.

Path: Alternate first · this page · Legato lab · Economy / Sweep (pick-heavy siblings)

TAB: h = hammer-on, p = pull-off. Only the first note in each burst is picked unless the footer says otherwise.

Order: hammer → pull → hammer-pull cell → trill → two strings → Am-box run → pick between strings → pentatonic box → open-string pulls → finger pairs → three per string.

Lesson 1 · Hammer-on · G string

Pick fret 5; ring finger hammers fret 7. Strike straight down with the hammer finger.

e|--------------------------------
B|--------------------------------
G|---5---h---7--------------------
D|--------------------------------
A|--------------------------------
E|--------------------------------
LH   1       3
RH   D
     G       A

Lesson 2 · Pull-off · G string

Index holds fret 5; ring is on 7. Flick the ring sideways off the string to sound 5 again.

e|--------------------------------
B|--------------------------------
G|---5-------7---p---5------------
D|--------------------------------
A|--------------------------------
E|--------------------------------
LH   1       3       1
RH   D               (pull)
     G       A       G

Lesson 3 · Hammer-pull cell

One pick, three notes. The seed of most legato lines.

e|--------------------------------
B|--------------------------------
G|---5---h---7---p---5------------
D|--------------------------------
A|--------------------------------
E|--------------------------------
     pick  hammer pull

Lesson 4 · Trill to the click

Same cell, four times per beat. One pick attack per beat; left hand does the rest.

e|--------------------------------
B|--------------------------------
G|-5h7p5h7p5h7p5------------------
D|--------------------------------
A|--------------------------------
E|--------------------------------
     one pick per beat

Lesson 5 · Two strings

Pick each string once; legato on each string before crossing.

e|---------------------------------
B|---------------------------------
G|----------5h7p5------------------
D|-5h7p5---------------------------
A|---------------------------------
E|---------------------------------

Lesson 6 · Am box fragment

Box 1 on G and B: pick the first note on each string, legato the rest.

e|-----------------------5--
B|------------5--h8--p5-----
G|-5--h7--p5----------------
D|--------------------------
A|--------------------------
E|--------------------------

Lesson 7 · Pick between strings

Alternate pick when you change strings; legato only on a string. Bridges to Alternate.

e|---------------------------------
B|-------------------5h7p5---------
G|---5h7p5-------------------------
D|---------------------------------
A|---------------------------------
E|---------------------------------
RH   D U           D U   (pick at each string change)

Lesson 8 · Pentatonic box, up and back

A minor pentatonic box 1 on the top four strings. Pick the first note on each string and hammer the second; on the way down, pick the high note and pull to the low one. Two notes per string is why the pentatonic is the classic legato scale — every string is one hammer or one pull.

e|----------------------5--h8--8--p5-----------------------
B|---------------5--h8----------------8--p5----------------
G|--------5--h7------------------------------7--p5---------
D|-5--h7--------------------------------------------7--p5--
A|---------------------------------------------------------
E|---------------------------------------------------------

Same box as Scales; the full lab run is Lead · legato.

Lesson 9 · Pull-off to an open string

The open string is a free note: pull off to it and the fretting hand is ready for the next fret before the note ends. Pull slightly down toward the floor so the string is plucked, not just released. E minor on the top two strings:

e|-5--p0--3--p0--2--p0---------
B|----------------------3--p0--
G|-----------------------------
D|-----------------------------
A|-----------------------------
E|-----------------------------

Lesson 10 · Every finger pair

Legato is only as strong as the weakest pair of fingers, and that is almost always ring and pinky. Run every pair on the G string, index at fret 5: 1–2, 1–3, 1–4, 2–3, 2–4, 3–4. One pick per bar. Keep the lower finger down while the upper one works.

e|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------
B|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------
G|-5--h6--p5-|-5--h7--p5-|-5--h8--p5-|-6--h7--p6-|-6--h8--p6-|-7--h8--p7--
D|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------
A|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------
E|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------

Classical guitarists call these ligados and play them daily as a warm-up. Five minutes is enough; stop if the forearm burns.

Lesson 11 · Three notes per string

Scales with three notes on each string make a natural triplet: one pick, two hammers, next string. This is A natural minor (A B C · D E F · G A B) on the bottom three strings. Count one-trip-let with the pick on one.

e|----------------------------------
B|----------------------------------
G|----------------------------------
D|-----------------------5--h7--h9--
A|------------5--h7--h8-------------
E|-5--h7--h8------------------------

A natural minor is the Aeolian mode — hear how it sits on Modes · Aeolian. Up first; once even, come down with pull-offs.

Ready when

Move on when all of these are true on a normal day, not your best one:

Picked and unpicked notes are the same volume in lessons 3 and 4 — record yourself to check.
All six finger pairs in lesson 10 at 80 bpm, four notes per beat, without the forearm tightening.
The pentatonic box up and back (lesson 8) at 90 bpm in eighth notes with no extra picks.
Three-notes-per-string triplets (lesson 11) even with the click, not rushed toward the next string.