How to Use Legato Techniques for Metal Guitar

In the guitar world, legato refers to notes that "flow" rather than a collection of notes that are picked and then muted. Conventional wisdom has it legato means "tied together" in Italian, and that's what legato is, notes that are tied together through methods that cause them to be slurred into one another. Here are some ways to get legato into your guitar play.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Get your groove amped up. For bet results in legato, you'll need to have some sustain on your amp. You can do this using volume or gain knobs to sustain a note for at least a few seconds. This is integral to legato; without it you may not be able to keep up the free flow of notes.

2. Locate multiple scale notes on the same string and on adjacent strings. You'll need to be able to climb and descend through chord recipes, scales and arpeggios to do good legato, so get used to the fretboard and where all of the notes are.

3. Start with basic legato techniques. Hammer-ons and pull-offs are two methods used in playing legato. You pluck one note, then create successive notes by pulling on strings with your fingers. Instead of multiple picking, you use the pressure and alleviation of pressure to create a stream of notes. Practice minimal hammer-on and pull-off notes until you get really good and can create longer note strings.

4. Acquire skills like tapping, double picking or sliding. There are lots of ways to do advanced legato by following the simple logic of adding and subtracting pressure on the strings in creative ways. Add each one to your legato technique through careful practice.

5. Try multi-string and string-skipping scale structures with legato. It's important for guitar players in the metal genre to remember that most of the legato solos done by pros are based on scales and harmonic constructs, not just put together randomly. Practice good music theory research to keep your legato riffs in good tonal order.