How to Play a Trill on Guitar

Adding ornamentation to a lick, riff or melody can add a new level of musical expression to any song. One of the most common ornaments is the trill. Learning to play a trill on guitar using proper technique will allow you to add trills to any musical phrase or melody line.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guitar

1. Place the left-hand index finger on the third fret of the fifth string.

2. Pluck the string with a pick or right-hand fingers. This will be the only pluck during the trill, do not re-pluck the string at any point after the initial attack.

3. "Hammer" down the left-hand ring finger onto the fifth fret of the fifth string. This will cause the new note, D, to sound without re-plucking the note. The "hammer" motion only needs to be from about 1/2 an inch above the string to make the note sound. Do not lift the left-hand index finger off of the third fret of the fifth string at any time.

4. Pull the left-hand ring finger off of the fifth fret of the fifth string, keeping the index finger down on the third fret. This will allow the third fret, C, to sound without re-plucking the note. Pull the ring finger off the fifth string and down towards the fourth string if you are having trouble getting the third fret to sound.

5. 
    

   Practice playing trills on different frets, strings and with different fingers across the guitars neck. In musical notation, trills are indicated by the letters "tr" followed by a long squiggly line as in the example.

Tips & Warnings

• Keeping the left-hand fingers curved and close to the strings at all times will allow for more accuracy and longer sustain when playing trills on guitar.

Resources

• Online Guitar Tips and Lessons