Author: Dirk Hagemann
Difficulty: easy
This is just a small lesson to show you several different ways to play one note! We´re use the note G on the 8th fret of the B string for our examples.
Listen to a Midi of this lead techniques
Several ways to play a note
1. 1/2 bend
We want to play a G note. So we slide down 1 fret and bend it 1/2 step to get our key note.
2. Full bend
A full bend means 1 note (= down to frets). So we bend the B-string on the 6th fret and play a full bend to play a G note.
3. Vibrato
Hit the string on the 8th fret and move your wrist smoothly up and down, so that your finger on the string produces a warm vibrato. The faster the movement of your wrist is, the better or longer is the sound of the Vibrato.
4. Wide Vibrato (up and down)
Instead of shaking our wrist sideways like in the last example you move your fingertip slightly up and down to produce another kind of vibrato.
5. Tapping
Ex. 1 Tapping with your left hand
Hit the empty B-string and tap on the 8th fret to get our G note.
Ex. 2 Tapping with your right hand
Hit the note on the 5. string and use your right hand to play the tapping.
6. Hammer-On
Nearly like a tapping you play the note on the 5th fret and use your little-finger to play a hammer-on.
7. Pull-Off
The opposite of the hammer-on. Lay two fingers on the 8th and 10th fret, then hit the string and remove the finger from the 10th fret and let the note from the 8th fret ring.
8. Palm-Muting
For palm muting lay the edge of your palm lightly near the bridge on the strings of your guitar. Then play our note on the 8th fret.
9. Slide up
Place your finger on the 6th fret, hit the note and slide up to the 8th fret.
10. Slide down
Place your finger on the 10th fret, hit the note and slide down to the 8th fret.
11. Trill
A trill is a like a very fast hammer-on/pull-off. Place your middle-finger on the 7th fret, hit the note and use your ring finger to play a very fast hammer-on on the 8th fret.
12. Tremolo picking
Tremolo picking are very rapid up and downstrokes with your pick. You can play it in different speed (listen to midi on bar 14 & 15). Bar 14 in eighth notes and bar 15 with sixteenth notes.
13. Chords
Here are some different chords that have our G-note on the 8th fret of the B-string involved.
Okay, I hope this little excursion have given you some ideas for variations how to play a note in your soling!
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