Blues Guitar Lesson: Style and Craft: Pull-Off and Bends

Pull-off’s, like hammer-ons (since they are essentially the same thing in reverse), expand possibilities of speed, phrasing and articulation, sound and touch.

The pull-off technique involves pressing down the primary note of the melodic line with the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd finger (the primary note may also be an open string) while pressing down a preparation note (higher in pitch on the same string) with the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th finger.

Next, pluck the preparatory note, and while the string is still vibrating, pull the finger playing the higher pitch away from the string (toward the side of the fingerboard) in a plucking action.

In other words, pick the string a second time with the fingering hand. The pull-off should be strong enough to produce a solid tone approximating the loudness of the original picked note. Great care should be taken to maintain rhythmic control of the pull-off; don’t rush or drag the tempo.

Some examples of the pull-off technique…

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-3-p-0——-

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E minor pentatonic scale

-0—————–

—-3-p-0———-

———-2-p-0—-

—————-2–

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Style and craft: bend

There are two main types of bends, the common ascending bend and descending bend (also known as a pre-bend).

In practicing the following bends, be sure to listen to the fretted note (played without a bend) as the reference. The bend should arrive precisely at this pitch. The name of the game is to bend in tune.

Ascending bend:

Reference pitch example without bend.

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-11-12——-

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Same phrase only this time bend to the second note.

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-11-b-12—–

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