Advanced guitar techniques give you a variety of ways to add flair to your performances. From chord extensions to hybrid picking, these skills can make your songs more interesting.
Palm muting is when you rest the base of your picking hand on the strings to muffle their sound. Choking is a more extreme form of palm muting that completely stops the string from ringing out.
Legato
Having the ability to play notes that are connected smoothly and without any breaks is one of the hallmarks of a great guitar performance. This is known as legato and it’s the main technique used by guitar virtuosos. Legato is achieved through a combination of fingering and articulation techniques. It can be difficult to learn but it’s well worth the effort and practice.
First, you’ll need to be comfortable playing in the open position, which is the first three frets of each string. This will allow you to play most melodies and chords. Then you’ll need to master basic articulations like string bending and vibrato. Once you’ve mastered these two skills it’s time to begin learning the nuances of legato.
There are many different articulation techniques that can be used on the guitar but legato, slurs, and staccato are the most common. Legato involves connecting notes in a smooth manner, slurs connect two notes of the same pitch and staccato is the opposite, with short and crisp notes.
To practice the articulation of legato you’ll want to start slow and work your way up to faster speeds. Make sure to practice hammer-ons and pull-offs as well to improve your overall control over the strings. Also, focus on your finger strength so you can sustain notes for long periods of time.
Once you’re comfortable with the articulation of legato, try playing some ascending and descending scales in a legato fashion at various speeds. This will help you to get familiar with the sound of legato and train your ear and muscle memory to always bend each note to its intended pitch.
The more advanced and fast you become on the guitar, the better you will be at improvising. However, it’s important to remember that improvisation is not about playing complex or fast licks by itself; it’s about being an overall well-rounded musician. This is why learning the underlying principles of music theory is so important. This will not only give you more options for expressing yourself musically but will also make your guitar playing sound better overall.
Chord Extensions
If you want to take your guitar playing to the next level, then you will need to learn chord extensions. This advanced technique allows you to add more notes to a basic chord without changing the root note, or having to move up or down the fretboard to play them. It’s a great way to add more color and variety to your chords and will make you a much more versatile guitarist.
You’ll need a good understanding of music theory to fully grasp chord extensions, but it’s not something you can’t master. First, you’ll need to understand the relationship between modes and chords. Modes are a set of patterns that are used to build scales and chords. Once you have a few of these under your belt, you can start learning the different types of chord extensions.
Chord extensions are basically additional chord tones that are added above a basic seventh chord. There are two kinds of chord extensions: unaltered and altered. Unaltered chord extensions are just additions to the basic seventh chord, adding a 9th or an 11th for more tension and voicing options. Altered chord extensions are additions to the seventh chord that are either raised or lowered by a half-step for more tension and voice leading.
Once you’ve got the basics of chord extensions down, it’s time to start adding them to your songs. Try playing a simple progression with these extensions, and see how it sounds. It’s also a good idea to practice some fingering patterns with these extensions to get comfortable with them.
While practicing, you should also focus on improving your ability to make wide intervals and string skipping leaps. This will help you create more complex riffs and solos. It’s also a good idea practice some sweep picking exercises, which are techniques that use your thumb to strum strings instead of using a pick.
Sweep picking can be particularly useful for strumming chords, as it can create a more subdued sound than regular fingerpicking. It’s a common technique in metal, but can be applied to any genre of music.
Hybrid Picking
Using hybrid picking allows you to blend the tones produced by standard pick playing with those of fingerstyle picking. This opens up a world of possibilities when playing chords and rhythm. It also gives your strumming a more percussive sound, similar to what you might hear from someone like Jimmy Page using the two-hand tapping technique.
With hybrid picking, the thumb and index finger remain as they would be with standard pick picking but the remaining fingers (middle and ring primarily) take on picking duties in addition to their normal fretting responsibilities. This helps to increase the speed at which you can play as well as the range of patterns that can be played. Using iron age guitar plectrums gives you an edge whenever you want to try hybrid picking.
Hybrid picking was popularized by progressive rock guitarists but is now commonly used in many styles of music to add depth and nuance to melodies and chord progressions. Players such as Brent Mason, Guthrie Govan and Eric Johnson often incorporate hybrid techniques into their arsenals.
The main benefit of hybrid picking is that it allows you to quickly switch between string pairs without having to stop and change hand positions. For example, in FIGURE 1 b you can see how the middle and ring finger are picking upstrokes on the open D-string while the pick is driving the downstrokes on the A-string. The pinkie is occasionally employed to help pick the B-string, although this is less common and generally reserved for more advanced patterns.
It’s important to practice your hybrid picking slowly at first, particularly if you’re new to the technique. This will ensure that you can properly synchronize both hands. Once you feel comfortable with the basic fingering, try applying it to chord progressions and arpeggios.
To practice, begin by simply going through the pattern in FIGURE 1. Make sure your middle and ring fingers don’t fall off of the ringing strings between strokes. This will prevent you from inadvertently muting the strings and slowing down your playing. Also, make sure you’re catching the upstrokes on the A-string with the second finger rather than with your pinkie.
Pinch Harmonics
This advanced guitar technique takes a lot of practice to get right. You have to be able to play a note, then touch the string at the same time as it’s vibrating to create a harmonic. Then, you have to apply a vibrato to the harmonic to give it more sustain and character. Pinch harmonics are often used in rock and heavy metal music because they create a high-pitched sound like a squeal or scream. They can also be used to add a unique distorted tone to your playing.
Pinch harmonics are different from other forms of harmonics because you have to touch the string with your thumb and pick at the same time. This can be difficult, especially with thinner strings. When practicing this technique, it’s important to experiment with different strings and frets to find the spot where it is easiest to do. This will vary depending on the guitar and pickups you are using.
Another benefit of pinch harmonics is that they sound a lot clearer than other types of harmonics. Because they require the use of both your index finger and thumb, it’s more difficult to accidentally hit a harmonic than with other techniques. This is particularly useful on higher frets where you can easily make a high-pitched screech or squeal with other methods.
You can find harmonics all over the fretboard and on every string, but this is a good place to start. Once you’ve mastered this technique, try experimenting with different sounds and using it in your leads or rhythms. This is a great way to give your guitar some extra edge and creativity. It’s not necessary to be an advanced guitarist to incorporate this type of picking, but it will help you take your playing to the next level. Sweep picking, travis picking, and two-hand tapping are just a few more of the advanced guitar techniques that will open up new possibilities for your playing. Master these and you’ll be able to produce some truly impressive and exciting guitar melodies.