Hammerons/Pulloffs/Slides - exercises and/or books?

[Joe*]

I've realised recently that I tend to neglect using hammerons, pulloffs and slides in my playing (mostly rock/pop stuff ). I DO use them, but I think my playing would be more fluid if I used them more. When I admire another bass player, it's usually their heavier reliance on these techniques which I can identify as "the difference" between us. I'm also tempted to think that lines and grooves I come up with would just... sound better... if I include them more.

So... does anyone have any recommendations for exercises or books which include sections on hammerons, pulloffs and slides? I know how to play them; I want to know more how I can use them. I just want to immerse myself in the more fluid style they'll offer rather than pronouncing every note with the fingers/pick of my right hand... thanks.

[Spin Doctor]

Just copy the guys you are admiring in the first place. Learn the songs you like that has the technique you are trying to learn. Eventually the technique will show up in your playing. Imitating people you admire is part of the musical process and absolutely everyone that you think is fantastic or is an icon has done it.

[stratovani]

Originally Posted by Spin Doctor

Just copy the guys you are admiring in the first place. Learn the songs you like that has the technique you are trying to learn. Eventually the technique will show up in your playing. Imitating people you admire is part of the musical process and absolutely everyone that you think is fantastic or is an icon has done it.

+1. I've carried the technique over from my guitar playing, and I think the only way to get fluidity is by constant practice. I don't know where you would find an explanation or exercises - maybe YouTube - but like Spin Doctor says, everyone has done it at one time or another. I know it's an essential part of my playing technique.

[Joe*]

Originally Posted by Spin Doctor

Just copy the guys you are admiring in the first place. Learn the songs you like that has the technique you are trying to learn. Eventually the technique will show up in your playing. Imitating people you admire is part of the musical process and absolutely everyone that you think is fantastic or is an icon has done it.

That makes sense - but often when I try that, I end up playing these players' lines without using the techniques they're using. I end up playing them in my style, if you see what I mean, and I find it hard to break out of it!

I know I should be more disciplined in that respect... I'd love to spend a few weeks practicing these aspects over and over, so that next time I learn a new line, or make my own, I default to these techniques rather than my own old ones...

[FretlessMainly]

I use these very often. I would practice running some common scales using multiple strings and concentrating on only plucking each string once. For example, here's a simple pentatonic scale starting on low G:

E string: G A B - pluck the G, hammer the A and slide up to the B
A string: D E - pluck the D and hammer the E
D string: G A B - pluck the G, hammer the A and slide up to the B
G string: D E - pluck the D and hammer the E

then go back down to low G replacing the hammer-ons with pull-offs and slides go down rather than up. Total is 19 notes and you'll only use your right hand for seven of them.

Now try this on Major/minor scales, modes, etc.

Note: You'll want to gradually strengthen your left hand and fingers to help you with this. I have a couple of those spring-loaded hand exercizers. I use them whole-hand and using each finger individually against the thumb and against the flesh of the lower palm in repetitions of five to ten (don't do more than this; in fact start out w/ 2-3 reps!). Work your way up very gradually over time. You'll get there.

[Spin Doctor]

Originally Posted by FretlessMainly

I use these very often. I would practice running some common scales using multiple strings and concentrating on only plucking each string once. For example, here's a simple pentatonic scale starting on low G: <snip>

This seems like a really good way to work through this technique and get it solid. I'm adding this to my study book.

[FretlessMainly]

Cool. I should have added that the G pentatonic example I posted is best done with just the index and pinky fingers. The pinky is great for both hammer-ons and pull-offs (turn your wrist in or out while moving the pinky to finger or pluck the note, respectively, for more "torque") and a standard Major pentatonic falls nicely on these two fingers.

A variation on my example would be this: when coming back down, I first suggested replacing the hammer-ons with pull-offs and sliding down rather than up. Alternatively, you could replace the hammer-ons with down-slides and the up-slides with pull-offs. This adds more texture to the technique. The key either way is to end up with the index finger on the lowest fret so you're in position to use the pinky two frets higher but on the lower string. For me, it's hard to acheive an even volume coming down than it is going up and that's mainly because sliding down is a bit harder to control than sliding up into a note, especially with the pinky. So, in my original example, at the top coming back down, you'd have to slide with your pinky from high E down to D and you end up out of position to play the B with your pinky on the D string (sorry, just doing all of this in my head w/o a bass nearby). So, when you get to the top, pull-off E to D, then pull-off B to A and slide the index finger down to G so you're in position to finish up the lick.

As you try other scales, you'll see that you'll need to get your middle and ring fingers involved. So the pentatonic is a good starting point to get acquainted with the technique so you can build up to using a similar technique over scales that emply all four fingers (like a Maj or min scale).

[Joe*]

Thanks, Fretless - I'm already finding your exercises useful!

[FretlessMainly]

Great. Just note my correction in my second post. On the way down, replace the hammer-ons you used going up with down slides and replace the slides you used going up with pull-offs. This has two benefits:

1. It puts you inproper position to continue the scale; and
2. It allows you to slide with your index finger rather than your pinky.

Of course, once this technique becomes comfortable, you should seek out any and all slide, hammer-on and pull-off permutations on all fingers and strings, blah, blah, blah.

Another thing I do is to play for 5 minutes using only my fingering hand. As long as you can attack the string initially with enough force to get it vibrating, you can use the vibration in sort of a "perpetual motion" fashion. The hammer-ons and pull-offs create the vibration and the slides keep the vibration going, so dig into those slides a bit.