Instantly Improve Your Legato - Add This to Your Exercises!

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

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[@hostilegraveyard2849]

i can appreciate ur resentment of the attitude of superiority displayed by these obnoxious,keyboard-wielding peckerheads who claim EXPERTISE in music theory,especially those with LIVE shows. y'know,the kind that spend a whole fuckin' HOUR of vapid drivel that equates,in their minds,2 them advising one to study music theory while NOT actually instructing u in ANY. ??? right. so y don't i just study music theory DIRECTLY on my own,jackass? heh. i've begun avoiding their online material when it rears it's ugly face @ all costs. 'sides,i learn volumes more,shitloads more just by watching ANY of ur vids than tuning in 4 their pretentious,elitist crap. i got bit caught up w/ unfinished biz lately,but will definitely CATCH UP on your latest uploads asap. 'member to check out simon smith's NEW black metal vids. and thanks again 4 chiming in. it wuz good hearin' from ya. yup.

[@hostilegraveyard2849]

i also noticed u subscribe to DAN LOK. he's 1 of the few spots OCTAVIO QUINTERO can be located. being a martial artist as well as a guitarist,this stood out straight away. not only is octavio completely and thoroughly versed in his craft,i find his laid back demeanor and soothing tone make the concepts that much easier to absorb. dig it.

[@RikJSmith]

@@hostilegraveyard2849 I've been learning on KZbin for several years. Somehow I've never heard of Dan Lok. Thanks for mentioning that. Searching now. 🎸

[@jamesthe-doctor8981]

BenHigginsOfficial after 56 years of trying to learn to play the guitar, I find your attitude very refreshing! It’s true that even back in 1964 when I picked up my first guitar, most “good” or “great” guitarists we’re extremely snobbish about their abilities and refused to teach, or at least show, a budding guitarist...well, anything, really. Not all guitarists, but most. I’m happy to say that with the advent of KZbin, that old school attitude is far less widespread since anyone can learn online what was hidden to my generation. I have friends near my age who can benefit from your videos, including one of my band members, who I’ll be turning on to your channel. Thank you for doing it the best way.

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

@@jamesthe-doctor8981 Cheers James!

[@bigfootninjajr1481]

I like your attitude.

[@giannislymperopoylos5574]

one of the most beautiful guitars ive ever seen...!!!

[@robertmeyer8735]

Love it, all your videos actually teach, not just shred. People talk too much about technique, I've never had a lesson, can't read music, get bored trying to learn tabs, but folks always say "You shred!" It's because I do MY thing, not yours, not textbook music. All the noticed players have an original style so nothing is wrong!!! Shut up and play, then perform. Period, Thanks Ben!!!

[@andyoc]

That was a glorious and very accurate rant. Really enjoyed the clarity and truth!

[@krlcomm815]

I've watched you play... you actually do what you say so I'll listen and believe... thanks!

[@Snowy0123]

I want to thank you for your help.. I've been playing for 25+ years but had pins put into my right hand so I couldn't touch a guitar for over a year. I've recently been easing back into it and was hitting a wall with my picking.. something just wasn't right,it felt awkward. and I was watching your tremolo picking video and you were talking about picking with a real steep hand position and you started to pick and the sound it made was exactly the same sound it was making during my attempts..it was something I was struggling with for weeks but luckily I stumbled on your video.. I really appreciate it

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

That's great to hear - I hope you've eradicated 'the scrape'

[@anthony27436]

I just watched an older video of you performing 27 different guitar players and the last one you ended with was Lil Wayne ... That was phenomenal! I was laughing hysterically and how well you played everything I guess it was my reaction but it was wonderful!! I sent the link to a few of my friends they will really enjoy it as I did! Keep up the good work ..

[@wire-qu9ig]

I love it !!! You speak without fear lad !!! Forget those asses telling other axeslingers what's good and what isn't... And you know which way the Thames flows !!! Sorry I'm not even British I'm just trying to relate to you and your badass playing man. Texas guy here.. I love early Dave Murray by the way... Very early hero and his legato is up there with me since 1980.... He's a wild man on the legato.... Adrian I love too, very thought out lad on his solos just not very recognisable and many times sterile...but he pulled a good one on Prodigal Son from Killers... Love your Chris Poland...spot on !!! Jale E Lee rooles too !!! I'd love to jam with you !!! Thanks lad you inspire confidence.

[@deadlift65]

I appreciate your genuine concern against everything that ruins the joy of playing. Because playing should be joy, what else?

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

That's exactly it!

[@johnpritchard9753]

Nice rant and so true in many aspects life. Well said, young man!

[@Ripprock1]

Wise young man. Teach on.

[@HemeHaci]

Very well advice, both on the technique and the mentality. Keep on, cheers!

[@EricTheRed_4]

Well said

[@penge335]

Right on Ben!! Thanks for the content. You’ve helped me increase my playing ability, improving more in two F&@Kin days than I have in YEARS!!! BTW speaking how it is, is refreshing !! Good on you J

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

That's awesome Jason!

[@bobnazaro3444]

Unfortunately Ben, you are 100% correct, I think so many people out there, just want to hear themselves talk. So many of them take things that require a simple logical explanation and make it a long drawn out confusing thing. Bottom line, we all have to be able to block out the noise and get to the stuff that really matters. You have a great attitude, great skills and i learn allot from you. Kudos to you Ben.........

[@fredshred8397]

Badass video! Straight and to the core. :) Congratulations for having a new Sword. (Y)

[@armandom28]

Tell it like it is bro.....good vid.....

[@stevewakelingslide7089]

I like the way you think and teach....subbed

[@Scream4vengeance]

Great lesson, advice & philosophy, Ben sensei!! Merry Christmas, dude!!

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Merry Xmas JC!

[@fociz]

Thanks Ben!

[@jeffsmiley1967]

Thank you it’s helping me get better with my pull offs

[@hamidahmed8076]

Wow what a great lesson, straight to the point... You've got yourself a new subscriber here ✋😊

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Cheers Hamid

[@MrEnoBeano]

I just noticed from watching this that don’t use my pinky very much I’d ever. Thanks I’m going to work on strengthening hat finger. Nice video.

[@anthony27436]

Thank you! Solid advice .. my biggest issue in that lick you exemplified during the lesson is keeping my ring finger planted on the A notes during the hammer on to pull off from the B notes to pull off back to the A note

[@xpmark1]

I love it when you lash out at knob heads.I got your legato gym and alternate picking lessons.

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Yes, my philosophy is anti-knobhead! Good man, enjoy the courses!

[@Smokeflink]

Awesome lesson as always. But the other half of the video should be watched by all musicians. You’re so right about that stuff. The goal is to make sound!!

[@γιωργοςπερρος-η2γ]

not only legato lesson but also life lesson

[@makruwn]

someone watched marshall harrisons legato video :D i agree with you

[@anthony27436]

Angry Marshall Harrison and Allan Holdsworth have an amazing legato technique .. it's not about disagreeing it's about preference and what works for you .. I'll wait for your video so you can show us your legato with the technique hammer on from nowhere

[@xjt9787]

That carbon fibre look is pretty cool on the guitar!

[@cliffwise]

About bending strings. I’m admittedly an amateur but I find putting a bit of upward pressure on the string/note I’m pulling off to helps to stop the bending string/elevated note sound. This especially works well on the high and low strings and is necessary for me to keep the high string on the fretboard. Takes a bit of practice. Great rant by the way. That stuff needs to be said every day. We are all on the same road. Reach out a helping hand rather than offering a criticism.

[@Wyndorel]

What I'm having a hard time doing is to keep the higher string muted when pulling off on the hammer-ons. Is it just a matter of getting more precise or do you have a particular muting technique?

[@seanmiller7889]

Yep I have the same problem.

[@Iheartdgd]

Mute it with the finger you keep fretted, just lightly rest the tip of your finger on the string above, and learn to use your thumb to mute the low e as well, that has been very helpful for me.

[@johnsmith-pw7oj]

i mute with my fretting hand slightly touching the strings with the fingers im not using, and with the palm of my picking hand i mute the low strings and the one just above the target string (and sometimes the one below as well) i mute them with my other fingers on my picking hand (i sort of touch it or hold them with my fingertips sometimes)

[@Wyndorel]

​@@johnsmith-pw7oj Do you mean that you use a finger from your picking hand to mute the string above the one you're playing? I guess a way or another you have to use your other fingers, either from the right or the left hand, to mute that higher string... Time to work!

[@johnsmith-pw7oj]

@@Wyndorel yes, i saw it on a rush video and have been doing it ever since

[@kungfufistofpain6783]

Wow this was really really easy!!

[@batmandeltaforce]

OH WOW what and AWESOME axe dude.

[@maxkristoffersson7163]

I respect this moment

[@Kaoz_Theory]

Dude I love you so much

[@perfectguitarmethod]

Great channel

[@loveguitars]

Hey Ben, Awesome Lesson!! What is your opinion on keeping your fretting fingers planted doing pull offs? Thanks!!

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

It's fine by me. My criteria for judging any technique is: Does it work? Glad you enjoyed the vid. Cheers!

[@Iheartdgd]

Pff.. and they told me I was a fool for tappin w my knob...

[@AliJr_MetalGames_MetalGuitar]

U S E IT A S A S L I D E

[@JDODify]

Lol... just got to the end of the video. Would love to listen to Ben chatting to Glenn Fricker about keyboard warriors.

[@jkf3169]

As always ....Like then watch !

[@NoWayJose85]

But it's not true legato unless you use a bow ;)... But seriously, that rant at the end, best advice ever. Hope you have a fucking awesome Christmas at Castle Higgy

[@touchtennis]

Two minutes on technique. Eight minutes abusing elites! Love this video! Absolutely love it. I did also learn something which is a bonus!

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@charlesclarke3923]

Hi Ben I like your way of talking wit the bad language, you are a man after my own heart. I prefer a person who says it how it is. Thank you.

[@elijahbecker2570]

If I’m still starting out to learn legato lead should i just learn hammer ons only if they feel more comfortable for me than pull offs?

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Personally I would learn both. You can always carry on and develop the hammer-on technique further but not having the ability to perform a pull-off is not really something you'd want. Open string pull-off licks wouldn't be possible without pull-offs, for example.

[@elijahbecker2570]

BenHigginsOfficial thanks for the quick response i appreciate it

[@jadm110]

what kind of guitar are you playing??

[@wire-qu9ig]

Eddie Van Halen... Legato...does legato his way too and he loves Holdsworth....Eddie has always said "if it sounds good ..then it's good"... And you've said too...THANK YOU !!! Fuck the rest !!!

[@JDODify]

Ben, have you got any tips for getting out of a rut? I’m not short of scale knowledge, I found learning a new scale a good rut buster for a while.

[@gothicuq470]

Ben, thank you for addressing the "all hammer" approach. I know exactly who made those claims and I saw it as an "I'm right and all of those guitarists are wrong" type of comment . The main crux of his argument seemed to be that the notes will not have the same "volume level" if you will . I just wanted to hear an opinion from someone who's advice I feel I can trust

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Hi Joe, there's no reason at all why pull-offs cannot have the same volume. Conversely, one could play several hammer-ons in a row and still not be consistent in volume. That issue is down to the individual themselves. Garsed, Satch, Vai et al have all done pretty well at making it smooth and consistent. However, regardless of this, the definition of legato has nothing to do with volume so it's bit of a red herring. Regarding tone, the all hammer-on approach does have slightly different tone than hammer / pull. As I said, slightly softer and more keyboard-like. But tonal difference also has nothing to do with the definition of legato. The tone is a subjective preference. So the 'true legato' argument is not based on a valid premise. It's based on a 'this is what I prefer the sound of' argument. Hopefully that makes sense?

[@gothicuq470]

@@BenHigginsOfficial agree 100% Ben. He says "you can play Heavy Metal legato " then rips off a perfect legato line using pulloffs and says" which is no good" Do what? Is it no good to him because it sounds bad (obviously not) or because it doesn't fit his preference? Dude makes no sense ! What is Heavy Metal legato? so are there not countless styles of music that use pulloffs besides Heavy Metal/

[@BallisticaMetal]

@@gothicuq470 Lol yeah... Wes Montgomery used legato in a song the "heavy metal way" so we know that guy liked metal! or Joe Pass and Django used it in the "heavy metal way" so they know shit about it... Thanks Ben for making this video clearing this out about this ridiculous fight

[@chaoticneutral1090]

thanks for your opinion. do you feel like action has alot of effect on how well one can legato?

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

It's probably easier to have a lower action for using less energy on faster playing but I've always had a high action because vibrato and bending are really important to me.

[@chaoticneutral1090]

@@BenHigginsOfficial ahh thanks, I didn't know high action is better for vibrato and bending

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

@@chaoticneutral1090 I personally find that it is better. Other people are different and love a low action. But it's easier to get your fingers behind the strings with a higher action, which is essential if you want to be able to do wide, aggressive vibrato and bends.

[@TheEric1203]

Clicked for the thumbnail

[@fretburns]

Bad ass :)

[@tmarti3207]

Someone has been looking at an old video of Marshall Harrison 🤐🤐😂😂

[@raymondmagdallon9033]

You'd have to be a real dork to shit on a musician for not doing "real legato" when they're doing all hammers and pulls. I play all hammer-ons myself and on my best days when its feeling right, it sounds nothing like the smooth lines satriani plays. It's not better or worse. It's a different technique to achieve a completely opposite effect. the all hammer thing is really a staccato (each note separated) thing. I'm trying to sound like a super fast plucked violin passage from the classical repertoire, or a typewriter. I love hearing folks that have the hammer and pull off style nailed down tho. Sounds liquid and elegant. If I had the time I'd want to be equally good at both to command a larger palette of compositional colors. As long as you aren't hurting your wrists or straining muscles and the notes sound good, it IS good. Just practice and tell the "true legato" people to fuck off. Fantastic video m8. Really enjoy your delivery.

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

You got it. It's all about sound and what works for you. Both approaches sound great. Sounding great is all that matters

[@BrettFunkGuitar]

I agree completely with every word you said. Great commentary. And you're a great teacher and player. I have my students watch many of your videos as part of their "homework". Hahaha You've become homework. LOL But only the best for my students, so that's really a compliment. :D Thanks for all the great videos. I've learned things from you too, and I've been teaching full time for nearly 30 years. Keep up the great work. I know you've seen this cat. It's like you were responding directly to his commentary in this video. He definitely fits the bill on your legato comments. However elitist he may sound, dude can play. But his attitude put me off. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIWsY6ZqqNt4aNU

[@JimiHL]

I make noise better than most...lol. And I do mean noise.

[@genevai2893]

next please tackle the vibrato elitists idiotic comments? -that i read/ listen to all the time ??

[@tonedeftheband]

Sounds like a lot of time wasted.

[@roathripper]

nob-ato!

[@RecycledRocker2]

I have made tons of mistakes listening to the wrong fuckers.....but boo on me !

[@georgewilkins4231]

Try smiling..

[@AliJr_MetalGames_MetalGuitar]

Meow

[@jjsuperstar9000]

#knobhead :)

[@blastgoal2367]

You are good but all of your students must be rude

[@medievalknievel]

Thank you for giving me the “aha moment”,after all this time!! Within reason it’s actually the Pulling not the lifting0ff

[@BenHigginsOfficial]

Glad you found it!