#184 - ULTIMATE LEGATO WORKOUT + 30 Day Online Course!

hello shredders. When doing 5-7-4, should we hammer from nowhere the 4 or pull-off from 7 to 4? Thanks a lot and have a very good day practicing :)

Big Fab

When the next note is higher, it's a hammer on. When the next note is lower, it's a pull off. The arc is changed from above to below only for visual clarity in the tabs.

Michael Dunn

This question is open to anyone…Which notation does Bernth use for hammer on or pull off? The arc over the notes or the arc under the notes? Thanks.

Hello guys I started this yesterday and I noticed that i have been struggling a lot to make the pull-offs with the pinky finger actually sound when i play them. Any recommenations as to how I should practice those?

Leon Sunu

Should the left hand be touching the neck of the guitar at all besides the thumb. In the photo, Bernth's left hand positioning has zero contact with the neck except for his thumb. I find it easier to have the inside of the left hand resting on the side of the guitar neck right where the fingers connect to the hand. Is this bad?

eriklessons

Hi Bernth. In the exercises, I noticed you use both the pick for one string and a finger to pick another string. Is this is the approach I should use when practicing this too?

Santosh Subramanian

Dude, same. I've been playing for 25 years, and while I've worked pretty hard on ditching bad habits (never got around keeping my pinky retracted when not in use, for instance), I had to start over left-handed after injuring the muscles in my right shoulder. That injury happened to coincide with my subscription to this Patreon page five months ago. Now I've reached a place that it took me years to reach the first time around. It helps that I'm a lefty, anyway (really: my picking/strumming are way faster and more relaxed left-handed), and that I've covered some of this ground before, but it feels amazing to watch myself grow so fast, without having to fight bad habits I picked up and played with over the past two and a half decades. Bernth has done a great thing with all of these lessons.

Tony Cordes

I've been doing this exercise daily for about 15 minutes at a time for a little over 3 weeks (I started documenting my progress daily 17 days ago, so I started before then) and added some daily exercises (another legato, finger exercises, and string skipping with some Paganini thrown in). Yesterday I was able to do the 100bpm pattern 1 (pattern 2 is still a bit of a struggle for 80-90bpm, especially with pull-offs). However, there was another benefit. There's a little lick I've been playing for weeks (no joke) that has a descending (G string to D string) two string roll that I used just my ring finger for, and the playthrough video features use of pinky finger (the way it SHOULD be done). Sounds wrong, can't hit all the strings correctly (it's a bit fast to play it the improper way). Last night I was able to use my pinky as it was shown without any struggle, and it sounded pristine (no more muddy notes). I "played" guitar (mostly three chords here and there) for many years (20+?), but took a more formal approach with daily exercises and routines within the past month. The difference in just weeks is staggering. And I am only scratching the surface.

Alexi Ruse

Broke my picking hand playing basketball so legato is about the only thing I can work on for the next 2 months. This course will be perfect! So psyched to start tomorrow AM!

Jonathan Lupo

Can't seem to accurately stretch my little finger to 7th fret while other fingers hover over 4th and 5th (Like he does with ease in the vid), my fingers are a good length but I keep either hitting multiple strings with my pinky or losing my position on the 4th fret for the next string while stretching my pinky over. Any tips? Would be great to have a side view of his fingers at the same time as the front view so I can avoid bad technique as a beginner

Richard

Is there a backing track for the main video?

Benjamin

Day 365 - 110

Brawt Dawger

He often uses hybrid picking with legato.

nathan m

You are amazingly kind.

toni andriotis

Hi everyone, I just started this workout and one thing is not very clear from the tabs. When I should do down-stroke and when up? From the videos looks like Bernth is using his finger too

Riccardo Barluzzi

Day 16-20: Speed burst, I noticed as I try to go faster, the ascending hammmer on's dont roll anymore, meaning in the 4-5-7 the 5 and 7 just drop at the same time so only the 7 hammer on is heard. Finger isolation seems to be the issue.

Sohrab Singh Ishar

Hi! What is your goal BPM usually before you move to the next block?

shraey chikker

1 Days 120 very hard, low. I play guitar 10-15 Years, litlle experience and no perfect low bpm.

Sebastien

80 bpm 9/10/22

C

Day 1 - 8/15/22 - 80

John

Same issue here, Rob! The pull offs can come off dull for me aswell. I realised that it is a sloppy muscle memory, because when I super focus on my hand positioning and strength it gets instantly better; until I exhaust of course. With no specific attention my brain just plays it with wrong muscle memory automatically. Gotta re-wire the brain. But it gets better exponentially. Edit: What helped me is practicing with 2 tones. One "clean" sound, no reverb, no compression, tiny bit gain (almost none); and one "heavy" sound with much gain, which even amplifies the sound of blood passing though your finger tips. The "clean" sound is perfect to master the pull-offs, because you really gotta dig in and do it perfectly, otherwise there is almost no sound or dull sound. The "heavy" is good to spot sloppy technique, where you unintentionally touch strings with your left or right hand when transitioning for example - since the sound is so much amplified, you hear every mistake.

Ronnie

Day one April 25th 70 bpm Day 2 - April 26th 80 bom Day 3 April 27th - 80 bpm Day 4 April 28th - 90 bpm but rough descending is bad Day 5 April 29th - 90 bpm - man is legato exhausting!!! Day 7- May 1st - 90bpm Day 8 - May 2nd - 90 bpm a bit more solid and started some other picking exercises Day 10- May the 4th be with you. - 100 bpm - but terrible. Day 11 - May 5th - 100 bpm but not good. Day 13 - May 7th - 90 bpm Day 14 May 8th - 100 bpm but weak descending is bad. Day 15 - May 9th - 100 bpm Day 16 - May 10th -100bpm descending is still bad. Day 17 - May 11th -100bpm Day 19 - May 13th - 90 bpm Day 20 - May 14th - 90 bpm

Mike Whitla

Block 2 ========================= Day 1: Starting bpm: 40; Ending bpm: 60; Practice Time: 30 minutes Spent a few minutes learning the sections of the exercise without a metronome, then started at the base 40bpm. I was able to move up to 60bpm. As long as I stay focused on not letting my wrist angle towards the neck, creating a negative angle and flattening out my fingers, everything stays nice and clean. Over block one, and now into block two, I am finding I need to correct that issue less and less. I only had to remind myself once this session. It is starting to feel very comfortable. Day 2: Starting bpm: --; Ending bpm: --; Practice Time: -- minutes Day 3: Starting bpm: --; Ending bpm: --; Practice Time: -- minutes Day 4: Starting bpm: --; Ending bpm: --; Practice Time: -- minutes Day 5: Starting bpm: --; Ending bpm: --; Practice Time: -- minutes

Bill Combs

Block 1 =================== Day 1: Starting bpm: 30; Ending bpm: 50; Practice Time: 30 minutes Started out struggling to do the slowest tempo on the descending licks, so I went down to 30bpm. By the end of my practice session I was at 50bpm with everything sounding clean and even. It felt very comfortable, so I am confident I will be able to up the bpm at some point during tomorrow's practice. Day 2: Starting bpm: 50; Ending bpm: 70; Practice Time: 30 minutes I noticed some string noise around 65bpm and started analyzing why. My pinky was laying down a bit more than I thought. I slowed back down to 60bpm and focused on really landing on the fingertip. It only took a couple minutes to adjust, and I went back up to 70bpm fairly quickly. Day 3: Starting bpm: 70; Ending bpm: 80; Practice Time: 30 minutes From the beginning of this practice block I was occasionally having issues playing exercise 3 cleanly, and I was struggling to play exercise 4 cleanly every time. It was like my brain couldn't recall the pattern. I was having no issue yesterday, but that's how it goes. Progress is never linear all of the time! I slowed the bpm back down to 60 so I could play it slow and clean. I worked my way back up to 80 bpm by the end of the 30 minutes. I am looking forward to tomorrow's practice. PAUSE: Out for 3 days sick - practiced yesterday and wrote it down on paper. That is day 4. Day 4: Starting bpm: 60; Ending bpm: 90; Practice Time: 30 minutes I had to start much slower due to missing two days of practice with a bad cold. It came back very quickly and I was able to reach 90bpm. It actually felt like the two days off helped more than hurt. It was like a brain reset. Day 5: Starting bpm: 85; Ending bpm: 100; Practice Time: 30 minutes I was able to beat my goal of 80bpm by the end of day 5. I am extremely happy that I was able to hit 100bpm. I really focused on technique and making each note audible and clean, and that there was no bleed over during string transitions. I'm feeling excited about days 6 - 10!

Bill Combs

Hey Rob, yes that's perfectly normal - it also took me quite a while to get the pull-offs right at the start :) The unwanted noise that sometimes occurs is also challenging - so my biggest suggestion is working on legato daily and also paying close attention to the finger technique, which will help you out so much! Hope you have fun working on this :)

Bernd Brodträger

My hammer ons are pretty strong. But I struggle with the pull offs and getting a good snapping motion (especially with my pinkie) and the sound comes off dull. I double check my position and that has helped me with the technique but it’s far from good. I was just wondering if this is common for newer players to struggle with? I have neglected training this technique in my first two years of learning as I thought hammering on was pretty simple initially, but as I have wanted to learn more difficult solos and improvising I’m realizing this technique is critical to develop and really noticed how weak my pull offs are. Any advice? *edit - just noticed a similar comment with a good response!

Rob Lee

The 2 links above for the 30 Day Legato course showing different patterns, i.e. one shows 5-7-8 etc and other shows 4-5-7 etc. Or am I missing something? :)

Arny McCleary

Thank you for your hint. I started to practice the spider exercise with the backing track found at your link before to start the legato 1-5 block exercise and things are getting better even if I have a lot to work on avoiding left hand tension. Trying the challenge I noticed that the descending section on 5th and 6th strings sounded a lot better comparing to the descending section on 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings so I think I have to train more my Pinky finger with the snapping motion needed for legato.

Andrea

Hey Andrea, the classic spider exercise will help you a lot with correct finger placement for legato: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38-finger-you-do-30853257

Bernd Brodträger

Thank you Bernth for this challenge and course. With these I found I have some problems with pull-offs when I change string. In fact I'm on 1-5 block and when I try the second legato pattern I have a weak sounding execution when I pull-offs on the D string. Can I ask you how to place fingers on string change? I try to analyze your execution on the video but I cannot see it clearly.

Andrea

Glad I'm not the only one! I still find this one of the hardest challenges, but when I look back at where I was when I started I'm so much better - much cleaner, faster and more relaxed now... 120 bmp still beats me most days... for now!

Tom F

Still grinding on this challenge for a couple months now. I HAVE made improvement though! But at 100 bpm it all falls apart lol. Think either try something else for a month and come back to this, or, maybe even just start over with this from the beginning. Either way, I am determined to get this one to full speed!

Aaron Shepanik

Hey there, I'd suggest starting with this: https://www.patreon.com/posts/117-5-best-how-42103016 This will also help with building a routine: https://www.patreon.com/posts/52-why-you-make-33297173 Hope you have fun getting started :)

Bernd Brodträger

Hi Team , just just purchase guitar and have no ideas what to do and how to build a proper program. Bernth , could you please suggest the proper path of your videos sequence ?

Sviatoslav P

Finally did it! Thank you Bernth for this fun challenge. The next thing I want to do is practice this same pattern with the other 6 modes. I hadnt mixed hybrid picking and legato like this before!

Alberto Rattazzi

Thanks so much for sharing this and congratulations!! :)

Bernd Brodträger

Hi Bernth and fellow apprentice schredders!! Those comments here give me confidence for the 30 days to come and my probable future improvements :) I will keep you posted!!

Pascal Verschaffel

Hi Bernth, time for me to say "THANK YOU SO MUCH!". Finished the Course yesterday and was trying today, how fast I could go. After warming up with the Alternate Picking Masterclass, I finally did the 120bpm Challenge; not in a row starting from 30bpm due to endurance issues, but that still counts for me. Also, I was able to do the speed bursts (exercise 4) up to 150bpm. Although its not perfectly clean at maximum speed, I still feel the improvement from the last weeks, especially regarding pull-offs. So, I can only conclude that this course was well worth the time. While my speed did not explode to new levels, my precision and pull-off quality definitively is much better now and I'm confident to use more legato in future solos :-) Thank you for this!

Fhynix

On it. Thanks!

Eric

Hey Eric, this one helped me a lot: https://www.patreon.com/posts/182-best-finger-53895697

Bernd Brodträger

Hi Bernth. Day 3 and I'm at 100 bpm. I fall apart at 110 and I really notice my flying fingers. Besides practicing the Spider walk more, is there anything else you can recommend to fix this issue? Thanks.

Eric

Hey Eric, do you mean the challenge in this video or the exercises from the course? You can stick with this fingering since it helps with mastering the legato motion/mechanics - this is what the workout is all about. In the end of your routine, you can also use the technique for improvisation and more diverse scale lines to make it all more practical!

Bernd Brodträger

Hey BERNTH am I supposed to be doing this shape only or moving down the neck? I am trying to beat my speed daily correct?

Eric Hodnett

after that got sloppy

Michael Mogab

12/18/21 90bpm

Michael Mogab

I just started to practice with the 1st video , I know it's a bad habit but my thumb keeps getting up the the top of the neck .it feels easier and I receive louder sound of the strings, is there anyway to avoid this from happening ?

Ami B

Yes, the hybrid picking approach is explained in the full course (the link is in the post) :)

Bernd Brodträger

Hi Bernth. A question. Do you use your middle finger to play the string after play with the pick when ascending?

FernanDo Pérez

Found the explanation, as I just entered week 3 and watched the instructional video (day 11) ;-).

Kenny Claes

Hi Bernth! Could you provide us with a backing track without guitar? That would be awesome!

Hannes

Thanks so much for sharing this Chris, really happy to hear about your progress and improvements!! :) I just posted another challenge this week on alternate picking, maybe that will be a cool follow-up!

Bernd Brodträger

Hi, all! This is my first 30-day course, and it's helped me improve immensely while I've been working on it. For the challenge itself, I peaked at around 100bpm early on, and feel like I've been making small gains since then. I got a little frustrated that my top has been bouncing between 100bpm, pattern 2, and 110bpm. Today, I realized that my death grip tightens as I approach my top speed (both a mental and physical reaction). I spent some time doing high speed on a loop and focusing on keeping my fretting hand as loose as possible. I'm not nailing it yet, but it feels like it's helping for next time--probably because I've already worn out my left hand on trying to crush the fretboard. Thank you for the lessons and challenges! I haven't taken lessons in a very long time, but I've been able to improve much faster than I ever thought I could this many years later!

Chris Frisz

Awesome, thanks for sharing this Fhynix! Great choice for a starting point, I think this is one of my favorite courses/challenges so far :) I can definitely relate to what you're describing, it was very similar for me - I had the hammer-on motion down quickly but struggled with the pull-offs for quite a while. I think this is perfectly normal and the exercises I included in the full course (the Google Drive link) helped me the most with getting this under control :) It's really just a matter of repetition and muscle memory! Here's another lesson about hammer-ons/pull-offs, maybe that helps in addition to the course and challenge: https://www.patreon.com/posts/87-hammer-on-off-37575329 Hope you have tons of fun with this over the next 30 days!!

Bernd Brodträger

Hi Bernth, I started 3 days ago and this is my first 30-day-challenge; really excited to see how far I'll go :-) I just struggle with one issue: When doing pull offs, i tend to simply "lift" the finger (especially the pinky) instead of "snapping" from the string. This creates very quiet and "weak" notes. But when I try to forcefully concentrate on snapping the finger from a string, my fingers fly far away from the fretboard and tension increases heavily. I don't think this technique will work out at higher speeds. Do you have any guidance on how to effectively do the pulling motion without loosing control over the fingers?

Fhynix

Hey Kenny, thanks for asking! Yes, this is the hybrid picking approach and it's described in the legato course you can find in the Google Drive folder :) You can also pick each string, I just find the sound much more fluid and 'connected' this way!

Bernd Brodträger

Day 6, can do 120 (but this is my second time doing this course, tried to do too many of these at the same time).

J H

I've added one bar of quarter notes as a count in

J H

Hi Bernth, currently going through Sweep Picking, Hand Synchronization AND the Legato workouts on a daily basis. This is really improving my technique! Quick question on the legato course (day 1-5): Am I seeing it correct that you often use your middle finger of your right hand instead of your pick? Never heard anything in the videos (maybe I missed it), but is there a specific technique you are following here: when to use the pick & when to use your right hand fingers? Kind regards, Kenny

Kenny Claes

I would love to record my sessions, but am currently playing using headphones and amplitube. I don't know how to record video with guitar audio using my current setup (am exploring other options though) I will keep practicing in the meanwhile :) Edit: I think I'm onto something. I'm tensing up when pulling off, and it's the edge of my hand on the pinky side. I did the speed burst exercise for 25 minutes and at the high tempo focussed only on keeping things relaxed and it seems to work! Now to add some economy of motion because that pinky keeps flying in all directions haha :)

Edwin van Slingerlandt

Thanks so much for sharing this Edwin, great to hear about your progress and consistency!! :) Yes, I think the most recent post includes a lot of helpful information concerning that. It's difficult to give feedback without seeing footage, but maybe the movements could be a bit smaller? I found that I exaggerated the motions quite a bit when I attempted fast legato at first - it can be really subtle and doesn't require a lot of force :) The thumb placement and other tips from yesterday's video also really help, hope this gets you the results you're looking for! It mostly just takes a bit of time :)

Bernd Brodträger

Edit: heh! You know what? Maybe I should just follow lesson #202 that you posted only hours after my question :) Hi Bernth! I am now in the last phase of this course, and am getting great results! I do feel cramped in my fretting hand though, when playing at the highest tempi, especially when playing the challenge. It starts around 100 bpm, and makes me stop at 110-120 bpm. Are there any recommendations or exercises I could look at to get rid of this cramp? It feels like I'm tensing up when switching to "runnig mode" I'm currently doing 15 minutes of speed burst exercises using the GP file (10x 50bpm, 8x 90bpm, 20x 110bpm), then 15 minutes of scale sequence (video play-along) and then the challenge. Should I adjust the speed burst to different tempi? Or maybe put extra patterns in the speed burst exercise?

Edwin van Slingerlandt

110 today

Seth

Thanks very much for your reply! I will look at that video, I certainly have a lot of tension in my hands when I play. I find when using 1-3-4 fingering that my middle (2nd) finger wants to extend excessively. I note you have your middle finger flexed when using 1-3-4 fingerings. Others have their middle finger very noticeably flexed - look at Shredanie. I take it you have simply worked on keeping all of your fingers close to the fretboard, and what I am seeing is a by-product of that. I find that for the independence of my little (4th) finger from my ring (3rd), my little finger needs to be extended more than my middle, if that makes sense. I've had a burst of practice over the last month as I wanted to play Sails of Charon, and I've certainly made progress with my left hand (although not really with Sails of Charon sadly). I can play your 15 min play along routine easily enough now whereas before I struggled at the end. Thank you!

Jonathan Soye

Trying out different fingerings is a great idea, Jonathan! The one shown in the workout is my favorite approach, but I have relatively long fingers :) A great way of reducing tension is trying a lighter grip, maybe this helps in case you didn't see it already: https://www.patreon.com/posts/194-this-one-can-57031400

Bernd Brodträger

I have been trying the goal routine using 1-3-4 fingering for the 5-7-8 notes on the E and A strings. I find this approach more tiring and this fingering is weaker than using 1-2-3. What are other's thoughts? Using 1-3-4 is especially tough for the ascending sequenced idea. Is it worth isolating the difficulty and working on that? Also the speed burst ones I find difficult. I can get to 80 bpm on the goal routine but it is falling apart by then and my stamina is running out. I find I have a lot of tension with these routines.

Jonathan Soye

Thanks for sharing this Bajro! :) I'd have to see some footage to give better input (that's why I set up the VIP Facebook group) but yes, you can definitely avoid any string noise at all with the technique! That's my biggest goal, I want it to sound as fluid as possible :) I think it's something that gets better with each practice session, legato is such an underrated and complex topic - happy that you're working on it!

Bernd Brodträger

Hi Bernth, I'm thoroughly enjoying your courses, I love "back to basics" approach when I hit the ceiling. One question, I have noticed that during pull-offs, the finger that is doing the motion (mostly the pinky finger) hits the string below that I am passively muting with my index finger. It isn't much of a sound but it is still audible when I am focused on it. Can this be avoided, I somehow cannot pull off vertical enough to avoid hitting the higher string in the process. Thank you very much!

Bajro Slatina

Absolutely! Pulling off with the pinky finger is essential to a good lead technique arsenal. Always remember, just because you can't do it now, doesn't mean that you CAN'T do it. Insert a pinky-heavy exercise into your warmup routine for 5 minutes each day and give it a week or two. You will be happy with the results, I think.

Keith Moreau (Clayton Biggz)

Hi Bernth , I was wondering if you could add the drums you created for this exercise to the GP file. I find them super useful to keep the rhythm.

F. Javier Arze

I feel like I’m struggling with this but then came to accept that it’s one aspect of my playing I’ve really neglected. What has started to help is isolating just the pinky pull off. I started with pinky to ring and made sure my other two fingers were off the fretboard. I went really slow and was focusing my eyes on my hands. After a couple of days, my control improved a bit but I realised I wasn’t ready for this course. I do some practice every few days but without the pressure of a specific tempo. I’ll be going back to this soon. The other thing that helped was one of Bernth’s recent videos about technique mistakes. After watching that, I lightened my fretting hand which seemed to improve my legato almost instantly.

iDuncan

Hey Sandro, the most important part is getting that 'snapping' motion right with your pull-offs :) You will get there as you move through the course, there are many more exercises and instructional videos to help you out! Hope you have fun :)

Bernd Brodträger

im on day 1, and I cant do consecutive pull offs especilly when trasnfering strings

Sandro Luneta

i'm strunggling pull off of my pinky finger. SHould I really be puling off the pinky finger during this exercise?

Sandro Luneta

That's so great to hear Seth, thanks so much for sharing your progress!! :)

Bernd Brodträger

Made it to day 30. Wow, this was unbelievably effective for me. At day 1 I could not even do the 30bpm workout, because I had no real practice executing so many consecutive pull-offs. Now after 30 days I can make 70 bpm sound somewhat reasonable, which just blows my mind. I can't land all the 16th note pulloffs at 90 on time, but when I'm really warmed up, I'm at least not utterly falling apart at that speed--it feels eventually achievable, instead of completely impossible. This is insane to me. I am seriously thinking about just doing the 30 days over again. Lots to work on, but still just way, way more progress than I expected. Those 5 day blocks were perfect for someone like me who needed those bridges to unlock higher level of technique. Thanks Bernth, this was awesome!!

Seth

If anyone is looking for another legato pattern to practice, the Randy Rhoads solo on Crazy Train has a good legato run. Here's a good video (legato run starts at around 3:07) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4M5V97CtA4

Bhushan NN

day2 100bpm

Daniel Roberts

100 BPM SLOPPY AFTER 70 BPM LAST WEEK CLEAN NOT BAD AT ALL

jaz

Congratulations on the progress Seth!! :)

Bernd Brodträger

day1. 11bpm

Daniel Roberts

Day 19! Bernth's tempo on the speed bursts seemed basically impossible to me on Day 16, but after only a couple days I can play along (imperfectly) to the video, which is an awesome feeling. The GP file was clutch for helping me closing the gap, so thanks Bernth for always including that. The bursts have really helped my hands learn how little pressing force I need in my fingers, for the pull offs especially.

Seth

Sep 21, 2021 I can do it up to @110 bpm but almost getting to 120! Sep 22: Still 110 bpm max. Feb 23: 110 still my max. Feb 24 almost at 120 bpm. Sep 29 still 110. Sep 30 still 110. Oct 1 110. Oct 2 110 still

F. Javier Arze

Hi Wilbium, this is one of Bernth's older videos: https://www.patreon.com/posts/38-finger-you-do-30853257 I've done the 1st exercise a few times and it definitely helped to reduce flying fingers.

iDuncan

Hey Seth, thanks a lot for sharing this! Yes, I think around 20 minutes of legato sounds great - that way you also get to work on other topics in your routine :) Hope you have tons of fun with this, great to hear about your progress!

Bernd Brodträger

legato beginner here, I'm on day 12 of the 30 day. it's been really great, definitely seeing improvement and greater control everyday. the first day each of block is usually tough, but then by day 5 things are sounding way better. quick question for everyone doing the 30 day, how long are you spending on it each day? I have basically been doing the play-throughs around 5-6 times, usually something like 20 minutes. am I doing it right?

Seth

stuck @80bpm

Fabian

Stuck @ 100bpm 😞

kiki feby

also ive lost the arpeggio work out video. can i grab a link

Daniel Roberts

tue7th day 1 70bpm.

Daniel Roberts

Week 1 Day 1: 70 bpm Here we go!

Aaron Hicks

3 months ago i could barely hammer and pull to save my life , im at 90 bpm on the speed burst day 16 -20 and playing it decent , you are the best teacher my playing has gone leaps and bounds in not even 2 years of playing , with technique along with the theory i understand so much . i hope you get to the top mate you deserve it

jaz

Before 30 day: 80bpm Week 4: 110bpm!!!!

Thomas Kim

I can do it all great with alternate picking. I just can't seem to get the last pull off, though.

Wilbium Mohlenhoff

Thanks for sharing this, Wilbium! The pull-offs are definitely harder for me as well. What helped me is the position of the thumb and wrist described in the full course (link is in the post) - once your fingers are placed correctly, the rest is just muscle memory :) I'm sure you will succeed with a couple more sessions!!

Bernd Brodträger

I am having trouble with the last pull of. I have already learned so much from your videos. Thank you so much. I have been playing for about 30 years but I taught myself and I have improper techniques. My fingers are flying up, especially when descending in notes, and not staying close to the fretboard and I am re-training myself which has been incredibly difficult. Any advice on how to fix this.

Wilbium Mohlenhoff

Aug 13 - 70 bpm

Dan Naim

Aug 11 - 100. I began the course a week and a half before, but I wasn't comfortable about how I sounded. Now I feel that It sounds cleaner and I also my timing improved. The #182 lesson has helped a lot both for the legato and the sweep picking

José Iván Aguilar

Thanks for asking Thomas! It's explained in detail in the full course (Google Drive folder in the post) :)

Bernd Brodträger

When ascending I noticed you alternate between using the pick and plucking with your ring finger. Should that be applied?

Thomas Kim

I'd love to do more of these in the future!! Let's see how the lesson votings go :)

Bernd Brodträger

amazing, next challenge tapping??

Marco

never mind...

Wayne Cagle

i was looking for the backing tracks that were at different tempos. I can't seem to find them. Help!

Wayne Cagle

That sounds like a great plan Robert, thanks for keeping us updated on your progress!! :)

Bernd Brodträger

Day 7 - 100 bpm My prediction for the future: I'll spend another week on 100 bpm to clean it up and work on Mr Pinky, then I'll advance up a notch every week thereafter. I'll reach 120 bpm before day 30. Let's make it so. 8-)

Robert Bjärmyr

Impressive! :) Above 100 my brain is calling it quits and my fingers are doing Riverdance on the fretboard instead... 😅🤘

Robert Bjärmyr

I made it all the way, great lesson!!

Jason Day

3rd Aug 21, 120bpm Just need to clean it up a little ,great excercise. Thanks man x

Ray Gardner

I'd love to do more of these, let's see how the community decides with the next voting :)

Bernd Brodträger

Thanks for the confirmation. I know how how pull-offs work, but am used to having my finger at the lower fret position already setup beforehand, such as right-after a hammer on. What was tripping me up was starting at a higher fret, without all of my lower fret fingers already placed down, and then having to lower them one-by-one as I am pulling off. I was getting thrown off initially, as I was placing my finger on the lower fret at the same time I was pulling off, which caused the pull-off to be muted. I have been practicing though, and got the timing down to get me finger there right before the pull-off, so it sounds clean. Thanks again for these great exercises and videos.

Jeffrey Harmon

Bernth, these 30 day courses are awesome! A tapping one would also be amazing!

Merric

Awesome Geary, great to hear about your consistency!! :)

Bernd Brodträger

July 31, I'm at 90bpm. This one definitely is a great work out, I was stuck at 80bmp for 2 days but finally have that down, can't wait to work this up to full speed. Thanks for the great workout Bernth!

Geary Poling

It could be resonance from unmuted strings (sympathetic resonance) or perhaps accidentally touching other strings. Muting will likely fix the issue, but make sure you hit the string with the finger tips. :)

Robert Bjärmyr

31st July 100 110bpm Man, feel the burn baby lol.. need more endurance lol great excercise man thanks x

Ray Gardner

I am still struggling with the metallic kind of sound when pulling off in the 3rd string (pattern 2 of exercise for day 1-5). Though it's better than day 1, I am still getting it. It doesn't happen with 4th or higher strings. Any suggestions guys?

Aman Soni

Day 1: 70 bpm Day 2: 80 bpm Day 3: 90 bpm Starting from 30 bpm my fretting arm gets quite fatigued after 90 bpm, so I need to work on muscle relaxation and of course keeping the left pinky closer to the fretboard after pulling off...

Robert Bjärmyr

Hey Jeffrey, if you're going for a pull-off, you don't really need to do an extra hammer-on motion before that, you're just pulling off to the note to get the lower sounding note to ring :) As soon as things get fast, you can't really think of doing a small motion before the actual motion (at least in my experience) - Hope that helps!

Bernd Brodträger

July 30 60bpm!

Justin Peeler

Thanks for the reply! You had mentioned in another video about not leaving your index finger down when playing up and down a string, and that has helped a ton. I guess to be a bit more specific, my question is around when doing the second legato pattern, and starting from a high string: Are you basically hammering onto the lower fret "after" raising your finger from the higher fret (creating a hammer-on sound), or are you pushing down on the lower fret "before" pulling off of the higher fret, creating an actual pull-off sound? I can get either one to work at slow speeds, but I can't tell from the video which way you are doing it.

Jeffrey Harmon

thx Bernth! Indeed, it is better with your trick. Some work to do but it will be good. Today I push at 70BPM the day 1 to 5 exo. For the challenge, I can push at 90 BPM. 100 BPM still messy

kevin Dumont

Making slow progress, hammer-on's and pull-off's seem easy when I just do random stuff - Now that there is actually a true pattern to follow my mind struggles. 07/29 and 07/30 30bmp

Alfredo Medina

July 30th 100bpm Yeah, slower part timing is tricky

Ray Gardner

Great input, Jeffrey! One detail I really recommend is avoiding pressing down with your index finger all the time - this held me back with developing finger independence with legato for sure and my other fingers couldn't independently work on figuring out the right hammer-on/pull-off motion. Other than that, you will figure it out for sure by practicing - I know, it takes a while but it's really worth it!!

Bernd Brodträger

Thanks for sharing your progress in such detail Robert, so great to see you working with such consistency!! :)

Bernd Brodträger

Hey Kevin, I think this is the hardest pattern for me as well! One tip is not pushing down with your index finger while you're doing this, focus on the motion with your pinky and middle finger - it takes a while but I think you will get it just as good as the other patterns if you combine them daily for a while :)

Bernd Brodträger

Hi everyone, I just began Day 1 to 5 and I have a question regarding the last pattern (4 7 5). Is it normal to have some difficulty to perform the pull-off from 7 to 5. I had the reflex to raise the pinky finger and made a hammer-on on five. Does anyone have the same problem ?

kevin Dumont

July 29 50bpm close to nailing 60 though!

Justin Peeler

I'm having similar issues. One thing I was hoping to get more focus on in the instructional video was when to press down with your fingers as you change strings. If I place my fingers down on the 3 frets first, and then pull of the top 2 one-at-a-time, it sounds fine. In the play along, you are pressing down on the lower fret as you lifting off the higher fret. Should you be hammering onto the lower fret before or after your finger pulls off the higher fret? Thanks for the great videos!

Jeffrey Harmon

I think I will skip this challenge. I am using acoustic guitar and it is hard to hear the string when I am doing the hammer-ons and slide-offs. Furthermore, I don't think I am at this level yet. Thank you for the video though, I have downloaded it and keep it for my future challenge.

Harry Tj

Doing this I realize two things: 1) Legato is somewhat of my strong side these days. 2) But my timing sucks. The "push it" segment is easier than the first part... :') Back to the drawing board I go... Day 1: 70 bpm Day 2: 80 bpm

Robert Bjärmyr

29th July , 100 bpm

Ray Gardner

Exactly what I needed thank you Bernth

Stihl Savvy

Thanks so much for helping out Robert, you're awesome! :) Did you try out the recommended finger position, wrist angle, and thumb placement from the instructional video? I personally also always had more issues with the pull-offs, the motion I used in the past was way too big and I generated unwanted noise by touching the other strings... it takes time but it's worth the struggle :)

Bernd Brodträger

Yes, I personally really can't recommend sticking to the 1, 3, 4 patterns here - but everybody has his/her own preferences when it comes to this, trying out multiple options is always best :) We all have different fingers, I can only share what works best for me - hope this helps!!

Bernd Brodträger

Fun fact: This 30-day pack compressed to 668 MB. So close! :'D

Robert Bjärmyr

Are you moving the finger you're pulling off to, or perhaps not fretting with enough pressure? I have not yet checked out the exercise, but I've found that if you wiggle/move/not fret enough the hammer-off tend to fail and/or fade out quickly. :)

Robert Bjärmyr

It depends on which frets and which fingers you used previously. There's really no strict rule, apart from "avoid crossing fingers" since that slows you down. :) I constantly shift between 1,2,3 and 1,3,4 or even 1,2,4 depending on the situation.

Robert Bjärmyr

Is the every finger rule important when you have large hands? I can fret 1, 3 and 5 with fingers 1-3.

John Nolcox

July 29th - 70 bpm

Daniel Friedrichs

Hey Bernth , it's awesome. I have a problem with legato , hammer on sounds pretty goods but i struggle with pull off especially for second the pattern for day 1-5 . It doesn't resonate Do you have any advice?

Mallory Durand

Interesting to see you break the every finger at its fret rule on the lower strings. You use 1, 2 and 3. I would automatically use 1, 3 and 4. Which I probably will.

Arvid Richter

You got this Michael!! Thanks for sharing, hope you have fun :)

Bernd Brodträger

Why do my pull-offs sound like ass? Figured it out. It's because my muting is fucking terrible.

istillsuckatguitar

Absolute amazing content! Thanks a lot for that, I‘m really looking forward to spend time on the 30-day-patreon-journey. For me everything above 80bpm looks rather intimidating, 120bpm seems like hell. But of course I‘ll try to improve myself. Thanks once again for your help Bernth! You‘re the best 👍🏻🎸🤘🏻

Michael Sax

Thanks a lot, these are awesome. I just finished the 30 day picking workout (in slightly over 30 days) and whilst I'm still not where I'd like to be, I think I got a lot better in the process. Can't wait to start with this one.

Chris

Thank you Bernth, I'm enjoying the Sweep Picking 30 day challenge, Now I'm getting going with this Legato to add to my 30 days. Awesome. I'm on it!

Eddy Mora

July 27 40bpm

Justin Peeler

July 27th - I am cramping up at 60bpm but probably pushing too hard - this is after 1hr of sweep picking practice - maybe try again later today

Cory Duncan

Yes the sweep picking course, form me that I was a real beginner, it was great, but of course I have still to work on it

Vincenzo

July 29th - 70BPM

Jimmy Grieve

Can't wait to get home from work and start this lesson! Looks great Bernth!

Geary Poling

Great eye for detail!! This is mentioned in the course - you can also do it with any other picking technique of course :)

Bernd Brodträger

(makes morning coffee) (sits on couch with the kitty) (watches Bernth video) Bernth: "Congrats on making it to the end of the workout!" Me: "I did make it, didn't I? You're welcome Bernth!" (slurps coffee) 😂Super pumped move on to this and the Sweep picking lessons! You're the best Bernth! Thank you for all of these!

Eric Bailey

Haven't watched the full course yet but why does Bernth ascend with hybrid picking and descend with economy/almost sweep picking? Great challenged, can't wait to pick my guitar up!

João Kamradt

Another well presented and useful workout. Good Stuff

Tony Norris

Did the sweep course help a lot? Thanks. I haven't got to it.

istillsuckatguitar

Awesome. Thanks. I especially like the exercises that use scales as opposed to the chromatic ones.

istillsuckatguitar

Awesome!!!!!

kevin Dumont

Awesome! Enjoying a small vacation at the moment, then it's back to sweep and legato courses! ❤️

Robert Bjärmyr

Excellent! After I finish the picking course I will definitely continue with this legato course. Thanks Bernth for all this material :)

Mr. D

I just compelte the Sweep, thanks for the heart 💓 on FB, I really appreciate your feedback, even if I'm not good. With this new course I'm ok for all August

Vincenzo

I am excited to start this challenge. I was able to work on the sweeping one a little bit but had too much going on personally to put a lot of time into it. I hope to revisit that one as well. Thanks Bernth for the great content!

Edward Knapp

Yesssss....this whole series has been amazing! Thanks man!

Ben Gilsdorf