Hi GMC'ers! Welcome to the first lesson in a small series focusing on Legato.

"In musical notation the Italian word legato (literally meaning "tied together") indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, in transitioning from note to note, there should be no intervening silence." (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia)

I'm aiming these lessons at people who haven't explored legato yet or are just getting into it. If you find that you have trouble unlocking the fingers of your fretting hand, then these lessons are for you ! I'll be looking at differing degrees of difficulty throughout the series, starting easier and getting more challenging as the series progresses.

The lesson uses 3 note per string scale patterns, which you've probably encountered already. If you haven't, then these scale shapes will prove very useful to you as they are common throughout guitar playing. We're playing 16th notes in 4/4 over a tempo of 110bpm.

Obviously the key to legato is playing several notes together without any break, and with minimal picking. I pick the string after every 4 repeats of a pattern, so this lesson really focuses on your fretting hand. Make sure you stretch properly before attempting this lesson as we don't want to risk damaging a tendon !! Although it looks simple enough, it requires sustained use of the fretting hand which is very demanding of those particular set of muscles etc, which is why we need to warm up.

Key:
A

Scales:
A Aeolian

So, after warming up those fingers, jump on in and have fun!

See you next time!/ Ben