Three-Note Chromatic Pull-Off
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Three-Note Chromatic Pull-off
- Fret four adjacent frets. (Pictured: V, VI, VII, VIII)
- Pull off in consecutive order from highest to lowest
- Pull slightly to the side to ensure the strings ring again
- Practice slowly and take care to ensure the pull-offs are clean and even
This simple technique will help you to decorate any diatonic melody where the starting and ending note are both within the scale, and there are two chromatic notes in between. In other words, you can use this technique to descend a minor third chromatically.
When playing chromatic melodies, it’s probably best that the starting note and ending note are both diatonic notes. Otherwise, extra attention is drawn to dark and discordant tones.
The Technique, By Itself
The technique is a series of pull-offs. The first, second, third and fourth fingers each press notes on four different consecutive frets, then they pull off in reverse order to the first finger.
The Technique, in Context
Here is a short lick you can practice to see how this technique might be applied to “real” guitar playing.
