Brett on legato style

Since I first picked up the guitar I’ve used hammerons and pull-offs as opposed to picking every note. No-one informed me that picking every note was even possible, let alone a recognised technique, so it was a shock when I realised I’d been doing it ‘wrong’ all these years. Then I heard Allan Holdsworth and recognised the legato sound right away. I realised immediately that there’s no right or wrong and so stayed with the legato approach. I like the fluidity of the sound and the options it gives you in terms of phrasing and navigating the fretboard. Knowing what I know now, of course I’d recommend that players work on picking as well as legato so they can have as many options as possible. But there was no internet back in my day so unless I was lucky enough to meet a more experienced player I had to learn things by trial and error. I practised legato with and without an amplifier so I didn’t rely on heavy sustain for the notes to sound clear. This developed the fretting-hand facility needed to give the notes clarity. But of course sustain or distortion is important in this style and it will reveal any work that needs to be done on muting the other strings to remove unwanted noise. Take your normal lines that you’d play with a pick, and try substituting hammer-ons and pull-offs to see if the sound appeals to you. Legato gives the guitar a horn-like sound similar to a saxophone. Recommended listening would be Allan Holdsworth (the master!) and Scott Henderson (the other master!).