Five Simple Steps to Better Legato Technique

In this lesson video, which hit the interwebs almost three years ago, Rick Graham—a UK-based guitar instructor with 100,000 followers on YouTube—shares the five simple steps that he feels truly helped him improve his (very impressive) legato technique.

1. Thumb and left-hand positioning

2. Muting technique

3. Controlling tension

4. Hammers from nowhere

5. Building speed.

"Just to clarify, my legato technique consists of hammers when ascending and pull-offs when descending, even when using [my] left hand only," Graham says.

By the way, if Graham looks familar, it might be because he was featured in a recent Tyler Larson video, When Your Online Guitar Students Should Be Teaching You. You guessed it; Graham is the guitar student who should be teaching teachers.

For more (including much more recent) videos by Graham, follow him on YouTube.

Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.