One of the main differences between decent players and really great players is that the great ones manipulate the strings a little bit more. You can do that in loads of ways, like bends and vibrato. But there's one that's quite hard to get right and sounds really good when you do.
It's subtly pushing and pulling on the strings as you move through a scale, a lick or a riff. And you don't need to learn anything new to use it.
What string pulling is ▶ 0:38
Take a basic pentatonic scale and play through it, but slightly pull on each string as you play the note. It's a tiny bend, a fraction of a semitone, not a full bend up to another note.
At first you might not hear much difference. But there's a real change in the feel of what you're playing. Pull a bit more and it becomes more obvious. Eric Gales is a great example of someone who uses this to great effect in his lead playing.
Why it works on guitar ▶ 1:51
One of the best things about the guitar is that you can take a note and change its pitch by bending the string. You can't really do that on a piano, and quite a lot of other instruments can't either. So make use of it where you can.
How to practise it: start extreme ▶ 2:03
Take a basic scale and pull the notes. When you practise, start a bit more extreme than you'd actually play, just to make sure you're really doing it. It'll sound a bit silly, but you need to learn to control it.
If you try to be too subtle at first, you'll probably just sound like you're playing the notes a bit sharp, and it won't sound great.
Use your first finger first ▶ 2:24
If you find this difficult, start by pulling only the notes under your first finger. It's a little harder with the third and fourth fingers.
So take the pentatonic shape with your first finger across the 5th fret and just pull on the first-finger notes.
Here's the nice bit. If you do this well, you pull the note with your first finger, and when you catch the next note with your third or fourth finger, the string is already slightly pulled sharp. So it comes back to pitch on that next note of the scale.
Apply it to your licks ▶ 2:52
Then start applying it to any licks you already play. A basic lick with no pull on the strings just sounds like nothing. Add a bit of pull, a bit of vibrato on the end, and suddenly it's way more exciting and has some character.
It's a bit like a fingerprint. No two people will do this in exactly the same way, so it's your chance to put some individuality into your playing. It does get harder as you speed up, but it sounds great if you can do it at speed.
I also like playing pentatonic scales in groups of five. Start pulling on the strings with that and it sounds a lot more lively. And although it's quite a bluesy sound, it's not just for blues. You can use it in your riffs to add a bit of energy too.
Avoid hearing the note fall back ▶ 3:21
One word of warning. You want to avoid hearing each little micro bend drop back down to its original pitch before the next note. That falling-back sound is sour.
To avoid it, get to the next note a bit quicker, and use a little muting so the bent note cuts off rather than sliding back down. Then when you play the next note, nobody hears the release. It takes a bit of snappiness in your playing and might take some getting used to.
It's a playing multiplier. Everything you can already play just sounds a little bit better.
Go and try it
You don't have to learn anything new, you just have to change how you play things you already know. Put on a backing track in A minor, run through the A minor pentatonic scale pulling hard on the first-finger notes, then make the pulls smaller and start working them into your favourite licks. Have a play around with it.
