81 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
81 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
Allen Hinds developed his legato approach not through deliberate design
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but through necessity <20> his unconventional pick hold made alternate
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picking difficult, and legato became his compensating technique. Despite
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various teachers attempting to correct his picking approach over the
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years, he accepted that his unconventional method worked for him,
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reflecting a broader truth about guitar playing: there is no right or
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wrong way if it works and sounds good. What began as compensation
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gradually became a signature style that listeners recognize after only
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a couple of notes. The primary influence on his legato development was
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Allan Holdsworth, whose fluid style and long flowing lines with wide
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intervals sounded like no other guitar player. Holdsworth's complex
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harmonic vocabulary was achieved largely through legato technique, and
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recognizing this, Hinds focused on developing the same approach and
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applying it to his own musical ideas.
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The legato sound Hinds settled on combines two complementary elements:
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a light picking hand attack <20> almost brushing the strings <20> and a strong
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fretting hand that drives the notes forward through hammer-ons and
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pull-offs. These two elements work together to produce a smooth flowing
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legato sound where the picking hand provides initial articulation and
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the fretting hand sustains the momentum of the phrase. The technique
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involves picking one note in a sequence and executing the rest using
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hammer-ons when ascending and pull-offs when descending. The fundamental
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challenge is getting the notes to sound even throughout <20> which requires
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deliberate fretting hand strength development rather than relying on
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the picking hand to compensate.
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The philosophical case for legato over alternate picking centers on
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dynamic range and breathing. A flowing legato run has far more dynamic
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range than a steadily alternate-picked run <20> the phrase breathes rather
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than hammers forward with mechanical evenness. Choosing to pick only
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selected notes within a legato passage makes those specific notes pop
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out, bringing light and shade to the playing and achieving a more
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saxophone-like effect. The saxophone analogy is important <20> saxophone
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players cannot articulate every note with equal attack, and this
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limitation produces a naturally varied, breathing phrase quality that
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legato guitar can approximate. The result is phrasing that feels more
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like a continuous vocal or wind instrument line than a sequence of
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individually plucked string attacks.
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A key component of Hinds' signature sound is a vibrato technique learned
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from Scott Henderson <20> squeezing notes and moving them backward and
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forward horizontally on the fretboard, pushing and pulling them from
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fret to fret in a motion similar to violin vibrato technique. Unlike
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conventional guitar vibrato which bends the string upward perpendicular
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to the frets, this horizontal squeeze technique moves the pitch in both
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directions with a subtler, more continuous oscillation. Combined with
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the flowing legato approach, this vibrato gives Hinds' playing an
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immediately identifiable character <20> listeners report being able to
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identify his playing after only a couple of notes. The combination of
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smooth legato lines and horizontal squeeze vibrato produces a sound
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that sits between guitar and string instrument in character.
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The foundation exercise for developing legato technique adapts the
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standard one-finger-per-fret chromatic pattern used at Berklee for
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alternate picking practice, repurposing it for fretting hand strength
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development. The pattern ascends from A on the sixth string at the 5th
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fret up to C on the first string at the 8th fret, using one finger per
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fret across all six strings. Only the first note on each string is
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lightly picked <20> all subsequent notes on that string are executed as
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hammer-ons, with the fretting hand driving the sound forward without
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picking hand assistance. The exercise should be practiced slowly enough
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that each note sounds as fully and evenly as possible, developing the
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fretting hand strength and control needed for smooth legato lines.
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The chromatic pattern serves no harmonic purpose but provides a neutral
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framework for focusing entirely on technique <20> evenness of tone, clarity
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of hammer-ons, and consistency of finger pressure across all four frets
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and six strings.
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Allen Hinds' legato approach combines a light brushing pick attack with
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a strong fretting hand to produce smooth flowing lines influenced by
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Allan Holdsworth's fluid harmonic vocabulary. Legato allows phrases to
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breathe and creates greater dynamic range than alternate picking <20>
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selecting which notes to pick makes those notes pop out, achieving a
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saxophone-like light and shade effect. The technique is complemented by
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a horizontal squeeze vibrato learned from Scott Henderson that moves
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notes backward and forward along the fretboard in a violin-like
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oscillation. Together these elements produce an immediately identifiable
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signature sound built from technical compensation that became artistic
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strength <20> a reminder that personal limitations can become personal
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voice when embraced rather than corrected. |