Pull-off
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A pull-off is a stringed instrument technique performed by "pulling" a fretting finger off the fingerboard. A pull-off is almost always[citation needed] performed on a string which is already vibrating (a normal note having already been played on it). When the fretting finger is pulled off (exposing the string either as open or as stopped by another fretting finger lower on the same string) the note playing on the string falls to that corresponding to the new, longer vibrating length of the string. Pull-offs are common[citation needed] on both fretted and unfretted instruments and are often used[citation needed] to sound gracenotes: as the string is not picked or bowed again to produce the sound of the second note, the transition from one to the other sounds gentler and less percussive.
There are disadvantages, however, to performing pull-offs[citation needed]. In the transition between the initial and final notes, the string vibrates in an inharmonic manner for several cycles[citation needed], producing a slight "quack" sound (which is particularly audible when the interval of the pull off is large) and is immediately recognizable[citation needed]. This transition also consumes some of the vibrational energy in the sounded string, with the effect that the second note is generally much quieter than the original. On most instruments this means the second note has little sustain. In consequence, performers of plucked instruments often use "pull-offs" when playing gracenotes, usually in conjunction with multiple hammer-ons and strumming or picking to produce a rapid, rippling effect. In rock and heavy metal music, wherein overdriven amplifiers ensure the second tone remains audible, pull-offs can be used for the primary sound (as opposed to their use in acoustic popular music, which is primarily as an embellishment).
In a variation of the technique, often called[citation needed] a "flick-off", the pulling-off finger is dragged slightly across the face of the string while performing the pull-off. This results in the string being gently sounded, either by the player's finger callus or by their fretting-finger fingernail. This increases the volume and sustain of the pulled-off note, although the sound of the fretting finger dragging over the string may be audible on both an amplified instrument and on a brightly-strung acoustic instrument.
Classical music of the late romantic period features numerous well-known applications of the technique to notes played by bowed instruments; in the classical context, the term is referred to as left-handed pizzicato and occurs most notably in violin "virtuoso pieces" such as Pablo de Sarasate's Zigeunerweisen and Paganini's 24th Caprice.
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This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
| Guitar shredding techniques |
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| Alternate picking - Economy picking - Hammer-ons - Hybrid picking - Legato - Pull-offs - String skipping - Sweep-picking - Tapping - Tremolo picking - Wide intervals |
| Shred Genres |
| Classical - Bluegrass - Country - Flamenco - Hard rock - Heavy metal - Instrumental rock - Jazz - Jazz fusion - Neo-classical metal - Progressive rock |
