'Meedly-meedly lick' technique

[stratitude]

I've been working on a song that uses the 'meedly-meedly lick', and am trying to develop the proper technique for it. By the 'meedly-meedly lick' I mean:

 

 

So, a couple of technical questions:

First, for the note that is played on 20, do you use your ring finger or pinkie? I have been using my pinkie so far, but am not finding it has enough power to really make the note sound on the pull off - should I start using my ring finger, or keep practicing with the pinkie? Anything in particular to focus on so that the pinkie will start to 'get it'?

 

I am doing pull-offs properly - pulling the note downwards towards the floor and letting it go with enough force to actually sound the 17, at least to the extent that my pinkie is capable.

 

The next question is for the part where you must play notes on the 17th fret on adjacent strings. I have been using my index finger for both notes, and instead of fully lifting it off of one, I've instead been using it to double stop the two seventeens, rocking it back and forth so that one I want to play is fretted and the one I do not want to play is muted. This tends to sound sloppy when I don't pay enough attention, particularly if both 17s happen to get sounded. Should I continue with this technique, or abandon it in favor of using just the tip of the index and only fretting one string at a time. The reason that I adopted this 'lazy' method in the first place is because it appears to be a little more speedy, something that this passage requires, but the sloppy sound is making it seem more and more unappealing.

 

Lastly, I have not been using my right hand for muting at all, and instead leaving that duty to the fretting hand. Should I consider introducing palm muting hand into the equation, perhaps in conjunction with the 'lazy-finger-rocking' to clean up the sound, or is this a lick best left to the fretting hand?

 

As always, thanks in advance.

[toastman]

I've been working on a song that uses the 'meedly-meedly lick', and am trying to develop the proper technique for it. By the 'meedly-meedly lick' I mean:

Well you should always use your pinky if you are pulling off a fret that is 3 frets higher then you're index finger..the reason why you can't do it wit has much strength as your ring finger is because your pinky is not strong enough. 
Practice finger stretching excercises. Find like 3 or 4 different ones and practice them daily, and you will notice you'r pinky getting stronger like your other guitar fingers. Scales help this too.
By using your ring finger to pull off, you are taking the easy way out.

As for the second question, I am curious about that as well. I do the same thing (barring finger on adjacent strings). I would like someone to answer that question as well. 

For the third question: well ya, you should always do things the right way, so introduce your strumming hand to palm muting..

[stratitude]

Thanks for the input on 1 & 2.

For the third question: well ya, you should always do things the right way, so introduce your strumming hand to palm muting..

I do use palm muting during other parts, but am not sure yet if it has any advantage to this particular lick - other than for possibly cleaning up the parts that sound messy. (Eg. 2 adjacent 17's being sounded.) I'll experiment a bit with it, though, and see if theres any improvement.

[mosiddiqi]

I must admit that whilst I would always use the "one finger per fret" rule for scale runs, I always use my index and ring finger for this type of rock lick...especially in the higher fret positions..I do barre the notes at the 17th fret and use a "rubber stamp" motion to keep the inactive string muted..it took a lot of practice to get it totally clean and up to speed..

[stratitude]

I must admit that whilst I would always use the "one finger per fret" rule for scale runs, I always use my index and ring finger for this type of rock lick...especially in the higher fret positions..I do barre the notes at the 17th fret and use a "rubber stamp" motion to keep the inactive string muted..it took a lot of practice to get it totally clean and up to speed..

Do you incorporate any palm muting to clean it up, or is your barred index finger capable of cleaning everything up on it's own?

[c+t in b]

do it like a double stop. no palm muting. that high up, you can use either ring or pinky. try practicing with the pinky towards the other direction

[pop tarts]

i barre the two 17s. i'd use whichever finger is more comfortable.

[mosiddiqi]

Do you incorporate any palm muting to clean it up, or is your barred index finger capable of cleaning everything up on it's own?

 

 

..the barred index finger works fine for muting..it's the same technique i'd use for sweep picking in that both strings are NOT actually held down, only the one I need to hear..my index finger lies across both strings but "bounces" the pressure around from string to string as I need to..if that makes sense..

[stratitude]

Yep, makes perfect sense, and thanks for the replies.

 

Sounds like what I've been doing with the index is the right way to go, and beyond that I just have to figure out which finger is more comfortable for the pull off... At those really high frets using the ring finger is quite a bit more comfortable, my hand really has to squeeze together to use the pinkie. If I were to play it below the 12th, I'd probably use the pinkie, but for this particular song I will practice with the ring finger.

 

I experimented a bit with palm muting, and it was quite the awkward angle - Definitely not something I'd be able to do at the speed required to play it. So that method is out. I guess I'll just trust in the 'rocking-index-finger' approach, letting it mute and fret the required strings.

 

Thanks for all the help.

[bluehuricane]

watch yngwie play sometime and note how little he uses his pinky finger. if you work on stretching out your ring finger, i think you'll find that it can cover almost as much territory as the pinky but can do it with much better results. it's something you'll have to practice, but i can almost promise you'll like it more.