Help with trills

[u10ajf]

Can anyone advise me how to do fast hammer on/pull off trills please. I dont' know why I'm so slow at them but a friend of mine does it so fast that I can't pretend it isn't a weakness in my playing. Is it best to pull off downward or upward or alternatively one then the other?

[TheDirt]

I know you don't want to hear it, but it just takes practice...

I find it easiest to pull downward at an angle for pull offs. It's kind of like opening a door almost. Grabbing the knob with my palm facing upward then turning it clockwise. My motions aren't really that exaggerated, but I get a "down and to the left" angle going when I perform pull offs.

My only advice for hammer ons is to make sure you keep your fingers near the fretboard while playing. You'll find that your pinky wants to fly away after it does its duty and it's going to the next string. Focus on economy of motion, then work on endurance and speed... practice practice practice practice practice.

[SLY]

I pull-off downwards too , and try to make your fingers very free (relax the trilling finger from over stress).

[u10ajf]

Cheers guys! I'm keeping my finger tips closer to the fretboard and getting the volume from the pull off not the hammer on (where greater height creates greater force) and it's speeding things up. I'll keep practicing and let you know if I find the up down up down thing any hack.