Hammer ons/pull offs question

Hi,

I'm new to legato technique. When I hammer on/pull off, the notes do not sound ballanced. I fail to keep my left hand relaxed at the same time when I use this technique. I know I should be patient and that it'll take some time before I develop good technique.

How much time did it take for you to get into h.o./p.o.'s? What's position of your left hand thumb when using this technique?

When I play h.o/p.o on g,b,e strings I place thumb on the lower half of the neck (I have Les Paul type guitar, the neck is thick) and approximately in the middle when playing on the upper 3 strings. I also noticed that I tend to press my thumb against the neck while I'm at it a bit because it bends :-) Is it wrong?

I'm at the same stage and learning tapping, my first finger tends to bend the string when I hammer on with the third finger and I think it is wrong.
I'm pretty sure if we stick at it - we'll crack it

Metronome and start out slowly...

I got a tip the other day to pratice my scales for a couple of days with my thumb not touching the neck. This teaches you just how little pressure is required to fret a note. This is only for practice though and should not be learnt as a technique as you would not have any control over you fretting hand at high speeds. It should help to force you not to cramp your hand when playing legato...

Try having your thumb in the middle of the neck when fretting the lower strings and your thumb about 3/4 up the neck when fretting the upper three strings... I hope this helps a bit. i am by no way a legato master but i have found that these techniques have increased my speed and agility on the eck by leaps and bounds...

Practice Practice Practice... Slow, Faster, Blisters...