Staccato vs. Legato: The Truth About These Two Essential Sounds

Have you been told that legato means hammer-ons and pull-offs, and staccato means fast alternate picking? Well, sorry to break it to you, but that’s flat-out wrong - and in this video, I toss that myth straight into the trash.

I want to make one thing crystal clear: staccato and legato aren’t about which technique you use - they’re about how the notes are delivered.

Staccato means the notes are short and separated - there’s a silence between them. It’s that chopped-up vibe you hear in tight, rhythmic playing. You can get this effect using palm muting or, my personal favorite, by muting the note after you’ve played it. That lets the note ring out a bit more - enough to add vibrato or a pinch harmonic - before shutting it down for maximum expressiveness.

Legato, on the other hand, is about smoothness. It’s when the notes flow into each other without any silence in between. You can absolutely get this with hammer-ons and pull-offs, sure - but even picked notes can sound legato if you play them smoothly without interruption. That’s the key: the flow, not the technique.

I demo both approaches slowly, clearly showing how muting and sustain control the articulation. And if you want that high-speed machine gun effect? Yep, that’s staccato too - tight palm muting and fast picking do the trick. But you don’t need to shred to use these tools. You can make them work in blues, rock, or whatever your style is.

The contrast between staccato and legato is one of the coolest ways to add character and phrasing to your playing. You don’t need to be flashy - just intentional.

If you want to learn the intro from the video, I’ve got a free tab waiting for you over on my Patreon.

Catch you in the next one - keep experimenting with sound and keep it expressive.

- Kris