Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you want to learn the secret of how to play guitar hammer-ons? Hammer-ons and pull-offs add energy and sparkle to your soloing, making them important techniques to master. Keep reading to learn what it is and how it works.
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The Secret of How to Play Guitar Hammer-Ons: What Is It?
How do we define the term?
According to the Essential Dictionary of Music it is:
A technique on stringed instruments where the first note is played, then a second note is tapped down with another finger. Both notes are played on the same string. (63)
This is one of the most frequently used techniques in guitar riffs and solos.
- With a hammer-on, you’re only plucking the first note.
- Because you’re not picking both notes, it’s easier to add flashy speed to your playing.
- A pull-off is the opposite of a hammer-on. We’ll look at how you play pull-offs in the next post.
The Secret of How to Play Guitar Hammer-Ons: How It Works
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
What does hammer-on tab look like?
- A hammer-on is represented in tab by a curved line called a slur.
- Some tab books use an “H” over the slur to make it clear that it’s a hammer-on versus a pull-off.
- However, when the “H” is not there, you can tell it’s a hammer-on’s slur because the frets go from a lower fret (smaller number) to a higher fret (bigger number) whereas a pull-off’s slur goes from a higher fret to a lower fret.
How do you play the hammer-on in the above music example?
- Place your 1st finger (the pointer finger) at the 3rd fret on the 3rd string. Pick the string then tap your third finger (the ring finger) onto fret 5. Don’t pick the string again when you tap finger 3 onto fret 5.
- Unfortunately, trying to hit the second note with more force won’t make the hammered note sound louder.
- Instead, you need to pick the first note with enough strength that the energy transfers to the hammered note.
Because you aren’t picking the second note, it helps you play more smoothly, producing a legato sound.
Hand Icon (churien.deviantart.com/art/hand-template-blank-272630198) by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0). Modified by Geoffrey Keith.
If you want to learn how to get pro quality distortion:
The Secret of How to Play Guitar Hammer-Ons: Guitar Video
The video below shows you how to execute this guitar technique.
- You’ll find the first set of hammer-ons demonstrated at video time stamp 0:06.
- In addition, you can see them notated in measure 4 in the video’s tab scroll. They’re the slurs with the little “H” over them.
- If you need to practice the song at a slower speed, click on the gear icon and select playback speed. Start with a playback speed between 0.4 and 0.75 and then work up to tempo.
Video: I’m a Believer (Technique Demonstration)
Video: I’m a Believer (Song)
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- Hammer-ons are one of the most frequently used techniques in guitar riffs and solos.
- They are defined as, “A technique on stringed instruments where the first note is played, then a second note is tapped down with another finger.” With this technique, you’re only plucking the first note.
- If you want your hammer-ons and pull-offs to sound better, use distortion because it’ll give your sound more sustain, which makes it easier to execute the hammers and pulls.
Have fun playing!
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