Guitar Lesson #37: Hammer-on


Hammer-on is a stringed instrument playing technique performed (especially on guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. This technique is the opposite of the pull-off. Passages in which a large proportion of the notes are performed as hammer-ons and pull-offs instead of being plucked or picked in the normal fashion are known in classical guitar terminology as legato phrases.

The technique also facilitates very fast playing because the picking hand does not have to move at such a high rate, and coordination between the hands only has to be achieved at certain points. Multiple hammer-ons and pull-offs together are sometimes also referred to colloquially as "rolls," a reference to the fluid sound of the technique. A rapid series of hammer-ons and pull-offs between a single pair of notes is called a trill.


Hammer On technique - Bill




Hammer On Technique - Todd




Hammer-On Exercise - Joddy





Hammer on acoustic guitar




How to do solos using Hammer-On and Pull-off techniques - Marc Seal





Hammer-ons, Pull-offs, Trills, and Slides - Marc Seal




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