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Guitar Lessons > Hammer
ons and Pull offs
Hammer-Ons
& Pull-Offs
This page continues on from
the individual hammer-on and pull-off
lessons (links below). Basically, we're now going to combine these two
techniques to
create "rolling" lead guitar phrases, known as legato
playing, requiring less use of your plectrum/picking hand to do the
work.
Think of breaking your
solo/scale patterns down into phrases,
similar to how you break up a paragraph with sentences. Each phrase has
its own meaning, defined by the notes you play and the way in which
you play them. One phrase can be straight, slow picking, the next
phrase can be a quick run of hammer ons and pull offs punctuated
with a bend, as a kind of "response" to the "call" of the first phrase.
It's up to you how you express yourself on guitar, as it is with words.
It's the best analogy I can
think of anyway!
When using hammer ons and pull
offs one after the other in a roling phrase,
your fingers need to be physically strong and capable of applying both
techniques using various finger combinations. Make sure you go through
both the introductory lessons to ensure you're physically confident
with
the basics:
Introductory
hammer-on lesson
Introductory
pull-off lesson
When you're ready, we can take
our fingers to the gym once again with some exercises to combine these
two
techniques effectively...
 Hammer on and pull off exercises
Just like in the introductory
lessons, we're going to make use of different finger combinations so we
can physically get used to the different note
intervals
we'll come across in the scale patterns we learn.
The most common way to apply
both techniques together is to apply the
hammer-on and immediately pull-off back to the starting note. You can
obviously do this at various speeds.
Let's try the hammer-pull
interval
exercises below...
Click the diagrams
and tabs in this lesson to hear examples
Half step (one fret)
interval
So
you can hear in the example above that kind of skip effect we can
create by applying the pull off straight after the hammer on.
Let's look at the different
finger combinations for this interval...
- Using
your index (1) finger and middle (2) finger
- Now try using your middle (2) finger and ring
(3) finger
- Then try using your ring (3) finger and pinky
(4) finger
Whole step (two fret) interval
- Using your index (1) finger and ring (3) finger
- Now try using your middle (2) finger and pinky
(4) finger for the same interval.
Larger interval (one and a half steps
- 3 fret interval)
- Using your index finger and pinky finger
Now,
all these intervals (and even larger ones, especially when higher up
the fretboard) can be used when you're
soloing around a scale. It's all about using your personal judgement
and musical expression to pick out these intervals
in the scale patterns you learn and apply hammer ons and pulls offs
however you think
sounds good.
Remember, hammer ons and pull
offs are just another texture to liven up your
solos, so only use them when they complement the music you're trying to
create!
Hammer
on and pull off trills
Another common use of the two finger hammer-pull technique is known as
a trill.
A trill is a fast alternatating movement between two notes. Therefore,
we can simply extend the hammer-pull sequences from above as follows:
pick-hammer-pull-hammer-pull-hammer-pull-hammer-pull-etc.
So, try this technique across all
strings using the intervals from earlier.
The trill is a nice effect to add occasionally
to your solos!
Larger
hammer-pull phrases
This is where it gets slightly
more difficult physically. Only when you're
comfortable with the above intervals should you move onto
larger, more complex phrases involving more fingers.
The most important thing in
larger runs is to know when to pick in between the hammers
and pulls. This essentially keeps the rhythm stable (as
picking has a firmer texture to hammering on/pulling off).
Try the below (again, across all strings) as
physical exercises for your fingers that you'll later apply to
various scale patterns as you learn them (the theory side of lead
guitar).
The red
fingering
marks the position you should pick the string to begin the sequence.
The rest of the sequence is hammer-ons and pull-offs - one pick per
cycle.
Index,
ring and pinky combo
Index,
middle and pinky combo
Index, middle
and ring combo - wider pattern
For hammer-pull phrases spanning 5 frets/2 whole tones. Good for use
higher up the fretboard where the fret spacings are narrower.
Index, ring
and pinky combo - wider pattern
For hammer-pull phrases spanning 6 (or more) frets
You don't have to just use
linear
hammer-pull sequences either. Try the below technique on the finger
combinations from above (I'll start you off with the first combo)...
There are more possible
hammer-pull intervals/combos, especially when you're playing higher up
the
fretboard, so try and come up with some yourself!
Inserting
hammer-pull phrases into your solos effectively
After
following the
exercises in all three hammer-on / pull-off lessons, you should be
physically confident to experiment with these techniques in your solos.
You should now have the freedom to use any finger combination for the
interval and sound you're trying to achieve.
However, it doesn't end here, because there are rhythm elements to
think about when inserting hammers and pulls into your scale phrases.
Randomly throwing them in won't accomplish much, so I will be covering
how to create effective legato runs in another lesson.
Like I keep saying,
this is only the physical side of things covered -
you need to know your scale
patterns in order to know which hammer on / pull
off intervals can be used... and how to get in the
right position for
them. This is the physical/theory split in your learning you need to
think about.
So, still lots more to learn,
but the physical freedom we've gained from these lessons
means we're half way there already!
Thanks for your time and
effort. See you soon!
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