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Guitar Lessons > Hammer Ons
Mastering
the Hammer On Technique
In this lesson we'll do 3 main things: get introduced to the basic
guitar hammer on
technique, play around with some exercises to get all fingers hammering
on using different intervals, and finally we'll look at larger lead
guitar phrases that use more than one "hammer".
But first, for those of us who
are new to this...
What are hammer ons?
As the name suggests (which is
always helpful!),
"hammering on" involves fretting a string as usual, but landing down on
the string with more finger speed and force, so the note sounds without
you
having to pick it. Most often, the hammer on technique involves two or
more fingers.
Simple! However, in a bit
we'll see there's more to
it than that...
 Basic guitar hammer on exercises
The main thing we need to do is get all our fingers involved
in the physical hammer on action. Beginners are often taught to hammer
using the ring finger
(when fretting with the index finger), but obviously all fingers are
going
to be required in different positions throughout a solo...
A
practical way to begin is to use the minor pentatonic scale. Hammering
on up and down this scale is a useful exercise to get you physically
used to the technique.
We'll go through this step by step. First, familiarise yourself with
the basic, boxed pentatonic shape...
So, our index/1st finger will be the fretted base of each hammer-on, on
each of the strings. Starting with the low E string...
Fret
your index finger at fret 5 (it can be any fret really as this scale
shape is movable, but we'll stick at fret 5 for this example). Pick the
string as usual, but just after you've picked it, hammer your pinky/4th
finger on to the 8th fret on that same string. It should look something
like this...
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Download video here
The key thing is not how much force
you hammer on with, but rather how quick your finger comes down on to
the string. The hammered note needs to resonate cleanly.
Once you've hammered on, hold it there and assess how well the note
rings out. If it decays too quickly, you'll need to adjust the speed at
which your finger hammers on to the string. Keep referring to the
videos in this lesson until you're happy with your technique.
Let's
now move to the next string up in this pentatonic shape, the A string.
We're using exactly the same hammer on technique but this time we'll be
hammering on with our ring/3rd finger.
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Download video here
Even though you're using a different finger, the technique is exactly
the same.
Use
the same index-ring technique for the D and G strings, and then we're
back to the index-pinky hammer on interval for the B and high E strings.
Once
you're confident with your hammer on technique one string at a time,
try hammering your way up and down the pentatonic scale in an
uninterupted sequence...
Can't see the video? Click Here First!
Download video here
To really get that "muscle memory" set in, hammer around the scale
pattern in varied, staggered patterns...
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Download video here
Now, we
also need to get physically comfortable with hammering on between our
index and middle/2nd finger. We can alter the pentatonic pattern
slightly to accomodate this...
...and
another addition - hammering on between our ring/3rd finger and our
pinky/4th finger. I'll just modify that pattern further to accomodate
this addition...
So now we have a
sequence we can really work all our fingers up and down. It includes
the most common hammer on intervals you'll come across within scales.
If
you're looking for some good hammer on warmup exercises, try using the
below intervals from high E to low E (and then back up, down, up etc.).
| Base
finger |
Hammer
on to... |
| index |
middle |
| index |
ring |
| index |
pinky |
| middle |
ring |
| middle |
pinky |
| ring |
pinky |
Using
more than one hammer on per string
Once you're physically comfortable with the basic hammer on technique,
you can move on to larger phrases by using more than one hammering
finger across each string. When played at speed, this creates what is
known as a "legato" effect. Rather than each note in a sequence being
cleanly separated by a pick stroke, they blur into each other. Some
guitarists refer to this as a "roll".
When
we come to learning pull offs, and mix both hammer ons and pull offs in
the same phrase, this legato style of playing will be enhanced further.
A great scale pattern to experiment with this technique is the Lydian
boxed pattern...
So,
two hammer ons per string there (except for the A string). In fact, a
lot of boxed scale patterns that use 3 notes per string will allow you
to put this technique to use. Visit the scales
section for more hammer on fodder!
Also
don't forget to work on instances where two hammer ons might be used in
tighter spaces, such as within three semitones as found within this
extended blues scale pattern...
...and
of course, once you learn scale patterns over a wider fretboard area,
you'll be able to apply multiple hammer ons across wider areas. For
example...
Keep hammering those fingers!
Hopefully, after following the exercises above, you should be fairly
confident with the hammer on technique. It all takes time, but
the best way to see day-on-day improvements in your playing is to use a
metronome to gradually speed up.
I've lost count of the amount of times I've referenced that on this
site!
Thanks for your time here.
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