Lesson 39 Video

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Lesson 39

Lesson 39 - Hammer On

"Hammer On" Technique

 

Lesson Goals:

♦ Understand the concept of hammer on picking
♦ Learn the fingering to perform a hammer on properly
♦ Play a hammer on clearly

A hammer on is a technique used while performing single note picking. The effect of a hammer on is to produce two notes with the left hand while only picking once with the right.

A hammer on can occur anywhere on the guitar neck and in any scale or position, but a hammer on, by nature, can only take place on the same string as the originally picked note.

The first note is picked as normal but the second note is "hammered" to produce the sound. This is a picking technique you will use a lot as you start to do more lead playing so it is a very important one to master.

Let's look at the TAB below for an example of a hammer on. In this example you will pick the open 5th string ("A" string) once and then as that note is ringing you will hammer on the 2nd fret of the same string with your 2nd finger. Give it a try.

39 hammer on 01 01

Now let's do a quick exercise (ugh!) just to get a feel for doing multiple hammer on's. In this example we will do a hammer on just like we did in the previous example, only this time we will do one on the 5th, 4th and 3rd strings. The fingering and picking pattern will be identical for each string.

 

39 hammer on 02 02

 

 

Lesson 39 Summary

A hammer on is not overly complicated to perform and after you have developed the right amount of finger pressure you will find yourself using this technique all the time. Practice doing hammer on's at various positions on the neck and don't be afraid to experiment!

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Jam Tip!

A hammer on requires the right amount of finger pressure to make the hammered note sound clearly. Keep practicing this technique to find the right amount of pressure.