In the Beginner track you picked every note. Today you stop doing that.
Hammer-on: pick a note, then hammer a finger down on a higher fret on the same string. The note rings without a second pick.
Pull-off: pick a note while two fingers are fretted; then quickly pull the higher finger off. The lower-fretted note rings without a second pick.
Together they're called legato (smooth, connected). Combined with picking, they let you play 16th-note runs with half the picking effort.
The basic hammer-on drill
- Pick the open G string. Let it ring.
- Hammer your ring finger onto the G string fret 2 (an A note). Don't pick again. The A should ring just from the impact.
The basic pull-off drill
- Fret the G string at fret 2 with your ring finger AND have your index finger ready at fret 0 (or just the open string).
- Pick the G string. While it rings, flick your ring finger off sideways (not straight up). The string snaps back into the lower fret position.
Combined drill
Use shape 1 of A minor pentatonic. On the B string, fret 5 (E) and fret 8 (G). Pick fret 5, hammer to fret 8. Pick fret 8, pull off to fret 5. Repeat for 30 seconds at 80 BPM.
Then move to the G string (5 hammer to 7, 7 pull off to 5). Then D string. Then A string. Five minutes per string daily for a week and the technique starts to flow.
The payoff
Listen to Stairway to Heaven, Comfortably Numb, Hotel California solo, or anything by Slash. Most of what you hear is hammer-ons and pull-offs sprinkled between picked notes. That's how lead guitar sounds melodic instead of typed.Next: slides. The third leg of legato.