Hammer-ons and Pull-offs
Hammer-ons and pull-offs make melodies more connected and save effort — the first set of techniques as you move up.
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Hammer-on (h)
Pluck a note first, then with another finger “slam” down quickly and firmly onto a higher fret; that “slam” sounds the second note, with no need to pluck again with the right hand.
Pull-off (p)
The finger first presses a higher fret; after you pluck, the fretting finger gives a light downward-and-sideways “flick” as it lifts off, sounding a lower note (an open string or a lower fret).
Practice them connected
Used together, hammer-on + pull-off make a smooth ornament within a single beat. Go slow first — make every note clear before you speed up.
Tap any column in the tab to start playing from there (stuck on a bar? practice from that bar — the loop returns there too). The playhead moves through the tab; adjust speed, loop, and toggle follow. Note: this play-along uses uniform eighth notes at aneven, steady tempo (not the song's actual rhythm — the rhythm wasn't kept during transcription). Use it to grasp the note flow and right-hand order — refer to the original recording for the real rhythm.
Connected: on the 3rd string, only pluck the first note, then let the left hand string a run of notes together by “hammering the 2nd fret / pulling back to open” (0h2p0…); then do 0h1p0 on the 2nd string. Hit “Play” and listen column by column — speed up only once each note is clear.
Practice this with famous songs
We don't host sheets for these songs (copyright); only the “what to practice” direction — find the sheets yourself:
- Intro to “Sunny Day” (Jay Chou) — a classic hammer-on phrase, familiar to the ear and easy to get into.
- Intro to “Zebra, Zebra” — practice the smoothness of pull-offs.
Companion practice licks
Play-along licks for this lesson's technique — tap to hear them in the Riff library and practice slowly:
Practice checklist
- On the 3rd string, practice “open-string hammer to 2nd fret” (0h2) and “2nd-fret pull-off to open” (2p0), one minute each.
- String hammer-ons and pull-offs together into one run.