Hammered and Pulled Notes on the Guitar

There are many techniques that can be used when you play a guitar and other stringed keyboard instruments.

Hammer On: If you hit a note and then come down very quickly with a finger usually one or two frets higher than the original note position you will hear the higher note sound. This happens very quickly after the first note was played so that the vibration of the string from this first note has not yet stopped. It is possible to "hammer on" to a note at a greater distance from the first tone, but because you are usually holding the first sound with one finger and must continue to hold it while you hammer the hammered note must be within reach.

If the string is an open string, you could literally hammer on anywhere along the length of the string. In finger-style guitar hammering on is a common method of adding interest to your music. There are some locations that seem to work better for the "hammer on" effect. For example if you are holding a typical E chord the most common hammer not will be to hammer on to the G string to get the G# note on the third string.

Pull Off. The pull off is exactly the opposite of a hammer on. You are holding a note with a finger and then you quickly pull your finger off that note to a lower tone. You basically pick one sound, pull off to create the second sound. The pull sound is often a bit lower in intensity than the hammer because you are not using a force on the string in the pull, in a way you are removing a force that was on the string.

The Echo: It is possible to hit a note, then hammer, then pull, then hammer, then pull etc. This is sometimes called an "echo" effect. If you use an amplified guitar or electric guitar you can get more out of these techniques, but I have seen some classical guitarists make extraordinary use of these effects. Once as I watched a group called "The Romeros" play I was watching the father and sons play unamplified classical guitars. I was very impressed by the sons and it seemed like the father was simply providing the background. All of a suddent he took his right hand and simply placed it on the tvery top of the guitar. He then played the guitar completely with his left hand using the hammer and pull techniques to play notes all over the neck of the guitar. He also used a technique which is a "left hand pluck" while playing. Still using only his left hand he used some fingers to pull on a string and to pluck the string to give it the energy needed to vibrate so that he could continue hammering and pulling notes.

Snair Drium Effect: if you twist the fifth string over the sixth string at about the 9th fret and hit this crossed pair of strings with a pick it will sound a bit like a snare drum. One time when I was in a business establishment that would satisfy my thirst rather late at night the band asked if there was anyone in the audience that wanted to come on stage and play. A fantastic guitar player that I knew, went on stage and played a great song, but then turned away from the audience and got the attention of the drummer. It looked like he was giving the drummer a chance to do a solo, but the audience didn't see that he had crossed the strings. The drumme started playing on the snare drum, but then moved about a foot over the drums and acted like he was playing on the air. My friend continued with the snare effect and there were more than two people simply put down their drinks and stop drinking. They felt they had to be too intoxicated, because what they were seeing just could not be happening. It was slick. (The drummer was told by my friend what to do while he was facing the drummer.)

My friend then turned back around playing the song again and most of the people watching never knew what really happened. Have fun with the guitar, don't think of these things as tricks, but more like additional ways of musical expression.