Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs by Matthias Young is a free guitar lesson that will teach the basics of playing hammer-ons and pull-offs. These are beginner techniques that will become much easier to play if you use proper form. Matthias will begin the video by discussing hammer-ons. Once a note has been struck, you will use a left hand finger to quickly fret another note higher up the guitar neck. It’s important to use enough speed to create a clear sounding note. Matthias will then teach you how to play an easy blues lick using hammer-ons.
Next, you will learn how to play a pull-off. In theory, a pull-off is the opposite of a hammer-on. However, the motion for a pull-off is slightly different. The finger pulling off is actually plucking the string to create sound. We’ll play the same blues lick from before, but backwards this time to see pull-offs in action.
When you play a rapid sequence of hammer-ons and pull-offs together, it’s called a trill. When playing any of these techniques, remember that’s it’s about speed not strength.