Jim Bowley

Learning to play hammer-ons is essential to our progression as guitarists. Along with pull-offs, slides and bends, these types of slurs will make your playing instantly quicker, smoother and more professional-sounding.

Most guitarists do not pick every note individually. As a matter of fact, when you hear a great guitarist playing blazing fast lead lines, they are often using slurs to facilitate their movements. Masterful hammer-ons enhance your speed and help your playing sound legato, which are two things most players strive for.

Although there are a few picking Nazis out there who insist on “no slurs” – Al DiMeola comes to mind – almost all guitarists use slurs, and some world-class players have virtually built their entire technique on hammering, pulling, bending and sliding. You may recognize the names Eddie Van Halen, Joe Satriani, and Allan Holdsworth – slur monsters! If it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for me.

Of course, there are times when picking notes individually sounds better, but a nice mix of picked notes and slurs gives you the best of both worlds. And picking each note is akin to asking a saxophone player to tongue every note – the notes would sound more like a machine gun than music. Slurs make your lines sound a little looser and groovier, less rigid.

So in The Definitive Lesson: Hammer-ons, we’re going to learn proper hammer-on techniques that will immediately enhance our speed and create a more legato single-note line. Let’s rock! Continue reading “The Definitive Lesson: Hammer-ons” »