How to Play Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs on Guitar
Master legato guitar techniques by learning to sound clean, articulate notes using left-hand striking and snapping motions without repicking the string.
- Read the tools, materials, safety notes, and steps below for free.
- Tap Start Camera Coach when you want hands-free voice help.
- Allow camera and microphone. Point your phone at the work; the coach watches your progress and tells you the next step.
🧰 Required Tools & Equipment
- ✓ Acoustic or electric guitar
- ✓ Guitar pick (0.73mm to 1.0mm)
- ✓ Smartphone stand or mount
- ✓ Metronome app or physical metronome
- ✓ Clip-on tuner
📦 Materials & Supplies
- ✓ Guitar strings (installed and tuned to E standard)
- ✓ Fretboard chart or printed tab sheet
⚠️ Safety Checkpoints & Warnings
- • Maintain a neutral, straight fretting wrist to avoid carpal tunnel and repetitive strain injury.
- • Take 2-minute resting breaks every 10 minutes if you feel burning or fatigue in the forearm tendons.
- • Avoid excessive gripping pressure between your fretting thumb and fingers.
📋 Step-by-Step Guide (6 Steps)
Set Up Camera Angle and Fretting Hand Posture
Position your phone camera at chest height facing your fretting hand at a 45-degree angle. Place your thumb centered on the back of the guitar neck opposite your middle finger, curving your fretting fingers so only the fleshy tips touch the strings. Ensure your wrist remains nearly straight with open space between the bottom of the neck and your palm.
- • Thumb positioned flat behind the midline of the neck
- • Fingers arched with fingertips perpendicular to the fretboard
- • Visible daylight between the palm and guitar neck underside
- • Collapsing the palm against the neck
- • Wrapping the thumb entirely over the top edge, causing flat fingers
Position Anchor Finger on the G String
Place your index finger firmly on the 5th fret of the G (3rd) string, keeping it pressed just behind the metal fret wire. Hold your ring finger hovered roughly 1 to 2 centimeters directly above the 7th fret of the same string. Pick the G string once with a downward stroke to ensure a clear, ringing tone from the 5th fret.
- • Index finger firmly anchored directly behind the 5th fret wire
- • Ring finger hovering squarely above the 7th fret without touching strings
- • Placing index finger directly on top of the fret wire causing a muted thud
- • Letting resting fingers fly far away from the fretboard
Execute the Single Hammer-On
Pick the 5th fret note once, then bring your ring finger tip down onto the 7th fret with a swift, decisive strike like a mini hammer. Do not pick the string again with your right hand; the kinetic force of your ring finger creates the new note. Keep your index finger anchored firmly on the 5th fret while the 7th fret sounds.
- • Clear volume transition from 5th to 7th fret without a second pick stroke
- • Ring finger lands squarely on the fingertip right behind the 7th fret wire
- • Hammering too slowly, resulting in a muted string instead of a ringing pitch
- • Lifting the index finger during the hammer strike
Execute the Single Pull-Off
Press both the index finger on fret 5 and ring finger on fret 7 simultaneously on the G string. Pick the 7th fret note, then lightly pluck the string downward with your ring finger pad as you release it to sound the 5th fret. The motion is a slight downward flick or snap against the string, rather than simply lifting the finger straight up.
- • Ring finger flicks slightly downward toward the high E string during release
- • 5th fret rings clearly immediately after the 7th fret note
- • Lifting the ring finger straight off the string, resulting in an audible volume drop or silence
- • Accidentally dragging and ringing the adjacent B or high E string
Combine into a Continuous Legato Loop
Pick the 5th fret once, immediately hammer on to the 7th fret, and instantly pull off back to the 5th fret in one smooth, fluid phrase. Repeat this three-note cycle (5-7-5) with only a single initial pick stroke at the beginning of the sequence. Strive to make the volume and sustain of all three notes as even as possible.
- • Seamless three-note sequence produced from one picking stroke
- • Even rhythmic spacing and equal volume between all three notes
- • Hesitating between the hammer and pull-off steps
- • Picking the string on the pull-off return
Rhythmic Practice with a Metronome
Set your metronome to 60 BPM in 4/4 time. Pick on beat 1, hammer on beat 2, pull off on beat 3, and rest on beat 4, repeating the pattern cleanly across 4 consecutive bars. Once comfortable, advance the exercise across the D (4th) and B (2nd) strings using the same fret positions.
- • Fret strikes and releases lock precisely to the metronome click
- • Consistent note duration across multiple repetitions
- • Rushing the hammer-on ahead of the metronome pulse
- • Losing string clarity when switching to thicker wound strings
Don’t have everything?
- No Physical Metronome? Free smartphone metronome app or online browser click track
- No Guitar Pick? Edge of index fingernail or flesh of the thumb