Hammer-on / Pull-off
A hammer-on and a pull-off are the two moves that make legato playing possible on guitar. For a hammer-on, a fretting finger comes down sharply on a fret while a note is already ringing, with no repick: the finger's impact alone sounds the new note. A pull-off does the opposite: a finger already on the string pulls off with a slight downward flick, sounding the note left behind.
An asymmetry few methods point out
The two moves don't take equal effort: a hammer-on can work with a moderate strike, while a pull-off needs a real plucking motion to ring at a comparable volume — a poorly executed pull-off is consistently quieter than the hammer-on before it, which is why it needs more isolated practice to balance the volume of both notes.
The sheet one-string legato — hammer-ons and pull-offs works on exactly that balance.
Practical tips and common mistakes
- Pick the string firmly before the first hammer-on: legato doesn't mean "play soft" — the first note should ring clearly, only the following ones skip the repick.
- Position the striking finger just above the target fret, not far back: the shorter the travel, the more precise and fast the impact, with no lost time between notes.
- Work the pull-off with a slight sideways flick toward the neighboring string, rather than a straight vertical lift: that sideways pull is what actually sounds the string — a purely vertical lift often lets the note die out.
- Isolate each move separately before chaining them: a hammer-on alone, then a pull-off alone, each at a steady volume, before combining them into a fast sequence.