A hammer-on is exactly what it sounds like: you strike a fretted note by hammering your finger down, no pick. The string is already vibrating; your fretting finger just changes its pitch mid-ring.
Deep-dive guide
Read the full guide
A longer write-up with every detail, drill, and common pitfall.
The mechanic
Pick a string. While it's still ringing, slap a finger down on a higher fret. The note jumps up.Try this on the open G string:
- Pluck the G string open
- Half a beat later, hammer your index finger onto the 2nd fret of the G string
- The note moves from G to A
You should hear two notes from one pluck.
Apply it to chord changes
Hold Em with index and middle on the A and D strings. Strum. Then, while it's ringing, hammer your ring finger onto the 2nd fret of the G string (turning it into Esus4). Strum again.Suddenly Em sounds twice as interesting.
Drill the most useful hammer-ons
Open D string → 2nd fret D (hammer to E with middle finger).
Open G string → 2nd fret G (hammer to A with middle finger).
Open B string → 1st fret B (hammer to C with index finger).
Practice metronome
70BPM
70 BPM. Strum the chord, hammer on the second beat. Repeat.
In real songs
Hammer-ons aren't a flashy technique; they're a baseline skill for dressing up chords.Next: Blackbird. The pinch technique in one of the most-played fingerstyle songs ever.