Hammer-Ons Exercise For Beginners 🔨

Add some flair to your playing!

Hammer-ons are fun to work into tunes here and there! Whether you’re playing some backing chords or you're doing a guitar solo.

This technique can add interesting ornamentation to your guitar playing. We'll explore more about this concept in Module 11. For now, let's explore this technique with a helpful hammer-on exercise for beginners.

How To Do A Hammer-On Guitar?

Hammer-ons are when you pick one note and then hammer a second finger down onto the same string to get a second note - without picking a second time!

To do a hammer-on, the technique is simple. Start by playing one note on your guitar. While it’s ringing out, you hammer down a second finger onto the same string. It'll allow you to hear a second note without having to pick the string a second time.

For this to work, you’ve got to hammer that second finger onto the string! It takes some force and some finger strength. The hammer-on technique will develop finger independence and dexterity. These are useful skills for guitar beginners, especially with what we have lined up in the next module!

While the idea is simple, putting it into practice might take some work! So don't get discouraged if you don't get it right away :)

Hammer-On Guitar Exercise

Here are 7 steps to practice the hammer-on exercise:

Start with your 1st finger in the 5th fret of the thickest string
Pick the string
Then, hammer on your 2nd finger one fret higher
Get it accurate and be sure to use the tip of your finger
Don’t be afraid to hit it hard - but you don't have to go crazy.
Experiment and find the right amount of hit you need to apply
Repeat this on each of the strings. Work your way down to the thinnest string. Then, come back up to the thickest.

Try hammering between different fingers, repeating these steps. Do this between:

1st to 2nd fingers
2nd to 3rd fingers
3rd to 4th fingers

And then ONLY if you have time you can try these few below but don't be in a hurry.

1st to 3rd fingers
2nd to 4th fingers
1st to 4th fingers

How To Practice Hammer-On For Beginners

This is not a speed exercise! Focus on what you're actually here to practice. For now, you’re working on building up your finger strength and independence. Your second note should be as loud as the second note as you can.

To help with this, you might want to pick softer than you normally would. This will make it easier to match the first note’s sound and intensity. Accuracy and strength are more important than speed. If you need, slow down your tempo to help you! And remember - you're hammering down - not pressing the strings.

For your Module 10 practice, I recommend you schedule 1 minute of hammer-ons in your practice schedule. It'll be a good element to add to your practice assistant. This way - you'll be able to measure your progress with this tricky technique.

Now - are you ready to learn an awesome riff? Have some fun, practice your skills with La Bamba Riff!