Quiet Hammer Ons and Pull Offs? Try This!

Most guitarists think their hammer-ons and pull-offs sound weak because their fingers aren't strong enough.

That's not it.

The real problem is that you're moving way more than you need to. A hammer-on is a single fluid motion from the knuckle, and a pull-off is a single fluid motion toward your palm. When you hesitate, you break that one motion into several, and by the time your finger reaches the string there's no energy left to make a sound. Fix the motion and slurs get easier than picking the notes.

I've been teaching guitar for over a decade, and I've watched this one shift work for thousands of guitarists.‍ ‍

Your hand already knows how to do this‍ ‍

Touch something hot and your hand snaps away before you've thought about it. That's a reflex: one fluid motion, nearly instant. And that motion is trainable! It's how guitarists build effortless speed.

Try this away from the guitar. Press your fret hand fingers together and plant them on your picking hand like you're setting up for an arpeggio. Lift one finger and drop it. Do it a couple of times and just watch the fluidity of the motion coming from your knuckle.

Now, without moving your other fingers, pull that same finger toward your palm as swiftly as you can, without collapsing the tip joint. It probably won't reach your palm. That's not the point. The point is the singular, fluid motion.

That's a hammer on and a pull off.

Why are my hammer ons so quiet?‍ ‍

Because you're hesitating. Hesitation turns one motion into several, and the finger lands on the string with nothing behind it.

Hover your fret hand so all four fingers sit an equal distance from the strings. Pick a finger… Let’s say, your first. Think single, fluid motion from the knuckle. Or do what I do and picture a baseball coach telling you to follow through on your swing.

I know. It sounds a little silly. But try it.

Drop it swiftly, no hesitation, and you should get a clear hammer-on. When I say swift, I mean if you blink and you can still see your finger moving, you're dropping it too slow.

And before you tell me you can't move that fast… Your body already can. It's built in, for things like a hot stove. You just have to train that reflex to engage in this new activity.

Why won't my pull offs ring out?

My problem with pull offs is the name.

If they called it a pull down it would sound dumb, but at least it would tell you what you're supposed to do.‍ ‍

Put any finger on the high E string, pick the note, and pull the finger down toward your palm. Somewhere in that motion the string snaps out from under your finger. That snap is the pull-off.

Here's what's actually happening: tension builds between the string wanting to sit where it normally sits and your finger dragging it away. When that tension breaks, you get the release. If you press too hard, or your finger is set up so it holds onto the string, the pull-off never happens.

So stay on your fingertip, and don't press so hard that you take the string with you.

Record yourself in slow motion on your phone and watch it back. That feedback loop of reflecting, spotting the problem, and correcting it is how guitarists get really good at their instrument.

Some fingers work and some don't. Here's why.

It's almost always hand alignment.

Keep your wrist straight and rotate your forearm the same way you'd open a doorknob. It doesn't have to rotate far. Once your hand is parallel with the bottom of the neck, relax your thumb so all four fingers sit in front of the neck. Then curl your fingers in onto their fingertips.

If this is brand new to you, your technique will feel like it's suffering at first. That's okay. Your brain is adjusting to a new norm, and because it's unfamiliar it's going to tell you a story that this is wrong and it's making you worse. That story is not true. Stick with it and it cleans up everything.

Whoever moves the least, plays the fastest‍ ‍

Here's the crazy part: from that position your fingers are already sitting close to the strings.

The volume of a hammer on comes from how quick the drop is. Not how far you travel, and not how much force you put behind it. You can be less than an inch off the string and be just as loud, or louder.

And on pull offs, if you keep your hand still and truly only move the finger, the finger snaps back into place, ready for the next note. That reflexive return is how guitarists play slurs faster than they can pick.

The exercises

Four parts, in this order:

Part 1: one finger at a time. Pick the open E and drop your first finger onto it as a hammer-on. Then pick that fretted note and pull off to the open string. Repeat with fingers 2, 3 and 4, then across all six strings.

Part 2: two fingers. First finger on fret 5 of the low E, hammer on to fret 6 with finger 2. Every string, then pull-offs on the way back up. There are six combos, and you need all six: 1–2, 1–3, 1–4, 2–3, 2–4, 3–4

Part 3: three fingers. My favourite, because it sounds like the 80s hair bands I grew up loving. Pick fret 5 with finger 1, hammer to fret 7 with finger 3, then fret 8 with finger 4. Reverse it with pull-offs on the way back. Four combos: 1–3–4, 1–2–3, 2–3–4, 1–2–4.

Part 4: all four fingers. Hammer all four in a row down the strings, then pull all four off on the way back up.

Part 4 will feel brutal if you skip ahead to it. But, if you've done the other three, it's pretty straightforward.

Some combos are going to be worse than others, and that's actually a really good thing. Because then you know where to spend your time.

Watch it happen

Reading about a tension release is one thing. Watching it in slow motion is another.

In the video I break the whole thing down on camera: the drop speed, the doorknob rotation, and the slow-motion footage of the exact moment a pull-off releases. That last one is the part you can't get from a blog post.

FAQ

What's the difference between a hammer-on and a pull-off? A hammer-on sounds a note by swinging your finger down onto the string from the knuckle. A pull-off sounds a note by pulling your finger down toward your palm until the string snaps out from under it. Both are single fluid motions. Another name for these (that’s more common with other stringed instruments) is slurs.

Do I need stronger fingers to hammer on? No. Volume comes from how quickly your knuckle swings the finger into the string, not how hard you hit it or how far it travels. A finger sitting less than an inch off the string can be louder than one you wind up from three inches away. Quiet hammer-ons are a hesitation problem, not a strength problem.

Why do my pull-offs make no sound? Usually one of two things: you're pressing too hard, so your finger drags the string with it instead of releasing it, or you're not on your fingertip. Pull down toward your palm, and let the string snap out from under your finger.

Why is my pinky so much worse than my other fingers? Usually hand alignment, not the pinky itself. If your hand isn't parallel with the neck, your pinky is further from the strings and at a worse angle than everything else. Rotate your forearm like you're turning a doorknob until your hand is parallel, relax your thumb, and curl onto your fingertips.

How fast should I drop my finger? If you blink and you can still see the finger moving, it's too slow. Aim for reflex speed, where there’s no tension or resistance in the movement.