Slurred Notes (Clawhammer Examples)
Slides, Hammer-Ons, & Pull-Offs

These are common left hand techniques that create slurred notes -- the pitch of the note on a string changes by the action of the left hand instead of striking the string with your right hand. Below are some examples. For more practice, choose measures from any of the Level 2 arrangements.

Slides

A slide raises or lowers the pitch of an original note that is played, depending on which direction your sliding finger is moving. In the sample above, use your middle finger to slide from the 2nd fret up to the 4th fret. Remember that the note at the 2nd fret is sounded with your right hand, but the note at the fourth fret is made by the action of the left hand sliding up to the 4th fret.

Hammer-Ons

A hammer-on always raises the pitch of the note that is being played. As with all slurred notes, only the first note in the pair is actually played with the right hand. Notes are usually played by fretting at a certain position and then playing a string, but with the hammer-on the procedure is reversed. First you play the open string, then you hammer down on a fret to produce a second tone. You can also begin with a fretted string, and the hammer down on a higher fret of the same string with your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th finger.

Pull-Offs

A pull-off always lowers the pitch of the note that is played, so it is basically the opposite of a hammer-on. To produce the pull-off you must play a fretted string, then forcefully pull your left hand finger down off the string in such a way as to produce a second note.