Slurred Notes -- Slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs are common left hand techniques that create slurred notes -- the pitch of the string changes by the action of the left hand instead of striking the string with your right hand.

Slide -- A slide raises or lowers the pitch of an original note that is played, depending on which direction your sliding finger is moving. In this example use your middle finger to slide from the 2nd fret to the 3rd fret on the 2nd string. The first note is played with your right hand, but the second note results from sliding to the 3rd fret with your left hand.

Hammer-On -- The 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. Ordinarily notes are played by fretting a note with your left hand then playing the note with your right hand, 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 play a fretted string, and then hammer down on a higher fret of the same string with your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th finger. In the example on the left you play the 1st string open then hammer down on the 1st string 2nd fret.

Pull-Off -- The 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 finger down off the string. This causes a second note to be played. In the example on the left you should hold down the 2nd string 1st fret and play the note, then pluck that same note with your left hand, thus producing the sound of the 2nd string open.