Guitar Tips, Music Tips and Product Reviews

In this article we are going to learn how to play hammer on's and pull off's.

In the last article/mini guitar lesson you learned how to move the pentatonic pattern 1 around the neck. In this lesson we will expand on that to bring a technique called the "hammer on".

Let's take pattern 1 at the 5th fret (Am) as an example.

OK, to play the "hammer on" you need to hold down the 6th string at the 5th fret and then pluck it. Then bring down your 4th finger hard onto the 8th fret with enough force to allow the string to ring out as though you had plucked it!

You need to practice playing this on all the strings in the scale pattern... and it is known as "hammering on"!!!

You now need to build up your speed and over time you will find that you will be able to play the "hammer on" effortlessly playing notes quickly without having to pluck each string individually. Practicing this technique will speed up your overall paying ability...

Try to practice your guitar playing EVERY day, even if you only pick it up for a few minutes, your fingers will become more and more on auto pilot...

So, following on from this mini lesson (hammer on's) that I gave you previously the 'pull off' is the next killer technique to learn!!

We will start off again using pentatonic pattern one at the 5th fret (Am). Hold down the 8th fret with your 4th finger and also the 5th fret with your first finger on the 6th string.

Now pick the string sounding the note at the 8th fret (C)

Here's the great part: Pluck the string while the note is still ringing with your 4th finger (pull off) to sound the note at the 5th fret (A), do not use your pick at all whilst doing this.

Practice this technique on all the strings up and down the pentatonic pattern 1.

Using "hammer on's" and "pull off"s" is a much used feature in great sounding solos.

You need to practice these techniques over and over until your fingers start to bleed! Only joking!

Hi Mike here from Killer Guitar Tips.

I am now going to show you a couple of mini guitar lessons in this article that you really should know to help get your guitar soloing of to a great start and stop you from sounding shall we say mediocre!

OK, let;s get started...

This weeks mini guitar lesson is on how to use the Pentatonic Pattern #1 scale for major and minor solo's.

The first thing we need to consider is that every pentatonic pattern can be used for both major and minor scales.

The following are known as relative major and minors. That is, pattern #1 at the fifth fret produces two keys, A minor (Am) and C major (C).

As we can see, this pattern can now be used for BOTH these keys, Am and C major. So, to get a real cool, bluesy rock sound we can simply play Am over a track writtem in A major!

Now here's the really cool part...

Staying in this pattern move the whole pattern down the neck (towards the tuning pegs) by 3 frets. Play the very same pattern here and you will now be playing in A major producing a melodic, tuneful solo sound!!!

Moving onto the next little mini guitar lesson continuing the theme of moving pentatonic pattern #1 around the guitar neck to crete great solo's.

So in the key of A, playing pattern 1 at the 5th fret (Am) you can create a great bluesy rock solo.

Now here is a killer tip, move the whole pattern up the neck 7 frets (Em) and continue playing! This will give you a cool melodic sound using the same pattern - try it, it's a mainstay in all killer guitarists soloing!

For future reference create a space or folder on your hard drive for all the mini guitar lessons I will be submitting in forthcoming articles. Over time you will build a nice little archive of 'must have' tips and tricks to be used in your soloing that will produce a really professional sound. Your friends, colleagues and family will be amazed at your new found skill!

All these mini guitar lessons i will be giving you are just a very small fraction of material contained in the Killer Guitar Tips home study course but even so are invaluable in your journey to be come a great player.

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Dear Guitar Student, Mike here from KillerGuitarTips.com

By now you should be building up a nice little bag of tricks to use and introduce into your guitar playing. These tricks and tips as mentioned previously are just a small part of the killer guitar course that we are currently working on due to be released shortly. The course will be structured in such a away as to bring the absolute beginner through to a Killer Player in the shortest possible time.

You need to keep an eye on your email for the launch date of this one of a kind speed learning guitar course.

OK, moving on to the business in hand

I am going to show you a nice little tip that will project your guitar playing into hyperspace!

Taking the D major chord move it up the neck to the 7th fret whilst still playing the open D string underneath the chord (this chord is called G/D that is Gmajor with a D bass note).

You can move it up a further two frets while still playing the open D and this would be called A/D.

Now take it to the 14th fret (octave D).

If you play one bar of each chord you will get a great sound with this superb chord sequence.

You can experiment with this shape at various positions on the neck to create your own sequence or even song!!

Moving on I would like to show you another easy little trick that is a top pro chord progression using the first and second strings played open throughout this four chord sequence to produce a great sound.

Here goes:

We will start with the first chord which is an Emaj chord with a difference. You are going to play it with its normal chord shape but slide it up to the 13th/14th fret (octave). [6th = open, 5th string = 14th fret, 4th = 14th, 3rd = 13th, 2nd open, 1st open] .

Now the second chord on this sequence uses the very same chord shape played at the 6th/7th fret and is called Aadd2. [6th = open, 5th = 7th, 4th = 7th, 3rd = 6th, 2nd open 1st open].

Then we will play one of my favourite chords, C#m7 but with a difference. [6th = open, 5th = 11th, 4th = 11th, 3rd = 9th, 2nd open 1st open].

Like it?

Finally we will play the Badd4 chord. [6th = open, 5th = 9th, 4th = 9th, 3rd = 8th, 2nd open 1st open].

Now try this sequence using different rhythms, it's really cool.

Ok, I know for some of you this may sound a little technical but really its not. Just give it a try anyway but don't panic if you find it a little difficult as everything will be explained in my Killer Guitar Tips Home Study Course. Until next week have a great week... I'll catch you then.

Regards Mike