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Thread: Hammer-on practice tips?

  1. #1
    Every day is a gift. Sheila Lagrand's Avatar
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    Sep 2020
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    Default Hammer-on practice tips?

    Hello friends,
    I'm having a tough time getting decent sound out of hammer-ons, especially on the E string. What are your suggestions, secrets, and schemes?
    Phoebe, my 2021 Collings MT mandolin
    Dolly, my 2021 Ibanez M522 mandolin
    Louise, my 193x SS Maxwell mandolin
    Fiona, My 2021 GSM guitar-bodied octave resonator mandolin
    Charlotte, my 2016 Eastman MDO 305 octave mandolin
    And Giuliana, my 2002 Hans Schuster 505 violin, Nehenehe, my 2021 Aklot concert ukulele,
    Annie, my 2022 Guild M-140 guitar, Joni, my 1963 Harmony 1215 Archtone archtop guitar,
    Yoko, my ca. 1963 Yamaha Dynamic No.15 guitar, and Rich, my 1959 husband.

  2. #2
    Registered User John Kelly's Avatar
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    Ardnadam, Argyll, Scotland
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    Default Re: Hammer-on practice tips?

    On the mandolin with its small scale length and higher string tension it is always a problem getting a good hammer-on, Sheila. I play a lot of bagpipe tunes on my mandolin and octave and use both hammer-on and pull-off to try to get the effects of the bagpipes. I will generally aim to hammer on from an open string rather than from a fretted one, and it needs a fair bit of finger power to get a good clear sound. I prefer the octave for those tunes as the longer scale length gives me more sustain and seems to be easier to produce hammer-ons. For pull-offs I try to give the string(s) a sideways flick with the fretting finger as I pull off from the fret, rather than just a straight lifting off. There are examples of the tunes on my YT channel - see link below.
    Hope this is of some help to you.
    I'm playing all the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order. - Eric Morecambe

    http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOldBores

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  4. #3
    Registered User
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    Aug 2013
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    Southern Maine
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    Default Re: Hammer-on practice tips?

    Just like all aspects of technique, it takes time and practice to develop decent hammer on and pull off. Make it a part of your practice sessions and you should see improvement over time. It certainly has taken me a while to develop any proficiency.

    The secret lies in repetition.
    Girouard A
    Silverangel A
    Eastman 615

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