How To Play Hammer-ons & Pull-offs Like a Rock Star

[@yourguitarsage]

Thanks for watching this video my friends! Let me hear your comments and feedback below. e :)

[@jasonhayward7231]

I think what people mean by self taught is no lessons. I my self do all the things you described but have never had lessons. I consider it teaching myself.

[@markgrunzweig6377]

Dear not so "sage", "self taught" is a general term. I'm self taught in harmonica. Yes one learns from observation etc., but mainly I did it on my own. I never in all my decades (1987 to present) had one person teach me in person or very little if any from a video. No music teaching even in school. I've done things on my diatonics, that I would have never done with very much pendantic teaching. You have sabotaged the "general" on a technical exceptionality. You are very proficiant, yet you seem to be too technical & intelllectual. That's great, but go with your heart and not your two heads. I want to thank you for mentiong the number "20", near the end, for I have realized several years ago the number of the universe is 20 and the basic cycle of the body is 20 minutes; most physcians don't know that. Interesting that your video was 12 minutes (approx., so please don't spilkt hairs on this too). A common combination in things is 12 & 20. I believe the main reason vinyl (lp's) have come back is because there is is approx. 20 mintes of music on each side and it's what the artists intended. The attention span of the average adult on average is 20 minutes, so having to turn the record over, gives that necessary break. In England before their currency was changed to 1/100 in 1970, they had 20 schillings in a Pound (their dollar) and 12 pence in a schilling. a chum salmon always has between 12 and twenty rays (stripes) along each side. The three sisters planting od corn, beans and squash, of the native Americans is always 12 inch high & 200 wide. in Rip Van Winkle he slept 20 years and his bread grew one foot (12 inches). Shall i continue? LOl! Keep up the good work, but stay to the general about general terms, please. Take them as metaphors and not absolute facts. I'm grateful for not having very much formal inculcation in the name of education. You're the first metro sexual guitsr instructor I've ever encounterd based in Nashville.

[@markgrunzweig6377]

Correction, 12 inch LP!

[@markgrunzweig6377]

Correction: 20 inches wide...

[@boltman2u2]

Thank you from a 68 year old youngin, just learning, Neil Young's, The Needle and the Damage Done.

[@yourguitarsage]

Great! Thank you 🙏

[@robertdesmond1255]

I’m learning Layla

[@hiimdominic3780]

@@robertdesmond1255 I love that song. It was written from the heart. I'm learning it right now lol.

[@snow8630]

Pull off game on point.

[@rashimandlik7393]

This is really encouraging for someone like me, I picked up the guitar without any training, just to cope with the pressure of medical school and now I can play full fledged covers thanks to your videos and many like them. Sending tons of love from India....❤️ Thank you so much .. Rashi

[@tobyzxcd]

"I can't play fast or accurately, i think at least. Compared to those who i look up too" +10 demoralisation Dude you rock! I fond these lessons really useful and will certainly be going to your website! Greetings from England

[@electroKrunch]

Humble IMHO

[@GGAlienn]

I picked a guitar up from the pawn shop and spent two years just playing never watched anything barley had a tuned guitar for a year recently I have started watching a wanting to learn riffs I love everything about guitars even when they sound bad you can create a style that makes it sound good. I love it.

[@Love-is-action]

Seems like the coolest dude to have 4 a teacher

[@straight8ight]

Thanks For all your time and lessons Erich. I've been playing on and off for about 8 years... always seem to pick up some new techniques from your channel...and am now jamming with many people. Thank you brother.

[@siddhantamallick6837]

6:10 Erich just casually flexing his mad skills

[@yourguitarsage]

😂🙏

[@michaelhaller8495]

Unreal there is no doubt that you are the best online teacher thanks heaps for all the time you put into making these videos foe us - you rock. Michael H NSW Australia

[@floww4543]

im not self taught but my uncle is, that man is quite literally a natural at the guitar

[@electroKrunch]

Great Lesson! Yeah, I'm a copy guy. I've copied recorded/broadcast music, I've copied my teachers & mentors, I've copied tabs & sheet music. Done that since the 70s... No sin in that! Thanks again for great web lessons!!

[@Rodedog55]

Thanks for your generosity and patience with us beginners !!! Lessons and helpful things like this are appreciated.

[@yourguitarsage]

🤗🙏 www.yourguitarsage.com/30

[@johannnikolasch5015]

Cool Andreas👍🎸😀

[@Hayden_fletch]

I head ass never learned the pentatonic scale, I started doing my own scales and practiced things Dimebag Darrell did. Man, if you practice all he did, you will get even better.

[@eelakh]

I like your humble and honest attitude. Subscribed!

[@yourguitarsage]

👍🙏

[@jeffpecosky5682]

you are the best on utube brother ....you ever come to Colorado i wanna buy you a beer .

[@johannnikolasch5015]

Cool 😎 Andreas🎸👍

[@samjacobs6618]

I wish you would talk about picking technique because I feel like that is half of the whole exercise and necessary to dial in to be able to play them fast. The fretting is pretty easy to understand, but the right hand technique is so important too.

[@yourguitarsage]

Picking technique including the ninja-like, pick rest exercise is here: www.yourguitarsage.com/30

[@frais5310]

Well i don't have to pay for classes anymore now that i got you 🤣 thank you btw, i've been wondering why the upper string kept ringing! Now i know what to do! You're amazing!

[@julessanchez9216]

Great lesson !! My brother and I were in Nashville back in November to see the band ARW, which are 3 members of Yes. Nashville, is a really nice city, I believe it was Broad St. on the corner where there is a country bar, with a live country band. Great city !! That was about 2 blocks from symphony hall where the concert was.

[@jasonthomas2071]

Thank you sir, from West Virginia. This is a great exercise.

[@willgraham6393]

but how do you hammer on? the video doesn’t explain how to hammer on or what hammering on means? am i missing part of the video?

[@cashrules7557]

Thank you

[@izlepox5234]

4:50 never thought about playing like this to get a clean sound, im gonna try to always play like this for one string melodies

[@yourguitarsage]

👍

[@theateroftheabsurd2168]

I learn alot from u

[@JamesJohnson-hb1me]

Thank you very much YourGuitarSage! Very good lesson!

[@jennalvarez6572]

A thumbs up 👍🏼 how about slap and flick technique???

[@pavanchandaluri]

Thank you so much. Can you suggest how to practice pull offs for diatonic scale? Or is there any video sir?

[@yourguitarsage]

Indeed! What notes you use does not matter. The technique is all the same

[@TheDantheman12121]

I am self taught. I never watched a guitar tutorial video in my life. Honest!

[@choochoochooseyou]

Excellent. Really clear, thanks.

[@johnnyhotdog]

Hey Erich Great lesson again. I would love some more tips and lessons on Barre Chording. Really struggling with it.

[@electroKrunch]

They take practice! No 2 index fingers are the same. You have to practice and change until you find how to essentially make your index finger a capo. My finger skin is pretty soft these days so I do a "good enough bar" but when I played for money my finger skin was much thicker and "trained" to cover the frets. I have short fingers so nothing ever came easy, even with calluses! Don't get discouraged! Practice until it hurts, then do a little more.

[@johnnyhotdog]

Thanks Karl

[@JamesJohnson-hb1me]

Karl is exactly right John! Keep after it and you'll get it! And don't forget to have fun too!

[@tonygram5414]

John Merchant Me too. Struggling with those bar Chords.

[@electroKrunch]

Thx, ya gotta have life's calluses right?

[@RandyH524]

I'm not self taught. Thank you for putting back on solid ground. I have been taught by Erich the guitar sage.

[@j.markforemanii5585]

I have always needed help with this. Haven't even really begun to finger notes though. I'm still weaning myself from the slide. So far, I'm trying to break into hybrid slide in open E and open Em.

[@yourguitarsage]

You got this!

[@j.markforemanii5585]

Any chance you might explain the blues scale in Open E tuning, perhaps 12 bar blues? Or soloing in Open E?

[@johnlaycock9974]

you rock erich

[@tonygram5414]

Thanks for the info, I'm still trying to figure out all the scales and matching it to the Chords..

[@Tracks777]

Awesome video,Keep it up!

[@johnletitia]

Hello, I have heard a few teachers say that--for fastest speed--you should pick in a certain direction depending on if the note you are picking is on towards the bridge side of the guitar, or the nut side; what is your professional opinion of that advice?

[@yourguitarsage]

Watch the fretting video in this series for an appropriate answer. One or two sentences won’t do it justice and give you the right information, my friend. www.yourguitarsage.com/30

[@sheydadehghan6030]

Thank you so much it was so helpful ❤❤❤🌹🌹🌹

[@yourguitarsage]

👊🏻🙌

[@gigihsenoutomo1276]

Hi! Thanks for the lesson. I just found your channel and i really love on how you explain things clearly. You're a very interesting guitar teacher, i think this is gonna be one of my favorite channel on KZbin. Please keep up the good work and stay humble :)

[@museformusic82]

Thank you my friend for this good lesson:))

[@sfdjk]

if you can play it slowly you can play it quickly

[@mayurchristi9980]

What for three notes for melodic, natural or harmonic scale

[@balajisagargangadharan5146]

How to avoid unwanted hammer ons and pull offs while we switch to another string or fret erich?. This unwanted noise is usually not appreciated while recording !

[@robinbhairam7508]

“Don’t play too fast, work on form and technique, take it slow and steady” ... then proceeds to blister out the individual exercises!

[@DD11054]

I have the problem at the upper frets. I'm okay with 5 or 7 or 8 frets hammer ons and pull offs, but... When it comes to 16 fret 18 fret hammer ons doesnt even make a sound and pull offs doesn't ring. What should I do? My finers are pretty strong. And I take classes too. Pls help me out.

[@RZN69]

GREAT JOB ! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK !

[@matx2hew814]

"speed never comes before accuracy" tell that to Jimmy Page

[@MrNonaste]

I realize that a pull off involves actually "plucking" the string but in my pulloffs the sound is weak. So now I'm wondering about gain/distortion/overdrive in the equation. Can you clarify?

[@jankoslo]

Yeah, so are mine. An answer will be great, since i am a noob guitarist it annoys me like crazy!

[@MrNonaste]

@@jankoslo Nobody has replied but from what I can hear he has the gain cranked up on his amp. Experimenting with my amp confirms my suspicion that gain has something to do with it.

[@ronnieross711]

Thank you so much man! I'm in Nashville too! Would love to link up sometime!

[@yourguitarsage]

Thank you Ronnie.

[@michaelhaller8495]

Heh if you ever come to Australia I would love to shout you a beer or two you seem like a great guy always love you videos cheers Michael Australia

[@yourguitarsage]

Thank you 🙌

[@MoonwinkCuber]

"Oh yeah I'm self - Oh never mind

[@Boleskinebeatz]

Hi Eric, just discovered your channel and really enjoyed that lesson. I’ve been playing guitar for decades but have been challenging myself to do new things and quietly amazed at what you can do if you try hard enough! Have one question if you ever come across this old thread..do you have any tips for playing hammer on and pull off riffs quickly high up the neck where fret space is less and inaccuracy more problematic?

[@chuck347]

thanks

[@yourguitarsage]

You're welcome 🤘

[@Snide01]

I just started playing a few weeks ago and I'm improving quickly but man I'm having a bit of trouble stretching my pinking finger far enough.. I'm getting it, but I struggle.. I sure hope my hands get use to stretching like this overtime..?

[@yourguitarsage]

It does get better with time and practice. I have exercises specifically geared towards this that will get you there more quickly than not doing the exercises. Those can be found in my free course at: www.yourguitarsage.com/30

[@dalcassian9098]

It looks like our favorite guitar tutor is morphing into Ryan Reynolds

[@yourguitarsage]

Lol!

[@nuttanontchaturachanyaloet1324]

Im playing electric guitar like 3 months, but still can't play a simple lick or pull-off lick like Always with you, Always with me. So I have to practice slowly and steady ,right?

[@yourguitarsage]

Indeed! Slow and steady wins the race.

[@nuttanontchaturachanyaloet1324]

Thx!

[@claypage1089]

Aside from my open E, A, D, C, and F chords, I am self-taught. Even when copying something from a record, I had to figure it out how it was done--even bar chords. Took MUCH longer, but that stuff is BURNED into my brain in a way I don't think lessons could have done. The internet was my first lessons besides buying a concert ticket.

[@jack7597]

But thats why he’s saying your not self taught...

[@Terror.237]

Nobody Me at guiatr center: 6:12

[@Shadowcruise99]

*I watched, but I didn't inhale. I'm still self-taught!*

[@yourguitarsage]

👊🏻 www.yourguitarsage.com/30

[@Cuisinenomade1]

Beautifully put!! That's a Jewel that the "guitar sage" will never be able to COMPREHEND! Hahaha bacause the "guitar sage" is NOT SELF taught... And those who have been taught by the SELF are the meat ones anyway! Haha the guitar "sages" that are not Self taught, are just pathetic...

[@MerelvandenHurk]

Hi! Thanks so much for your videos. I have a question though, and I hope you (or anyone else) can answer it. I've not been blessed with fingers broad enough to easily mute surrounding strings like you show in this video. If I bump up my finger to mute the next lower string, it gets really hard for me to get a good sound out of the string I'm actually playing, and proper placement gets difficult at higher speeds because it's such a narrow range in which I can place my finger in such a way that it mutes the lower string while still properly pressing down the string I'm playing. Sometimes I accidentally mute both of them because my finger lands in between. I can solve this by laying my finger down really flat, but this of course poses a problem in several situations, and I'm frequently told by all kinds of videos that you shouldn't fret with the fleshy part of your finger but with the tip. So to get to the point, I'm having a severe dilemma where I'm either not able to mute strings properly (and since my genre of choice is metal including all kinds of licks and solos this is quite a problem) or I'm playing with very flat fingers. I'm leaning towards just accepting the shape of my hand and playing with flat fingers but I'm interested to hear what others would recommend. Thanks in advance for responding!

[@yourguitarsage]

Merel, I think you're on the right track so just keep pushing through and don't forget to practice slowly!. Eventually your dexterity and hand strength will get to up to where you would like it to be

[@kenstogie]

how much speed can I expect if I am doing this on an acoustic? (usually I use 11's)

[@KevinCCucumber]

help! So when I try to pull off it keeps sounding as the open string. For example when I try to pull off on the 5th fret on the A string, it keeps going to open A. How do I fix this?

[@masteryaya6500]

Kevin C Cucumber you’ve probably already figured it out by now but for anyone that reads this.You have to hold down the fret you want to pull off to.Making it impossible to sound like the open string ,because ur basically just picking with your left hand .If you do a pull off without holding a fret before it down then yes it will be open ,because your not holding down a fret so it’s just like picking the open string accept with your left hand. Hope this makes sense.

[@michaelhaller8495]

Hi can you please teach us how to play Creep by Radiohead using barre chords cheers Mike from Australia 🇦🇺

[@RyanREAX]

How did the first guitar player learn from others if he was the first one?

[@yourguitarsage]

Exactly! If you are curious, you can figure it all out. 👍

[@c.dd1238]

Then what is self taught?

[@TonyStark-jn4eq]

Help please, my pull off barely makes noise

[@Royal_VrtxRL]

the one person i know who is self taught is the dooo

[@Rattnroll94]

Can you read sheet music?

[@yourguitarsage]

I can, but not as well as "pit" players. It's very much a case of use it or lose it.

[@Rattnroll94]

YourGuitarSage can you do a lesson on how to read sheet music?

[@ubershredder1989]

Hi. Over last months I have been working on building left hand dexterity. I noticed my dexterity begging to suffer gradually the more I practiced hammers and pulls. Now my left hand feels very stiff and I can barely play a pull-off to save my life. I am advanced-level player with 17 yrs experience in Rock and Flamenco guitar. I was mindful of not overworking my hand when doing these relatively rigorous exercises. At first my hammers and pulls seemed to be getting better, but at one point it just stopped yielding results, and lately my technique seems to have worsened. Initially i thought it is just my brain struggling to implement all the intricacies of playing a pull-off correctly, but I think its for a different reason, more to do with hand/finger wear. -It has become harder to curl the fingers into the palm, there is pain in the ring joints when I press on them, or curl my fingers in completely. -The left hand generally seems stiff and it requires more effort to use. -Sympathetic tension has got worse, despite all the efforts over last months. If I move a finger (even the index), I can feel tension in other fingers and through-out the hand. In fact the right hand seems to have better dexterity and independence , even though I never even worked on it. -The ring joint of the middle finger cracks evertime I curl it and the pinky has 'trigger finger'. My left hand is a mess, please advise what to do. I will stay away from practice for a week, hopefully it will go away.

[@boltman2u2]

Developing arthritis, natural therapies, google google don't listen to neigh sayers you need natural organic turmeric, ginger, a bit of powdered black pepper, mixed together, drink with worm milk. I use a mixture of 50/45 turmeric and ginger and 5 of black pepper. I drink it with chai a sweet tasting drink, it is a taste that requires getting used to it, from my perspective, I am happy with the combination. I am 68. cheers.

[@traditionalirishmusic9550]

You need to see a doctor, there are several things that could cause this and it’s better to get them checked out .

[@robertdesmond1255]

Anyone else trying to learn Layla

[@gibranaditama2256]

Yes

[@robmd887]

@@gibranaditama2256 this is the way

[@stickshift76]

Hahaha!!!! Great ending with the repeat riff!

[@TriggerFingerRC]

Malmsteen is fast, but i always thought he wasnt very clean.

[@yagmureceylmaz468]

He sounds like House,MD

[@realmichaeltian]

I guess im no longer self taught lmao

[@Hammeredprawn]

3:21 😂😂😂😂😂 automatically NOT self taught 😂😂😂😂😂😂 I’m a drummer. Hi 🤘🏻😅😂

[@milindsoorya5870]

Ooh yeah i am self thought..😏

[@yourguitarsage]

🤘

[@macmillanmutize1039]

hay my name is MacMillan I have been a subscriber for a month naw and I really want to learn guitar but I cannot afford on , if possible please help 😐

[@sumathiwilson9650]

Just learn

[@ernestjones8641]

I picked up my guitar everyday I still play the same thing over and over I want to know how can I get out of that playing the same thing

[@kingsera6856]

just dont play the same thing

[@AtticusLane]

Lol he's really butt hurt about people who didnt get professional lessons or go for basics and just learned head on.

[@xdgkliam1284]

who else here cuz they tryna learn seek and destroy

[@narbehsarkissian1670]

But I am self tought! Even tho I watched this video to copy u

[@elghost1463]

me realising im not sef taught if i watch the video: ight imma head out

[@leandroaguilera3598]

Como pueden hablar tanto?

[@brandonmetalspine9047]

1000th like! #1k

[@taylorborie]

You're not Eric Andre

[@yourguitarsage]

Umm, yes, you are correct.

[@Master-builderemet]

I have never been self taught

[@yourguitarsage]

🤗www.yourguitarsage.com/30

[@cathybroadus4411]

Fantastic video but too much yip yap.

[@filigarcia3800]

Wow to much bla, bla..

[@Steeler1743]

I disagree with him saying we’re not self taught. We definitely are. We decided to look up this specific video to try & find our own sound.

[@maguire2themoon]

wasn't Chuck Barry purely self-taught?

[@pjmorley5785]

You need to look up the differences between "to teach" and "to learn". You'll make less of a ass of yourself if your off-topic rant is at least linguistically correct. (Speaking as a lifelong self-learner who has also been a teacher-lead learner; as well as self-taught on many subjects and also been a teacher in an academic setting.)

[@pscance]

Less Talking More Teaching...

[@yourguitarsage]

That's how I teach!

[@daithiod]

@@yourguitarsage Keep on talking fella. You’re very good at explaining things.

[@Steeler1743]

This dude is a horrible teacher, he likes to kill your vibe

[@stickshift76]

Hahaha!!!! Great ending with the repeat riff!