The Hammer-On
The Hammer-on is a popular technique that can be incorporated into the bass note style. The hammer-on produces a note artificially by hammering a finger of the left hand onto a string. The impact of the string against the fretboard will cause the string to sound the note of the hammered fret. This technique is demonstrated next.
In order to play the following example, first play the open third string. As the note is sounding, hammer the second finger of the left hand onto the second fret of the same string. If played correctly the note of the second fret will be produced. The hammer-on is indicated by a curved line with the symbol "H".
Begin by playing the open third string.
Hammer second finger onto the second fret of the 3rd string.
Using the hammer-on adds an interesting effect to a bass note style. This is shown in the following examples. Examples 118 and 119 are the same lick except a hammer-on is used in example 119.
The following 16 bar Country progression makes use of the hammer-on and bass note runs.
The next example is in ^ time and uses the hammer-on, bass note runs and up-strums.
There are many variations on bass note runs between different chords. As you become more comfortable with the instrument you will discover several bass runs that sound good to use from one chord to another. Experiment with different notes and rhythms until you build a repertoire of bass note runs that can be combined with the bass note style.
