Six Strings
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Course

Beginner · step 6 · Not started

Your first solo: hammer-on, pull-off, slide

Until now, you picked every note. With three fretting-hand techniques, your notes connect and your scale turns into a solo. Goal: play a short first solo that sings.

Time
15 minutes
Before you start
The A minor pentatonic, position 1
You’ll be able to
Connect the notes of a solo

Three ways to connect two notes

All three techniques have one thing in common: one pick attack, two notes. That’s what gives a solo its smooth, flowing feel.

  • Hammer-on (h): your fretting hand hammers onto the string to sound a higher note. See the Hammer-on page.
  • Pull-off (p): your finger comes off by plucking the string, and the lower note rings. See the Pull-off page.
  • Slide (/ or \): your finger slides from one fret to another without leaving the string. See the Slide page.

Each technique in position 1

First the hammer-on, on each high string of position 1:

45678EADGBe13ab

The hammer-on

  1. Your index plays the first note and stays put.
  2. Your ring finger hits the string sharply, right behind the fret: that’s what makes the note sound.

Drawn like tab: high E at the top, low E at the bottom.

e|---------5h8-|
B|-----5h8-----|
G|-5h7---------|
D|-------------|
A|-------------|
E|-------------|

Then the pull-off, coming back down:

456789EADGBe14ab

The pull-off

  1. Your index is already in place on the target note and keeps pressing.
  2. Your pinky comes off by pulling the string toward the floor, like a little flick.

Drawn like tab: high E at the top, low E at the bottom.

e|-8p5---------|
B|-----8p5-----|
G|---------7p5-|
D|-------------|
A|-------------|
E|-------------|

And the slide, which takes you from position 1 to position 2:

345678EADGBe33ab

The slide

  1. Your ring finger plays the starting note.
  2. It slides without letting up the pressure and stops right on the target fret.

Drawn like tab: high E at the top, low E at the bottom.

e|---------------|
B|---------------|
G|-5/7-7/9-9\7-5-|
D|---------------|
A|---------------|
E|---------------|

Your first solo phrase

All three techniques together: a hammer-on on the G string, a pull-off on the B string, a slide up to the 9th fret, and you finish on an A, 7th fret of the D string.

e|-------------------|
B|-----5-8p5---------|
G|-5h7-------7/9-7---|
D|-----------------7-|
A|-------------------|
E|-------------------|

Learn it in small chunks of two moves, then put them together. Don’t chase speed: a slow, clean solo sounds better than a fast, sloppy one.

Play it over a loop

Start the loop, play the phrase, let a bar go by, play it again. Then make up variations: change the order, add a hammer-on, end on a different A.

The pop strumAm · G · Dm · Am

Learn the pop strum step by step →

You’ve got it when…