Composite Chordophone Hammer-on Fingering
From “Tutorial¨ by The Bass Handbook
Here, the note is played by a finger on the fretting hand hitting the string with enough force to sound a note. It tends to sound softer than if it were played by the plucking hand. The fretting hand holds down a note with one finger and ‘hammers’ down hard with another finger on a note above, making it sound. Alternatively, you can hammer on to an open string. Often the hammer-on is preceded by a pull-off or by a fretted note being played.
So, hammer-on fingering consists in (Ashton 2005, 131-132):
- The division of labor between two fingers, such that one finger holds down a note while the other ‘hammers´ down hard on a note above
- Hammering on an open string, perhaps preceded by a pull-off or a fretted note
A feature of notes produced via hammer-on fingering is that they sound softer than notes plucked by other techniques. To practice hammer-on fingering, the following exercises may be useful (Ashton 2005, 132):
Exercise 5 from “Tutorial¨ in The Bass Handbook
Exercise 6 from “Tutorial¨ in The Bass Handbook
Exercise 7 from “Tutorial¨ in The Bass Handbook
Exercise 8 from “Tutorial¨ in The Bass Handbook
hammer-on_fingering division_of_labor hammering musical_note specialization strummed_string_instrument plucked_string_instrument composite_chordophone composite_chordophone_frets plucked_string_instrument_frets strummed_string_instrument_frets open_string chordophone chordophones string_instrument music musicology fretting
bibliography
- Morrish, John, ed. “Tutorial.” In The Bass Handbook: A Complete Guide for Mastering the Bass Guitar, 1st ed., 121–238. San Francisco, CA: BackBeat, 2005.