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Slurs are fun. They are easy to do and open up all sorts of new musical possibilities. The slur is a means of linking one note to another in a way that sounds smoother than playing each note separately. Upward slurs are known colloquially as hammer-ons, and downward slurs as pull-offs, for reasons that will become obvious.
First let’s learn the upward (hammer-on) slur. What we want to do is to link two notes together where the second is higher in pitch than the first.
For example, let’s move from the open top string to the note one fret above:
The curved line between the two notes shows how slurs are written in both tablature and standard notation. To play this example, first play the open first string, then hammer the left-hand first finger down to sound the note at the first fret. Because the first fret is played only with the left hand, it is necessary to bring the finger down smartly with enough force to sound the note. Notice that the two notes sound linked together compared with the two notes played separately by the right hand. Try doing it both ways to hear the effect.
Remember these technique points:
- The hammer must be strong enough to sound the second note clearly.
- The finger that hammers starts from a point not too far from the string, not more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch. Otherwise you could miss the string, or at least the exact point that you want to strike. You will get the best sound hammering just behind the fret.
- Hammer with the tip of the finger, not the side.
Now try from one fret to another instead of just slurring from the open string.
Put the left-hand first finger on the F at the first fret. Play the note, then hammer firmly with the third finger. Practice until you hear two distinct sounds.
Now try practicing this exercise. When you see the number 5 in the tablature simply slide the third finger up to it, and then back to the 3. We’ll be learning more about position-changing soon.
Upward Slur Exercise
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We have seen that putting a dot after a note increases its length by half, and thus that the dotted quarter note lasts for a quarter note and a half, or a quarter plus an eighth. When the eighth note was the beat, as in "The Ash Grove,” there was no problem because the dotted quarter lasted for three eighth-note beats. But what if the count is in quarter notes, as in 4/4 time? The dotted quarter will now have one and a half beats, and we have to find a way to count this.
Here is how it is done:
 The quarter note lasts into the next beat, so we count the next number while holding the note. If the dotted quarter is followed by an eighth note (as it frequently is), the eighth note would be on the second half of the second beat, so it would be counted with an “and.”
Try counting and tapping these examples.
 It is worth persisting with the above two examples until you really understand the count. The dotted quarter note is the hardest one for most beginners to count.
Now try counting and playing these examples.
“Greensleeves”
“Muss I Denn”
Irish Air: “Endearing Young Charms”
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So far, all the notes we have counted have lasted one or more beats. Often, however, more than one note occupies a beat, and we have to have a way to count this. For instance, in 4/4 time the beats are counted in quarter notes, so the eighth note will only last a half beat. Here is the way that this is usually counted:
 One Two and Three Four The pulse of the one-two-three-four remains even, but the “and” introduces another syllable between the main beats. Groups of faster notes are usually joined together with a thicker line known as a beam, which makes them easier to recognize. The number of beams corresponds to the number of flags on individual notes. Eighth notes have a single flag, so they are connected as shown below. Try counting and playing these combinations:
 Now here is a song for counting practice. Notice that it does not begin on the first note of a measure, but in fact on an unstressed “pickup” note that is the last beat of an incomplete measure. Count “Three” on this, then “One” as usual on the first beat of the following measure.
When a piece begins with an incomplete measure, the balance of the time is made up in the last measure, which here has only two counts. First and last incomplete measures always add up to one complete one.
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