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Hammer-ons and pull-offs are also known as slurs. They help to
create a smoother sound between notes. It is the equivalent to
a saxophone player playing a group of notes with one breath, and
not tonguing each note. Or a violin player playing some notes
with one bow stroke. That is the way that those instruments slur
and get a smoother sound. Below you will learn how to apply slurs
to the bass.
Hammer-ons
A hammer-on will involve 2 different notes. A note is plucked,
then a second note is sounded by slamming or "hammering"
another finger onto the same string at a higher fret.
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Notation
used for hammer-ons
Internet
tablature
In Internet tablature
hammer-ons are represented by an "h" placed between
the 2 different notes. Another way that you may see a hammer-on
represented in Internet tablature, is this symbol between 2 different
notes ^. This is similar to the graphic arc used in published
tablature (see below). If the second of the 2 notes is higher,
the ^ represents a hammer-on. Sometimes the addition of an h above
the ^ symbol helps clarify things.
G:-----------or-------or----------
D:--------------------------h-----
A:-----5h7-------5^7-------5^7----
E:--------------------------------
Published
tablature
 |
In published tablature that you will find in
books and magazines, you will see a curved line or arc over
the 2 or more notes involved. |
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Sometimes there is the addition of an "H"
above the arc. |
Standard
notation
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Standard notation uses the arc, but usually
not the addition of the "H"
above. |
Page 2, Pull-offs 
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