These exercises are essential in developing accurate left-hand finger placement. They will lead to fatigue-free playing for long durations.

• Place fingers 1 - 4 in line on the G string.

• Lift off these fingers (maintaining their arch in the process), then hammer all fingers onto the G string. You should hear the note/sound the fourth finger generates. If not, hammer again, but this time with more velocity/intensity.

• Don't just place the fingers back onto the string. If you can get a sound out of the fourth finger then the other fingers will be easy as they are naturally stronger.

Now do the same exercise on the other strings.

• Do this exercise slowly, however, make sure each hammer-on has sufficient velocity/intensity to create a strong sound.

• Do not use the right hand at all for these exercises.

• Make sure all four fingers come down onto the string, as fingers 1 - 3 support the fourth, naturally weaker finger.

• Next, lift off fingers three and four (VERY IMPORTANT: maintain their arch) and hammer down fingers one and two. The sound is now created by the second finger.

• Do this across all strings.

• Lift off fingers 2 - 4 and hammer only with the first finger.

• Do this across all strings.

• VERY IMPORTANT: maintain the arch of all fingers, keeping the fingers loose and over the strings at all times because that's where you'll need them.

Now add the right hand to the hammer-on exercises. Use the bow if you wish. If you have not already done so, listen to your intonation.

• Place the first finger on the G# of the G string. This is the first semitone above (in ascending pitch direction) i.e. to the right of the nut.

• Strike the G string with a right-hand finger (or set the bow in motion) then hammer-on the second and fourth fingers consecutively. You should hear the notes G#, A and A# in succession.

• Transfer this exercise to the other strings. This will give the notes D#, E and F on the D string; A#, B and C on the A string; F, F# and G on the E string.

• Now play this exercise consecutively across all four strings with a triplet rhythm.

Here is the notation for this video.

• Next, move up the fingerboard in semitone shifts after reaching the outside strings (E or G) and cross the strings again with hammer-on.

• Do this until the left-hand thumb is in the curve at the back of the neck. The fourth finger reaches the note E on the G string, B on the D string, F# on the A string and C# on the E string.

This video is an extract from the following notation. Hammer on 3-note groups (triplets) using left-hand fingers 1, 2 and 4 across the strings and up the fingerboard in semitone shifts.

Try your own variations of these hammer-on exercises. Experiment!

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