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The possibilities to check the tonal characteristics of a note are unlimited. Each note in a series of notes played has its own particular attack.
It's possible to vary this situation when you want to get a different attack in the sound of a note. One of the more common systems consists of two particular techniques that allow the conjunction of one or more sounds through the ligature. These techniques are the hammer-on and the pull-off.

The rules that govern the harmony and musical theory define the concept of ligature as the possibility to prolong the value of time of one note by combining it to another note with a different time value. Combining these two notes, the first one augmented in time for a total given by the sum of the time values of both notes. In this case we are talking about ligature values between two notes of equal height but of different times. In the sidebexample, you can see how the notes are combined. In the first case, the E note of a quarter is combined to the next E of an octave, for a total of 1/4 and a half. Only the first of the two E's is played. In the second case, the ligature is present between two sixteenth: the last B of the second movement is combinied to the first B of the third movement. This last B will obviously be part of the time value of the previous note.

Examples of ligature values. The value of time of a note is combined to the value of time of another note in order to prolong its sound. The graphic symbol used to indicate the ligature is an arc that connects the two notes

This happens when two notes combined together are of the same height, having the same name. What happens when the combined notes change height? We therefore have ligatures that also change the intonation of the notes, combining in either an ascending or descending manner. This is where the hammer-on and the pull-off come into play. The hammer-on If you want to combine the sound of one note with a higher note, you have to use the ascending ligature, which combines the time value of one certain note with the time value of another more acute note. This is theory. In practice we have to transport this concept to the fretboard of the guitar.

Example 1. As you can see, the C is combined to D using the graphic symbol (the arch between the two notes). The picking is present only on the C, as the D is played with the left hand: in fact, it's actually the middle finger that creates the D note. How? By simply descending to the correct fret at the exact momment in which the time value of the same note falls. This movement is called hammer-on.

Lets look at how it's played. Play the C note with the first finger, and let the ring finger fall to the seventh fret of the same string, in order to play the D note. The ring finger must press hard against the string of the seventh fret, this is very important. The following note, E, is played normally. The sound of a note played with an ascending ligature is without a doubt different from a normal sound. In fact, the ligature note has a softer attack with respect to the typical clean and defined attack of a picked note. Many guitarists have built their own styles of picking, and it is quite appropriate to have both techniques to have good technical and expressive know-how available when playing. To be more clear before going to the ligature exercises, lets analyze example 2. The piece, to be played in the second position, requires a hammer-on between the A and B in the last movement of the first bar and a hammer-on between the D and E in the third movement of the second bar. Pay attention to the ligature present between the two C's of the last bar: obviously you will play only the first one of these. Remember that a ligature occurs between two notes of the same height, while an ascending or descending ligature occurs between two (or more) notes of different height. The pull-off As we have seen, the ascending ligature (hammer-on) uses a movement of the right finger that presses on the desired note. Therefore with a single picking combined with a descending movement of the finger, we can play two or more notes. Now lets see how to play a descending ligature, in order to connect one note to a lower one. This technique is called pull-off and is obtained by preparing two already played notes on the same string, the higher of which is picked and combined to the lower. This movement is obtained by strumming the string with the finger that presses the higher note so that that same string vibrates. It's a pretty simple system, but it requires a certain mastery and good strength in the fingers, which cannot change their position during the pull-off. Try the pull-off before moving on to the exercises. In example 3 we see how to pass from the D to the C note on the third string. Immediately after playing the upper note (the D), the ring finger strums the chord allowing the C note to be played. The others notes in the bar will follow. In the second bar we find another pull-off between the F# and the E on the second string.