Slurs

Im not too sure if my question really applies to music theory, but i've been working on some riffs in my guitar world magazine and a lot of the riffs will have 3 numbers and then a slur over it, now how would i play that?, i guess u would consider that as a hammer on, but do u pluck the first string than hammer the next 2 or what? Also i kno 32nd notes are really fast so how would u count that, i was counting them like 16th notes only faster.

Amber

If you mean a ( but horizontally, its a hammeron or pull off, if its like ~~~~ then its vibrato. I'm not sure what you mean, but Every now and then GW puts a tab key at the end of every song section, try looking in older mags to see if they're there.

I'm not the greatest on theory but i'll try and help, i'm assuming your using tab, so if for example on the 2nd string it says 2-4-2 you would pick the 1st note (c#) hammer on the 2nd note (d#) and pull off to the 3rd note which would take you back to (c#), if the slur has a number three above it, it is played as a triplet, which is usually the same as i've just described anyway, as for 32nd notes, you just play at twice the speed as 16th notes, i think this is correct, some one will correct me if not, hope this helps :)

In music a slur is a curved line that connects two or more notes on a score, to indicate that they are performed smoothly .

Without looking at your tab I can only guess that you are talking about hammer on and/or pull off, which are part of Articulations in music.
Hammer on: Play the lower note, then hammer on to the higher note, using another finger.
So, you attack the first note only, and the other note is produced by the hammer on.

It would be great if you post the tab here, so we can take a look at it, and be able to respond in the proper way.

Hope that helps

...in addition to equator's post.

basically, because the notes are played smoothly without interruption, thats a legato.

you pick the first note and pull of/hammer on the other two. etc.

OK - everyone is pretty correct up above, I just wanted to pop it all together in one nice neat post to get all of the info in a tidy package here.

When you see three notes, four notes, whatever and they are tied together with a slur (what would look like a sideways parenthesis mark), they are played legato. In other words... smoth/none to little pick attack. Most often than not, legato means hammering on and pulling off. There can be legato picking runs, but typically it means to hammer/pull.

That being said, technique-wise...
Pick the first note
Hammer on the next note
Wash, rinse, repeat.

You will notice that the strength required to get clear legato phrasing and the accuracy required may make it seem impossible. Quite frankly, your first attempts will sound pretty trashy. Keep up with any finger exercises your instructor has given you or any of the exercises here on the site and you will build the finger strength and accuracy to pull off some nice legato runs.

32nd notes... I count them as 16ths (one - e- and -a) but I double up the pick attack or the left hand legato attack. I can never stress enough the importance of working with a metronome... :-)