David delves deeper into tablature. He also explains how performing hammer-ons and pull-offs can improve your guitar playing.
Taught by David Anthony in Basic Guitar with David Anthony seriesLength: 34:12Difficulty: 1.5 of 5

David Anthony is an acoustic guitar aficionado. In this series you will learn basic concepts that are essential to playing any style of guitar music.
About David Anthony
View Full Biography
David Anthony was born on November 9th, 1982, in the small town of Mount Hope, NY. As a child he absorbed the church flavored musical environment that his parents provided. With this influence he realized at a young age that music would not simply be a passive experience for him. It was not until the age of 15 that he decided to string up his first guitar. Relying solely on his father for his foundational chord knowledge, he quickly became enamored with the possibility of endless melodic structures, and the goal of becoming a fantastic player himself.
His early shredder influences came from Kirk Hammet of Metallica. During his first few years of guitar playing, he developed a very workable knowledge of pentatonic, major and minor scales.
Over the years his musical interests swayed from rock to standards, from jazz to classical, and a strong love of the art of flamenco guitar; Spanish finger style. It was not until the age of 18
that he decided to surround himself entirely with the music of Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. This influential exclusivity enabled him to learn more about thinking outside of the musical box. In
one year he had learned than in the prior 3 years. Picking up multiple ways to structure melodies, create chords and use different modes, his writing and improvisational abilities grew exponentially.
In his senior year of high school, he was responsible for the development of the first Musical Appreciation class in the schools history, and had aided the instructor in the teaching of those classes.
After high school, his focus started to rest mainly in writing. With this he realized that he would need additional, abstract influences to develop a unique style of writing. After a couple more
years of playing in a small band, and writing some decent material, he greeted 2004 with a move to Nashville, TN. There he found the exact influence that would change his opinion of the guitar forever.
Attempting to weed out a strong foundation in shredding and solo techniques, he began learning finger style guitar, and quickly realized the options that his door would open for him.
As he picked up more complex chord structures and jazz scales, his style became a passion for him that continues to drive him and push him to learn more. He feels strongly about the connection
between musical input and the music you write. He notes that his subconscious pool of influence, developed from the music he listens to, is almost directly responsible for the type of music that
he writes. He adamantly believes that in order to create a unique, soulful style, the pool must remain unpolluted by substandard music. What's that mean? As David puts it, "If you don't want to play
crap, don't listen to crap."
David currently teaches Jazz guitar in Fort Collins, Colorado, with plans to move back to Nashville in the spring to pursue a career in writing.
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
In this lesson Randall introduces the partial capo (using a short-cut capo by Kyser) and talks about how it can make the...
Free LessonSeries DetailsMark Nelson introduces "'Ulupalakua," a song he will be using to teach different skills and techniques. In this lesson, he...
Free LessonSeries DetailsErik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries DetailsSteve Eulberg does a quick review of this lesson series and talks about moving on.
Free LessonSeries DetailsJessica kindly introduces herself, her background, and her approach to this series.
Free LessonSeries DetailsMiche introduces several new chord concepts that add color and excitement to any progression.
Free LessonSeries DetailsHawkeye teaches several Robert Johnson licks in this lesson. These licks are played with a slide in open G tuning.
Free LessonSeries DetailsOrville Johnson introduces turnarounds and provides great ideas and techniques.
Free LessonSeries DetailsTime to unlock your creativity because in this information packed lesson. Mark dives deep into how to deconstruct the process...
Free LessonSeries DetailsOur electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Allen shows you the 24 rudiments crucial to developing finger dexterity. This is a short lesson but the exercises here can...
Free LessonSeries DetailsNick explains how to use scales and modes effectively when soloing over a chord progression.
Free LessonSeries DetailsEmil takes you through some techniques that he uses frequently in his style of playing. Topics include neck bending, percussive...
Free LessonSeries DetailsMark Brennan teaches this classic rock song by Jethro Tull. Released on the album of the same name in 1971, this song features...
Free LessonSeries DetailsAlbert Collins brought a lot of style to the blues scene. In this lesson, Kenny breaks down Albert's style for you to learn.
Free LessonSeries DetailsLearn a handful of new blues techniques while learning to play Stevie Ray Vaughn's "The House Is Rockin'".
Free LessonSeries DetailsBrendan demonstrates the tiny triad shapes derived from the form 1 barre chord.
Free LessonSeries DetailsThis is a crucial lesson that explains tablature, how to read it, and why it's important.
Free LessonSeries DetailsChris brings his ingenuity to this lesson on the American folk song called "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Also known as...
Free LessonSeries DetailsWhile we have attempted to provide you with an accurate rendition of our video lesson experience, there are some features which
require a membership with us!
At JamPlay, we give you the ability to monitor your own progress for any lesson! If you watch one of our lessons and feel as though you understand around half of it, mark your progress at 50%. This adds the lesson to your customized Progress Report, and gives you an incredible ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.
With thousands of lessons at your fingertips, JamPlay can be a touch intimidating to a first-time user. With Progressive Bookmarking, we give you the ability to systematically bookmark sections of any lessons you are working on to quickly access later. After all, what is the point of all this content if it isn't easy to use?
JamPlay also gives you the ability to leave notes for yourself on any lesson. Just like in any educational system, taking your own notes while learning gives you the ability to highlight the instruction that is important to you. Leave your notes, and we store them in our database for you to reference each and everytime you come back to the lesson.
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.David, Great lessons, that arc for both the hammer on and the pull off always confused me. I never could figure out which one was to be played. As you explained, it can only go a certain order. Thanks so much...
Enter your comment here.
When I try to do the hammer notes my note goes dead as soon as I hammer to the next fret???? Any suggestions.
When I try to do the hammer notes my note goes dead as soon as I hammer to the next fret???? Any suggestions.
Is it just me or does when David does the example on the 'hammer on, pull-off together' exercise he is playing more notes than in the tab example?
Hi David! Very nice lesson, and explained very well! I'm practicing a lot, but I have a question about pull-offs: I can't make them sound loud! With hammer-ons it's easier, I drop my finger quickly and the string will get vibration and volume from that. With pull-off, it seems like I can get a clear sound only if: a - I pluck the first note quite loud or b - I try to "pluck" the string with my left hand while pulling off the finger. Is this what I'm supposed to do? In this case, it seems I can't help bending the string a little... or should I just lift my finger without bending and let the string vibrate with only the residual vibration from the first note pluck? thank you! (now I go back to practicing my first lick... makes me feel proud!!!) Anna Chiara
I do the same as Anna. I can make a good loud hammer, but the pull off is quiet. I tried a little sideways pluck with my left finger, but sometimes I skip over the adjacent string and make it sound, too. Is this just a matter of building strength and control?
should i be getting up to 120 speed before moving on?
In your exercises in this session do you use alternate picking when you move up each string or do you do a down stroke on each string?
I keep going back to the supplemental information hoping to find the tablature used for the lessons, but only get musical notation. Really wishing it were there, for me to use/practice with later.
I'm confused, the tablature is right below the notation. Unless there is a specific exercise that is missing that doesn't have any sort of tab at all?
Hi david! great lessons bt i have one question i suffer from Clinodactyly (aka bent pinky syndrome) and i find it had to use hammer ons and pull offs when going from the 2nd finger to the 5th should i just use another finger instead of my pinky all the time...?
Thank you David. I ahve been playing for quite a long time, then stopped and now I am back ahain and enjoying your lessons. As for hammers-on, Don't the strings need to be a bit loose or soft and if so how do I get such a loose mood in my strings? Maybe by changing to a thinner gauge?
Thanks. I understood hammer-ons and pull-offs, but never knew how to read the tabs that showed them combined. I was always stumped when I saw that arc over three notes. Now I get it!
Hey awesome lesson. How much should I practice each day at the very least? Thanks
great song at the end of the lesson. i love songs with percussive slap mixed in within the song. Any chance you could teach that song in the phase three section?
David- this lesson has been great fun for me - time just slips away...I learned many chords years ago, but never tabs, and never the progressions for licks. Thanks for helping me jump forward. I'm practising with myeyes closed... cathy
Nice David, I get the hammer ons and pull offs, but when I pull off I do not get a sound like going from 2-4-2 on a string. Could this be because my acoustic is not plugged into an amp. THANKS RIGGS
When I do the hammer-ons, the note seems really muted. Any tips on how to make them louder and clearer?
It could just be the way they sound on your guitar, but more likely you just need to get your hands used to them. Hitting in the sweet spot and making sure your hands are strong enough to hammer on well will improve your sound. Keep at it!
hello, I have been playing for quiet some time, 20 yrs. to be exact. Learned all I know, when I was 18. Still Playing same ol stuff. Your hammers and pull offs, have opened my mind a bit, but it is really hard to teach an old dog new tricks. any insight to help me along would be greatly appreciated.
Hi! A really clear lesson, but is it possible to do this well with nylon strings.? Help! Thanks in advance
I found this lesson very helpful. You explained hammer ons and pulls offs very well. Thank you.
In my experience it works just letting go of the string really fast; pretty much the exact opposite of a hammer on - I actually had more problems making hammer ons sound right. Maybe there's some better advice someone can give you though.