In this guitar lesson, we’ll practice some classic country strumming patterns over a country & bluegrass version of “You Are My Sunshine”. This arrangement incorporates a simple melody line with your standard Carter style “boom chick” country strumming. We’ll also work on a few country guitar fill riffs in the style of Gene Autry. Overall this is a great guitar lesson for developing accurate picking and strumming.
Devin
Bill Cheatham
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play the traditional tune “Bill Cheatham” on guitar. This flatpicking arrangement has a ton of momentum and it’s a great song for all levels of guitar players. Slow it down and it’ll help you build solid pick control accuracy; speed it up and it gets technical for the more advanced pickers. “Bill Cheatham” is a must-know flatpicking standard that will get your prepared for your next bluegrass jam! Download the “Bill Cheatham” guitar tablature below this lesson video.
Country Strumming & Fills in the Style of Willie Nelson
In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you a classic country strumming pattern in the style of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by Willie Nelson. First I’ll break down the strumming pattern and give you some strumming tips that will help you get those clean alternating bass line picks. Then I’ll show you a couple of Willie Nelson style chord progressions to use for practice. After that, we’ll start working in some classic country bass line walks and I’ll teach you a couple of Willie Nelson riffs that’ll spice up your country rhythm guitar.
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Strumming Pattern Breakdown |
| 01:09 min | Right Hand Pick Technique |
| 02:46 min | Willie Nelson Hammer-On |
| 04:11 min | Alternating Bass Line over B7 and A Chords |
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Progression 1 |
| 00:54 min | A Major Accent Chord |
| 02:37 min | Progression 2 |
| 03:24 min | How to Practice with “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” |
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Bass Line Walk 1 |
| 01:17 min | Bass Line Walk 2 |
| 03:42 min | Bass Line Walk 3 |
| 04:50 min | Bass Line Walk 4 |
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Willie Nelson Style Fill Riff 1 |
| 04:14 min | Willie Fill Riff 2 for a Song Ending |
Practice with Willie Nelson
Practice your classic country strumming and fills over the song “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by Willie Nelson using the player from Spotify. We’d highly recommend using Spotify for online radio. If you don’t have a Spotify account, click here to sign up free with your Facebook account or with an e-mail address.
Drop D Country Guitar Riffs
In this country guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play six intermediate country guitar riffs in drop D. We’ll also have three easier drop D riffs for the newer country pickers. I’ll play the drop D licks with tablature and give you a full breakdown along with some helpful music theory tips. After you learn the licks, practice along with our jam track and also test them out over “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” by Travis Tritt.
Intermediate Riff 1
Intermediate Riff 2
Intermediate Riff 3
Intermediate Riff 4
Intermediate Riff 5
Intermediate Riff 6
Easy Riff 1
Easy Riff 2
Easy Riff 3
Practice with Travis Tritt
Once you get these drop D country guitar riffs up to speed, try to play them over the song “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” by Travis Tritt using the embedded player from Spotify. The chord progression is similar to our jam track progression, but just a bit quicker. We’d highly recommend using Spotify for online radio. If you don’t have a Spotify account, click here to sign up free with your Facebook account or with an e-mail address. Also, check out Travis Tritt on iTunes. He’s got a ton of other great songs to choose from.