Lesson 1 – Bluegrass Guitar Solo Improvising Course
Lesson ID: A0112
In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you some basic bluegrass licks in the key of G that will get you started improvising bluegrass lead guitar. We’ll also talk about the guitar scales that you need to learn for improvising bluegrass solos. After you master the guitar licks, practice the arranged solo and your bluegrass improvising skills with the jam along video!
Important Points:
⇒ All four of these licks are in the key of G.
⇒ In bluegrass, it’s common to form licks around the chord progression.
⇒ Lick 1 is a key of G lick formed around the G major chord.
⇒ Lick 2 is a key of G lick formed around the C major chord.
⇒ Lick 3 is a key of G lick formed around the D major chord.
⇒ Lick 4 is a key of G lick formed around the G major chord.
Overview
Rhythm
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Chord Progression |
| 00:39 min | How to Play the Licks over the Progression |
| 01:07 min | Bluegrass Licks Formed Around Chords |
Lick 1
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Lick 1 Breakdown with Tablature |
| 01:29 min | Guitar Scales You Need to Learn for Bluegrass Improvising |
| 03:44 min | How the Scales are Used to Create Lick 1 |
| 04:53 min | Improvising with Scales |
Lick 2
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Lick 2 Breakdown with Tablature |
| 01:16 min | How Lick 2 is Formed Around the C7 Chord |
| 02:07 min | How the Scales are Used to Create Lick 2 |
Lick 3
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Lick 3 Breakdown with Tablature |
| 01:00 min | Following the Rhythm Guitar’s Chord Progression |
| 01:37 min | How the Scales are Used to Create Lick 3 |
| 03:18 min | Scales You Should Learn First for Bluegrass Improvising |
Lick 4
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Lick 4 Breakdown with Tablature |
| 00:38 min | The Most Important Lick in Bluegrass |
| 02:24 min | How the Scales are Used to Create Lick 4 |
| 03:19 min | Using the Scales to Get that Bluegrass Sound |
Example
Jam Track Example:
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Practice Licks 1 through 4 |
| 00:34 min | Jam Track – Format |
| 00:55 min | Jam Track – Count In |
Another fantastic lesson!!
Thanks Curtis!
I can’t say thank you enough for this course. i’ve been trying to build my improvising skills so I can keep up at my monthly jam here in WV. Keep up the good work Devin
What town do you live in, I’ve been looking for people to play with
Enjoyed the lesson very much Devin. very good instructions and easy to follow.
Thanks Bill
Thanks Bill! Really appreciate it.
Nice lesson. Very helpful. Thanks!
Excellent, this is exactly what I’m wanting to learn! Keep them coming!
I’ve been pulling bits and pieces from lots of resources to try to learn bluegrass and country guitar. Your lessons tie it all together so nicely. My biggest challenge, because I’m so excited about all your lessons have to offer, will be to slow down and take the time to really digest all the great info. I’ve taken the Rhythm Lesson 1 and now this lesson. Great stuff!
-Bill P
Hey Bill,
Thanks for the message! That mandolin in your picture looks really similar to the Breedlove mandolin hanging on my wall.
Glad you found the site and you’re putting everything to good use. I’ve got new lessons coming every week, so let me know if you think of any lessons you’d like to see in the future. Hope you have a great week.
Devin
Thanks Devin. Lessons are great. Question however.
How can I smooth out my picking? I am using medium light strings acoustic guitar.
Star pick .60mm . Tried different picks but not smooth enough.
Thanks,
Craig
Hey Craig, Thanks for the comment. There’re a few things you could do… When I’m trying to smooth out my picking, I’ll relax the grip on my pick a bit more and play quieter notes. When you soften up the picking, you can hear the smooth tone you’re going for…I’ll practice like that for a while and it starts building the right muscle memory..eventually the volume gets louder when you find that sweet spot. Also, I try to practice new tunes at a really slow speed at first to build the right picking technique and the speed develops slowly on… Read more »
i realize that i’m commenting 4 years after you wrote this lol but now I’m in the same boat as the parent comment – I’ve been plateaued at about 110 bpm (on both Black Mountain Rag & Jerusalem Ridge) for 2 months or so and was wondering if I should go back and practice them more slowly to build up precision and add speed?
I’m just beginning to learn scales and I’ m hoping that they will help with my basic guitar strumming by adding riffs and licks…one question though and forgive my naivety..if we can combine the G major and blues scales Positions 1 and 5 would it not be easier to just remember the notes that are not to be played , like E on the 4th fret for example. That way we know that all other notes are fair play?
Hey Gaston, For sure, I think understanding the scales will help a ton. When it comes down to it, the scale shapes are really just patterns, so if that helps you picture the shape in your head, I’d say go for it. Everybody learns things in different ways. I usually remember the scales by the notes that you do play…easier for me to picture the shapes that way. It’s a bit tricky when you start trying to picture how those two scales overlap, but I usually think of the major scale and blues scale as two separate scales when I’m… Read more »
Devin, I just noticed that the first note of lick #2 (D string 1st fret) is not on the G major scale, or the Blues scale. I suppose that instead of the E flat to E hammer on, you could hammer onto the E from the open D… and it sounds good…. and that keeps it on the scales. I guess another point to be made is that if you stray off of the combined (or hybrid) scale here and there, its not the end of the world. Also, do you think of that first note as just a lead-in… Read more »
Hey Bill, All great points you’re making there…for me, just like you’re saying, that Eb note is kind of like a lead-in to the second as a quick 1/2 step hammer to add a bit of color to the lick. It’s one of those short accent notes that you probably would want to hang on too long because it could clash, but a quick hammer or slide can sound nice here and there even if the note’s outside the scale. Hammer from open D to E sounds great also and stays in the key of G scales. Here’s how I… Read more »
For a beginner like me, this was an excellent lesson! Thank you, Devin.
Thanxxxx….
I hear the beginner version of a Tony Rice lick! A great place to start. Thank you!
Which Tony Rice lick?
If you want to learn how to play bluegrass you can not go wrong by not joining this website. Thanks Devin these are the best lessons around with one of the best teaching methods available.
Excellent explanation thanks Devin!
This is a great site. Thank you for your effort.
In addition to the AB looper, please replace the backing track. Looks like you upgraded to site (yea)!
The backing track is still there, but just in the video under the Jam Track tab. Are you wanting the MP3 backing track? Instead of adding the MP3 tracks right below each lesson video, I think we’re planning to tracks from all lessons to one page on the site to make it easy to practice different songs all in one place. We’ll add the AB loop eventually but it may take a while for us to add it back. It was a huge project to convert all the videos over to this new player and adding an AB loop will… Read more »
a great lesson ..thanks Devin ….. finally while in lockdown I’m getting same serious practice happening.
Why do you call this fifth position? I thought fifth position began with the fifth fret.
The fifth position refers to the scale shape…and the location of each position will be different depending on the key. Since we’re in the key of G, the location of the fifth position is near the nut. When you’re playing in the key of E, the 1st position will be located near the nut. Here’s a link to the major pentatonic scale charts that might help see it https://countryguitaronline.com/major-pentatonic-scales/ …the 5th position on these charts is shown at the 12th fret, but the 12th fret is the same as the open strings..just one octave higher. You can find other scale… Read more »
Awesome building blocks. This is stuff I’ve learned before, either directly or tangentially. It’s great to slow things down and put some of this into muscle memory backed up by theory.
Devin, question around flat picking technique. The right hand, are you “anchoring” it with your pinky finger. I noticed on Wheel Hoss you seem to anchor your right hand but on the licks you don’t. Can you advise please?
I’ve actually been going back and forth between anchoring my pinky and not anchoring. Anchoring has always helped me get more stability and it’s helped me hit notes accurately, but I think I’ve decided that anchoring keeps me from playing as fast as I want to. Lately I’ve been committing to NOT anchoring (kind of like David Grier does it) and I’m getting more accurate with it and my speed is improving a lot. It seems like I can keep time better when I’m not anchoring as well. I know some people can anchor and play extremely fast… I guess… Read more »
This is excellent! So glad that I found your site.
I love this lesson. However, one thing confuses me a bit. What is referred to here as “position 5” I have always called the “first position”. What is called “position 1” I don’t know what to call. Probably not a big deal, more important to just be able to play it.
I think of positions more as the “scale shapes” instead of where you play them on the neck because each position will be played at a different location depending on the key that you’re in. Maybe the easiest way to explain it is to look at the E minor pentatonic scale charts here https://countryguitaronline.com/minor-pentatonic-scales/ and the 1st position E minor pentatonic scale shape can be played at the 12th fret (like you see on the chart) or at the nut using the open strings since the 12th fret is the same as the open strings only one octave higher. But… Read more »
I’ve been attending Tom Strahle’s 3x a week pentatonic classes (on YouTube). He calls them 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 he says he’s always done that. He also said he knows the ‘right’ way but just goes 1,2,3,4,5. I say just play and don’t split every hair lol unless I’m going into publishing I’m too old to care anymore. So I just play. Lol
Does the G major scale chart have an extra note n it? 4th fret G string doesn’t sound right at all.
Hey Doug – The 4th fret of the G string is a duplicate note — it’s the same as the open B string… if you’re practicing the scale up and down, you’ll want to choose one or the other, but I just included the 4th fret G string in the chart just to show that it’s still a part of the scale in that position. I’ll use both notes depending on the lick. Hope that helps!
It does, thank you. Very new to guitar, still learning. Past beginner level, but not by very much. Finding the lessons here very easy to understand and follow.
Thanks Devin for making it so easy yo learn
I took the scale chart and penciled in left handed scales (yes, I’m a southpaw) for the 4 scales. Then I made a scales that started on G and ended on G for all 4 scales. That means dropping a few notes from the scales. Only then did it sound like a scale to me. Hearing the scale as I played helped me memorize the notes. Why did I go to all this trouble? Cause I’m sure I’ll see these scales again and again as I learn new licks.
Hi Devin,
When I choose the TAB MP3Jam Tracks I get this screen but nothing I can play: How do I access the jam tracks?
Great lesson – thank you so much!
Absolut klasse!!! Toll!!!
That was a lot of fun! Thanks Devin
anyone else have a problem with adjusting speed of jan track ?
I really like this lesson