Fill Riffs with the 5th Position G Major Pentatonic Scale
The 5th position of the G major pentatonic scale is the most important scale position in country and bluegrass. It’s used all the time to play open licks and open chord rhythm embellishments. In this guitar lesson…
Man of Constant Sorrow
“Man of Constant Sorrow” was first published by Dick Burnett in 1913 and later made popular by the Stanley Brothers in the 1950s. In this guitar lesson, we’ll show you how to play “Man of Constant Sorrow” in the style of The Soggy Bottom...
Shady Grove in the Style of Doc Watson
In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play the traditional Appalachian folk song “Shady Grove” in the style of Doc Watson. First we’ll go over the chord progression and a strumming pattern that you can play behind your vocals. Then I’ll teach...
Adding Fills Between Chords with the G Major Scale
In the previous lesson of this series, we learned the 5th position of the G major pentatonic scale and I showed you how to apply this scale to a basic country and bluegrass chord progression. In this lesson, we’re going to…
Foggy Mountain Rock
In the previous lessons of this course, I taught y’all one of the most important strumming patterns in country and bluegrass music and we practiced it over a really common chord progression. We also applied the strumming pattern to the chord progressions in…
Basic Bluegrass Licks and Guitar Scales
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…
The Best Country Strumming Patterns
Ever wondered what makes a strumming pattern sound country? In this lesson video I’ll show you! We’ll go over several common country strumming patterns and I’ll teach you some awesome techniques to spice up your country rhythm guitar playing…
Intro to Classic Country and Bluegrass Strumming
This is the first lesson in a series of videos where I’ll be teaching y’all a ton of my favorite classic country and bluegrass strumming patterns. In this lesson, we’re going to start with the basics and learn one of the most…
Intro to Rhythm Guitar Fill Riffs
This is the first video in a series of lessons where I’ll be teaching y’all how to play country and bluegrass rhythm guitar fill riffs, chord embellishments, and more! We’re going to start this series with the most basic beginner concepts and work our...
Tennessee Waltz in Drop D
Lesson ID: A0188 In this guitar lesson, we’ll work on a flatpicking arrangement that follows the melody of the classic song “Tennessee Waltz” written by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King. The practice arrangement in this lesson is inspired by a version performed by...
Makin’ Your Rhythm Guitar Country with Hybrid Picking
This is the first guitar lesson in a series of videos where we’ll be showing y’all how to make your rhythm guitar sound country with hybrid picking. In this lesson, I’ll teach you a really useful hybrid picking pattern that can…
Fill Riffs with the 5th Position G Minor Pentatonic Scale
Up to this point, we’ve studied how you can use the 5th position major scale notes to create country and bluegrass riffs. Next, to make your riffs sound even more country, you need to mix in the 5th position G minor pentatonic…
Honey, You Don’t Know My Mind
Last lesson, we used the hybrid country and bluegrass scale to improvise with fill riffs over the song “Cripple Creek”. We went over the chord progression, some beginner nice fill riffs, and some more advanced fill riffs for the intermediate players…
Wildwood Flower
“Wildwood Flower” was first published in 1860 and was later recorded by the Carter Family in 1928 on the Victor label. Maybelle Carter leads a rendition of the song on the 1972 album Will the Circle be Unbroken, and frequently performed the song in...
Sunny Side of the Mountain Flatpicking Guitar Solo
Lesson ID: A0177 In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a country and bluegrass flatpicking guitar solo that you can practice over a chord progression from the old classic song “Sunny Side of the Mountain” by Harry C. McAuliffe and Bobby Gregory....
I’ll Fly Away in the Style of Alan Jackson
In this lesson, I’ll teach you how play the traditional gospel song “I’ll Fly Away” in the style of Alan Jackson. First we’ll go over the chord progressions and a few strumming patterns you can play behind your vocals. Then I’ll teach you two...
Flatpicking in the Style of Molly Tuttle
Lesson ID: A0187 In this guitar lesson, we’ll work on some flatpicking in the style of Molly Tuttle using a common “I-IV-V” chord progression that we’ll borrow from the song “White Freightliner Blues” by Townes Van Zandt. Molly Tuttle adds her own twist to...
Two Mid-range Acoustics for Country & Bluegrass
In this video, I’ll show you the two mid-range acoustic guitars I use for country & bluegrass. These are the two guitars you see in most of the lesson videos. They’re not that expensive, but I think both of them have a nice…
Jerusalem Ridge
Lesson ID: A0190 In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a flatpicking guitar arrangement that goes along with the old classic bluegrass fiddle tune “Jerusalem Ridge” by Kenny Baker and Bill Monroe. This is a catchy flatpicking guitar arrangement that will help...
Home Sweet Home Crosspicking Lesson
In this country and bluegrass crosspicking guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a crosspicking version of the traditional tune “Home Sweet Home” in the key of C. This song was originally adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne’s 1823…
Chord Fills with the Hybrid Country Bluegrass Scale
Now let’s make your fills sound even more country! In the previous lessons of this series, we’ve seen how the 5th position key of G major and blues scales overlap. The next step is to combine these scales into a “hybrid”…
Intermediate Stock Bluegrass Licks
In this bluegrass guitar lesson, we’ll increase the difficulty a bit! I’ll show you four more bluegrass guitar licks that will take your picking skills to the next level. I’ll also talk more about the guitar scales that we’re using…