Bluegrass Standards – Page 10 – Country Guitar Online

Angeline the Baker

April 13, 2025January 18, 2018 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0145

“Angeline the Baker“, also known as “Angelina Baker”, is an old traditional song that was written by Stephen Foster and published in 1850. Foster was one of the first commercial pop composers and he wrote “Angelina Baker” for a group called Christy Minstrels. Since 1850, this song has been recorded by several artists and it’s become a standard for country and bluegrass jams. In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn two flatpicking breaks for “Angeline the Baker” along with tips for playing the rhythm guitar part.

Lesson Overview

Arrangement 1

Video 1 – Playthrough with Tablature

Video 2 – Full Lesson Breakdown

Arrangement 2

Video 1 – Playthrough with Tablature

Video 2 – Full Lesson Breakdown

Chord Progression

Member Content

Backing Track

Member Content

Angeline the Baker Guitar TAB Woodtone Strings

East Tennessee Blues

April 13, 2025December 30, 2017 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0144

“East Tennessee Blues” is a traditional country rag that was first recorded in 1926 by Charlie Bowman with the Hill Billies. It was around prior to Bowman’s recording and has been also known as Hey Mr. Muskrat, Honeysuckle, Honeysuckle Rag, Huckleberry Blues, and Poca River Blues. This song’s bluesy melody has made it a favorite among several artists such as Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Jack Lawrence, Michael Daves, Sierra Hull, and more. In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play a flatpicking guitar arrangement for “East Tennessee Blues” that fits nicely over the rhythm chord progression. Practice it slowly at first and increase your speed in increments to develop the best flatpicking technique.

Lesson Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Full Breakdown

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Overview and Listen to the Arrangement
01:31 min	Measures 1 through 5
05:12 min	Measures 6 through 9
09:53 min	Measures 10 through 13
11:34 min	Measures 14 through 17
12:54 min	Measures 18 through 21
16:48 min	Measures 22 through 25
18:20 min	Measures 26 through 29
21:30 min	Measures 30 through 33

Chord Progression

Member Content

Backing Track

Member Content

East Tennessee Blues Guitar TAB Woodtone Strings

Big Sciota

April 13, 2025October 1, 2017 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0137

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play “Big Sciota“, a traditional song credited to Burl Hammons. This song is named after a 231-mile stretch of river in Ohio that was very important to many Native American cultures. It is believed that Ritchie Stearns was the first to attach words to the tune, and much later, “Big Sciota” was made more popular by Old Crow Medicine Show.

Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Chord Progression

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Rhythm Overview
01:03 min	“Big Sciota” Chord Progression
03:21 min	Playthrough with Tablature
05:50 min	Helpful Chord Transition Tips

Backing Track

Big Sciota Guitar TAB Rhythm Guitar TAB Woodtone Strings

Railroad Bill

April 13, 2025September 25, 2017 by Devin

Lesson 5 – Hybrid Picking Rhythm Course

Course Outline Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Lesson ID: A0140

“Railroad Bill” is an old traditional song based on a legend about a man in south Alabama during the post-Civil War era known as Railroad Bill. Sources suggest that Railroad Bill was a “Robin Hood” type of character that would steal from food trains and sell items to poor families at below market prices. As legend has it, Railroad Bill’s ghost is still roaming the L&N Railroad tracks to this day.

This song has a great melody that we’ll play using Chet Atkins and Merle Travis style picking. This is a challenging tune, but if you relax your right hand and take it slow, everything will fall into place with a bit of practice. We’ll focus on hybrid picking in this lesson, but feel free to play these arrangements with a thumb pick or finger plucking if you find that more comfortable. Download the tablature below the lesson video. Hope y’all enjoy learning this one!

Lesson Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Arrangement 1

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Arrangement 1 Preview
00:42 min	Line 1 Breakdown
04:10 min	Extra Hybrid Picking Detail
07:36 min	Line 2 Breakdown
13:05 min	Line 3 Breakdown
15:53 min	Practice with Me

Member Content

Arrangement 2

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Arrangement 2 Preview
00:54 min	Line 1 Breakdown
05:28 min	Line 2 Breakdown
10:21 min	Line 3 Breakdown
13:33 min	Practice with Me

Member Content

Listen

Here are some nice YouTube videos of other folks playing “Railroad Bill”…

Chords & Lyrics Arrangement 1 Tablature Arrangement 2 Tablature Woodtone Strings