Bluegrass Standards Archives

Red Haired Boy

May 25, 2026July 17, 2023 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0220

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a nice bluegrass flatpicking arrangement for “Red Haired Boy”. This song is one of the most common fiddle tunes played at bluegrass jams. NOTE: We’re going to play “Red Haired Boy” using key of G chords and scales, but we’ll capo the 2nd fret so technically this is in the key of A.

After you learn the flatpicking break, practice along with the “Red Haired Boy” backing track that comes with this guitar lesson. “Red Haired Boy” guitar tablature is available for download below the lesson video.

Lesson Overview

Playthrough with TAB

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Full Breakdown

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Backing Track

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Original Lesson from YouTube

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Red Haired Boy Tablature YouTube Version TAB Woodtone Strings

Arkansas Traveler

April 11, 2025March 18, 2023 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0219

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play one of the most common bluegrass standards called “Arkansas Traveler” in the key of D. We’d highly recommend learning this song if you ever go to bluegrass jams, and even if you’re not into playing fiddle tunes on guitar, it’s a really good song to use for working on your pick control and accuracy.

After you learn the flatpicking arrangement, practice along with the “Arkansas Traveler” backing track that comes with this guitar lesson. The lesson tablature is available for download below the lesson video.

Lesson Overview

Playthrough with TAB

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Full Breakdown

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Backing Track

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Arkansas Traveler Tablature Woodtone Strings

Dust in a Baggie by Billy Strings

April 11, 2025February 13, 2023 by Devin

dust-in-a-baggie-guitar-lesson-intro-break-1

Lesson ID: A0209

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play the guitar solos from “Dust in a Baggie” by Billy Strings. We’re going to cover the popular version on YouTube where Billy is playing this song on a couch. We’ll cover all the guitar breaks that Billy plays in this version. The tablature files are available for download below the lesson videos.

Intro (Guitar Break 1)

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Intro (Guitar Break 1) Example
00:27 min	Line 1 – Measures 1 through 5
01:52 min	Line 2 – Measures 6 through 9
03:12 min	Line 3 – Measures 10 through 13
04:42 min	Line 4 – Measures 14 through 17
06:17 min	Line 5 – Measures 18 through 19
07:11 min	Practice Along with Me

Guitar Break 2

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Guitar Break 3

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Guitar Break 4

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Backing Track

This backing track loops the Guitar Break Chord Progression over and over. Enjoy!

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Guitar Break 1 TAB Guitar Break 2 TAB Guitar Break 3 TAB Guitar Break 4 TAB Woodtone Strings

“Nothing To It” In the Style of Billy Strings

April 11, 2025November 1, 2021 by Devin

nothing-to-it-billy-strings-doc-watson-guitar-lesson

Lesson ID: A0201

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a variation of the song “Nothing To It” written by Doc Watson in the style of Billy Strings. This song is loaded with some classic Doc Watson style guitar licks that you can use when you’re improvising guitar solos in the key of C. The guitar riffs and melody line walks in this song use some unusual note combinations which will really help push your flatpicking to the next level.

If this song is a bit out of your comfort zone, we recommend trying to learn it at a very slow pace. Focus on getting clean pick strokes, relax the grip on your guitar pick, and pick each note softly. This practice method will help you build the right technique and muscle memory — your picking speed and volume will develop over time. Overall, this is a great song for working on flatpicking technique!

Overview

Playthrough with TAB

Full Breakdown

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	A Part – Measures 1 through 5
04:28 min	A Part – Measures 6 through 9
08:16 min	A Part – Measures 10 through 13
12:14 min	A Part – Measures 14 through 17
15:18 min	Practice the A Part with Me
16:53 min	B Part – Measures 18 through 21

Gear Used in This Lesson

Bluegrass Series Mid Tension / Acoustic Guitar Strings

https://woodtonestrings.com/product/classic-triangle-pick-1-0mm-3-pack

Main Progression TAB Ending Lick TAB Woodtone Strings