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Country Rhythm Practice Drills

Lesson ID: A0069

We’ve got a couple drills here in this lesson video that’ll help you build right hand pick accuracy for playing country and bluegrass rhythm guitar. These country rhythm patterns will make your rhythm guitar sound more melodic and complex. We’ll show you exactly how to incorporate these techniques into chord progressions so your guitar will sound fuller when you’re singing and strumming country songs.

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Lesson Overview
01:02 min Drill 1
02:15 min Alternate Picking
03:06 min Let the Notes Ring
04:48 min How to Practice Drill 1
07:47 min Apply Drill 1 to Country Rhythm
14:30 min Drill 2
17:06 min How to Practice Drill 2
19:19 min More Rhythm Practice Tips

The Best Country Strumming Patterns

classic country bluegrass strumming patterns guitar lesson course
Lesson ID: A0060

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. These techniques will work with just about every country song you hear on the radio! If you like this lesson, you might also like our Classic Country Strumming Course.

Video Start TimeLesson Topic
00:00 minLesson Overview
00:24 minYour Choice of Guitar Pick
01:27 minBest Way to Grip Your Pick
02:39 minModern Country Strumming Pattern
03:31 minSmooth Out Your Strumming
04:10 minTraditional Strumming Pattern
04:55 minWhat Makes It Sound Country?
06:01 minPick D Pick D U
06:41 minPick D Pick U D U
07:57 minCountry Rhythm Hammer-On
08:46 minAlternating Bass Notes
10:40 minPick D Pick Pick D U

Your Very First Guitar Chords

your very first guitar chords
Lesson ID: A0059

Brand new to guitar and wanting to learn how to play country music? You’re in the right place! In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn the four most common guitar chords used in country music. If you know these four chords, you’ll be able to play a ton of the songs you hear on the radio. We’ll also go over some good chord progressions that you can use to practice your left hand chord changes.

Chord Charts
x = Mute String
o = Let Ring Open
   

Em_Guitar_Chord
G_Guitar_Chord
C_Guitar_Chord
D_Guitar_Chord

Chord Progressions

Red = Two Down Strokes
Green = Four Down Strokes
Blue = Eight Down Strokes

   
Chord Progression 1
GCDG

Chord Progression 2
GCEmC

Chord Progression 3
EmGCGEmGD

Chord Progression 4
GDCGEmDC

Chord Progression 5
GCGEmGD

Chord Progression 6
GCGCGD

Lynyrd Skynyrd Style Blues Progression

lynyrd skynyrd style blues progression
Lesson ID: A0024

In this lesson we’re going to go over an awesome Lynyrd Skynyrd style blues progression that involves hybrid picking. If you’re new to hybrid picking, you might also want to check out my hybrid picking lesson series. In this particular lesson, we’ll focus on using the pick, middle finger, and ring finger.

Once you master this style, it’s really fun to use at a jam sessions. For example, when you’re playing the twelve bar blues at a jam, trading lead back and forth, you can use this hybrid picking style when it’s your turn to play the rhythm part. It always sounds great when you can start out strumming during one section of a song, then switch to a hybrid picking style during another section. This adds some variation that makes your music sound much more interesting to your listeners.