Chord Embellishments – Page 5 – Country Guitar Online

Jimmy Brown the Newsboy

April 13, 2025June 9, 2018 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0154

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play the traditional country & bluegrass song called “Jimmy Brown the Newsboy”. This song was originally written by William Shakespeare Hays in the late 1800s and it has been recorded by several country & bluegrass artists over the years including Flatt & Scruggs, Mac Wiseman, Roger Miller, Norman Blake, Bill Monroe, A.P. Carter, and several others.

It’s common to see this song played out of the C position with a capo on the 7th fret (Key of G), but in this guitar lesson, we’re going to play it out of the C position with a capo on the 2nd fret (Key of D). The lower pitched melody with a capo on the 2nd fret seems to be a bit easier for singing. We’ll cover two different variations of the instrumental, and then we’ll go over the rhythm guitar part for those of y’all wanting to sing and play this one. Overall, this is a great guitar lesson for all levels of pickers.

Lesson Overview

Instrumental 1

Video 1 – Playthrough with Tablature

Video 2 – Full Breakdown

Instrumental 2

Video 1 – Playthrough with Tablature

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Video 2 – Full Breakdown

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Chord Progression

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Backing Track

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Instrumental Tablature Chords & Lyrics Woodtone Strings

Home Sweet Home Crosspicking Lesson

April 13, 2025May 18, 2018 by Devin

home-sweet-home-bluegrass-crosspicking-guitar-lesson

Lesson ID: A0152

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 opera Clari. Over the years, the song’s catchy melody has made it a favorite among several artists such as Doc Watson, Merle Watson, Tony Rice, and Earl Scruggs. Today, “Home Sweet Home” is known as one of the best bluegrass songs to play in a crosspicking style.

Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Full Breakdown

Guitar Tablature Woodtone Strings

Drop D Country Guitar Riffs

April 13, 2025March 29, 2018 by Devin

Lesson 17 – Rhythm Fill Riffs and Lead Guitar Course

Course Outline Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Lesson ID: A0149

In this country guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play six intermediate country guitar riffs in drop D. We’ll also have three easier drop D riffs for the newer country pickers. I’ll play the drop D licks with tablature and give you a full breakdown along with some helpful music theory tips. After you learn the licks, practice along with our jam track and also test them out over “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” by Travis Tritt.

Lesson Overview

Six Intermediate Riffs

Intermediate Riff 1

Intermediate Riff 2

Intermediate Riff 3

Intermediate Riff 4

Intermediate Riff 5

Intermediate Riff 6

Three Easy Riffs

Easy Riff 1

Easy Riff 2

Easy Riff 3

Using the Riffs

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Jam Track

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Travis Tritt

Practice with Travis Tritt

Once you get these drop D country guitar riffs up to speed, try to play them over the song “Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde” by Travis Tritt using the embedded player from Spotify. The chord progression is similar to our jam track progression, but just a bit quicker. We’d highly recommend using Spotify for online radio. If you don’t have a Spotify account, click here to sign up free with your Facebook account or with an e-mail address. Also, check out Travis Tritt on iTunes. He’s got a ton of other great songs to choose from.

Intermediate Riffs TAB Easy Riffs TAB Woodtone Strings

12 Bar Blues with a Country Twang

April 13, 2025March 13, 2018 by Devin

Lesson 16 – Rhythm Fill Riffs and Lead Guitar Course

Course Outline Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Lesson ID: A0148

In this country guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a variation of the 12 bar blues that has a country & bluegrass twang. In both arrangements below, we’ll use triplets to spice up our country fills and we’ll also replace strumming with crosspicking in certain measures to make our rhythm sound even more country. These country 12 bar blues progressions are in the key of G and you can use the fill riffs that we’re studying in this guitar lesson with a bunch of other country & bluegrass songs. Pay close attention to how we’re structuring each country guitar lick around the rhythm chords.

Lesson Overview