Song Lessons – Page 15 – Country Guitar Online

Country Strumming & Fills in the Style of Willie Nelson

April 13, 2025April 1, 2018 by Devin

willie nelson style rhythm guitar technique fill riffs bass walks

Lesson 3 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course

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Lesson ID: A0143

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you a classic country strumming pattern in the style of “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by Willie Nelson. First I’ll break down the strumming pattern and give you some strumming tips that will help you get those clean alternating bass line picks. Then I’ll show you a couple of Willie Nelson style chord progressions to use for practice. After that, we’ll start working in some classic country bass line walks and I’ll teach you a couple of Willie Nelson riffs that’ll spice up your country rhythm guitar.

Overview

Playthrough

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Strumming

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Strumming Pattern Breakdown
01:09 min	Right Hand Pick Technique
02:46 min	Willie Nelson Hammer-On
04:11 min	Alternating Bass Line over B7 and A Chords

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Progressions

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Progression 1
00:54 min	A Major Accent Chord
02:37 min	Progression 2
03:24 min	How to Practice with “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”

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Bass Walks

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Bass Line Walk 1
01:17 min	Bass Line Walk 2
03:42 min	Bass Line Walk 3
04:50 min	Bass Line Walk 4

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Fill Riffs

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Willie Nelson Style Fill Riff 1
04:14 min	Willie Fill Riff 2 for a Song Ending

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Practice

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Practice with Willie Nelson

Practice your classic country strumming and fills over the song “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by Willie Nelson using the player from Spotify. 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.

Chord Progressions Lesson Tablature Woodtone Strings

Beaumont Rag

April 13, 2025March 14, 2018 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0147

“Beaumont Rag” is a swingy flatpicking guitar standard that originated as a fiddle tune near Beaumont, Texas. The exact origins are unknown, but many believe it was composed by a fiddler in Smith’s Garage Fiddle Band named Samuel Peacock. It was first recorded by Smith’s Garage Fiddle Band in 1928, and since then, it has become one of the most recorded ragtime tunes by country fiddlers across the world. Today, “Beaumont Rag” is a popular bluegrass standard for flatpicking guitarists.

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a traditional flatpicking break for “Beaumont Rag”. This arrangement will really help you work on your crosspicking and right hand pick control. When you play it at a slow speed, it’s a great song for beginner guitarists to learn, and when you speed it up, it’ll get pretty technical for the more advanced pickers. Download “Beaumont Rag” guitar tablature below the video.

Lesson Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Full Breakdown

Video 1 – Learn the A Part

Video 2 – Learn the B Part

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Optional Ending

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Backing Track

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Beaumont Rag Guitar TAB Optional Ending TAB Woodtone Strings

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

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Backing Track

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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

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Backing Track

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East Tennessee Blues Guitar TAB Woodtone Strings