Song Lessons – Page 20 – Country Guitar Online

Shady Grove in the Style of Doc Watson

April 13, 2025January 10, 2017 by Devin

shady grove doc watson chords guitar lesson with tablature bluegrass flatpicking

Lesson ID: A0110

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play the traditional Appalachian folk song “Shady Grove” in the style of Doc Watson. First we’ll go over the chord progression and a strumming pattern that you can play behind your vocals. Then I’ll teach you two variations of the instrumental break — the first instrumental break will mix a nice melody line with strumming and the second instrumental break will sound more like a bluegrass flatpicking guitar solo.

Lesson Overview

Basic Rhythm

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Chord Progression
00:45 min	Strumming Pattern
01:18 min	Alternating Bass Notes
03:42 min	Progression with Vocals
05:18 min	Song Structure

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Melodic Rhythm

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Melodic Rhythm Example
00:47 min	Measures 1 through 4 – Breakdown
03:49 min	Measures 5 through 8 – Breakdown
08:00 min	Practice Along with Me
08:39 min	Instrumental Breaks and Song Structure

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Flatpicking Solo

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Flatpicking Solo Example
00:52 min	Measures 1 through 4 – Breakdown
03:24 min	Measures 5 through 8 – Breakdown
04:52 min	Practice the First Half
05:54 min	Measures 9 through 12 – Breakdown
07:10 min	Measures 13 through 16 – Breakdown
08:53 min	Practice the Second Half
09:41 min	Practice the Full Flatpicking Solo

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Backing Track

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Basic Rhythm TAB Melodic Rhythm TAB Flatpicking Solo TAB Chords & Lyrics Song Lyrics Only Woodtone Strings

Gold Rush in the Style of Tony Rice

April 13, 2025December 2, 2016 by Devin

gold rush guitar lesson with tablature bluegrass licks

Lesson ID: A0105

Capo 2nd Fret – Key of A

In this week’s guitar lesson, I’m going to teach y’all how to play the traditional bluegrass song “Gold Rush”. First, I’ll play through the entire song with tablature at three speeds. Then, I’ll break down each of the flatpicking melodies, give you some extra bluegrass flatpicking tips, and teach you all the rhythm guitar parts. After you learn the flatpicking solo break, practice it with the rhythm jam along video where I play three rhythm backing tracks at different speeds. This song will come in handy at your next bluegrass jam!

Lesson Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Playthrough with Tablature – Slow Speed
03:02 min	Playthrough with Tablature – Medium Speed
04:49 min	Playthrough with Tablature – Faster Speed

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Flatpicking Breakdown

Flatpicking Breakdown Videos

Watch the three videos below to learn the song kickoff and an entire flatpicking solo break of “Gold Rush”. In the first video, I’ll teach you the Kickoff and give you some extra tips on pick direction. Then I’ll show you how to play the A and B Parts in the following videos below.

Video 1 – Kickoff

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Song Structure
01:28 min	Kickoff
03:43 min	Flatpicking Method – Pick Direction

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Video 2 – A Part

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	A Part Structure
00:44 min	A Part – Line 1
03:01 min	Flatpicking Method – Bluegrass Style Pull-offs
05:35 min	Practice – Kickoff through A Part Line 1
06:41 min	A Part – Line 2
11:55 min	Practice – Kickoff through A Part Lines 1 & 2

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Video 3 – B Part

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	B Part – Line 1
03:52 min	Practice – B Part Line 1
04:40 min	B Part – Line 2
07:29 min	Solo Break Recap
09:07 min	Looping the Break with a Turnaround
10:46 min	Practice – B Part Lines 1 & 2

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Rhythm Lesson

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Song Structure
00:59 min	Strumming Pattern
02:07 min	A Part Chord Progression
04:11 min	B Part Chord Progression
05:49 min	Bluegrass Jams and Playing Your Solo Break

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Jam Track

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	How to Use the Jam Along Tracks
01:52 min	Rhythm Backing Track – Slow Speed
05:04 min	Rhythm Backing Track – Medium Speed
07:11 min	Rhythm Backing Track – Fast Speed

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Gold Rush Guitar Tablature Chord Progressions Woodtone Strings

Foggy Mountain Rock

April 13, 2025November 23, 2016 by Devin

Lesson 4 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course

Course Outline Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Lesson ID: A0104

In the previous lessons of this course, I taught y’all one of the most important strumming patterns in country and bluegrass music and we practiced it over a really common chord progression. We also applied the strumming pattern to the chord progressions in “Forever And Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis.

In this lesson, we’re going to expand upon the strumming pattern we’ve been studying this series and make it a bit more complex using the bluegrass song “Foggy Mountain Rock”. We’ll cover all the song’s chord progressions, extra strumming techniques, a few common bluegrass licks, and some awesome bass line walk-ups that’ll spice up your chord transitions. If you like the guitar licks and bass line walks, you might also like our Rhythm Fill Riffs and Lead Guitar Course.

Lesson Overview

Chord Progressions

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Song Structure
01:11 min	A Part Chord Progression
02:57 min	Alternating Bass Line Notes
04:26 min	B Part Chord Progression
05:40 min	Practice Along with Me

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Strumming Tips

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Adding Accent Strums
02:08 min	When to Use Accent Strums
05:51 min	Practice Over the A Part
06:50 min	Live Chat

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Bluegrass Licks

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Overview
00:18 min	Intro Lick
01:16 min	Turnaround Lick 1
04:24 min	G Licks and Bluegrass Rhythm
05:16 min	Turnaround Lick 2
06:35 min	Syncopated Rhythm
08:03 min	Ending Lick

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Walk-Ups

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Easy Walk-up to C Chord
02:40 min	Easy Walk-up to D Chord
04:22 min	Intermediate Walk-ups
05:09 min	Intermediate Walk-up to C Chord
07:18 min	Getting Your Speed Up
08:34 min	Intermediate Walk-up to D Chord
10:48 min	Intermediate Walk-up to G Chord
12:55 min	Practice Drill over A Part Progression

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Listen

Listen to “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” performed by a few different bluegrass artists below using the embedded player from Spotify. I’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 Bluegrass Guitar Licks TAB Transition Walk-Ups TAB Woodtone Strings

Country Strumming in the Style of Randy Travis

April 13, 2025November 16, 2016 by Devin

classic country bluegrass strumming series lesson 2

Lesson 2 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course

Course Outline Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Lesson ID: A0103

In the previous lesson of this course, I taught y’all one of the most important strumming patterns in country and bluegrass music. We also discussed how to use alternating bass notes with several different chords and we practiced strumming with a common country and bluegrass chord progression.

In this lesson, we’re going to practice this country strumming pattern using the song “Forever And Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis. This song is a great practice tool because it’s played at a relatively slow pace and the lyrics aren’t too difficult to learn. We’ll go over all of the song’s chord progressions and I’ll give you some important strumming tips as we work through the lesson.

Lesson Overview

Chords & Strumming

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Overview
01:38 min	Alternating Bass Line over the D Major Chord
02:48 min	Alternating Bass Line over the G Major Chord
03:31 min	Alternating Bass Line over the E Major Chord
04:34 min	Alternating Bass Line over the A Major Chord
05:10 min	Alternating Bass Line over the B Minor Chord
06:07 min	Counting the Strumming Pattern

Chord Progressions

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Intro Chord Progression
01:58 min	Verse 1 Chord Progression Without Singing
03:44 min	Verse 1 Chord Progression With Singing
05:27 min	Chorus 1 Chord Progression Without Singing
07:05 min	Chorus 1 Chord Progression With Singing
08:07 min	Instrumental Break
08:47 min	Verse 2 and Chorus 2 Recap
09:23 min	Ending Chord Progression

Intermediate Breakdown

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Intro Chord Progression
00:51 min	Verse 1 Chord Progression With Singing
02:28 min	Chorus 1 Chord Progression With Singing
03:23 min	Instrumental Break
04:04 min	Verse 2 and Chorus 2 Recap
04:41 min	Ending Chord Progression

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Listen

Listen to “Forever And Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis below using the embedded player from Spotify. I’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.