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12 Bar Bluegrass in G

12-bar-bluegrass-in-g-guitar-lesson
Lesson ID: A0206

Thought I’d change it up a bit and record a quick lesson for y’all next to the creek behind my house… Here’s a 12 bar bluegrass flatpicking break in G that has a lot of guitar licks I use all the time when I’m improvising bluegrass lead in the key of G. Pay attention to the chord written above each measure in the tablature — this is the chord that rhythm guitar (and other instruments) will be playing while you play the solo. You’ll see how each lick fits nicely over the chord that’s being played. Try to commit these licks to memory and use them when you’re playing bluegrass breaks over other songs in the key of G. Let me know if you have any questions!

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Listen to the 12 bar bluegrass solo
00:23 min Line 1 of Tablature
01:30 min Line 2 of Tablature
02:40 min Line 3 of Tablature
03:47 min Practice With Me

Two Bluegrass Flatpicking Solos in C

back-porch-guitar-lesson-two-bluegrass-flatpicking-solos-in-c
Lesson ID: A0205

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn two 12-bar bluegrass flatpicking guitar solos in the key of C. These two solos are loaded with stock bluegrass licks that you can use to improvise solo breaks over the majority of bluegrass songs that are in the key of C.

As you’re learning the guitar solos, study how each lick fits over the chords of the rhythm part — the licks fit very nicely over each guitar chord. Learning how to solo with licks that follow the chord progression will really help you break out of the “pentatonic scale box” and your solos will sound much more interesting.

After you learn the guitar solos, practice them with the rhythm track at the end of each video.

Guitar Solo 2

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My New Favorite Guitar Picks

best triangle guitar picks for flatpicking bluegrass

We just wanted to post a quick video to show you the new Woodtone Picks that I helped design. Long story short, I prototyped and sampled a ton of different pick shapes, and finally settled on three triangle shapes that felt very comfortable to grip. These new Woodtone Picks are made of an upgraded celluloid plastic and we put a ton of effort into making sure the edges of the picks are super smooth for better tone and less pick scraping noise.

We’re extremely happy with how the picks turned out! I use them as my go-to guitar pick and I’d put them up against any of the other high-dollar picks on the market. I like all of the sizes, but my personal favorites are the .96mm Small Triangle and .96mm Medium Triangle picks. If y’all have any questions about them, just let me know!

Here’s a link to the new picks if you want to check them out:
https://woodtonestrings.com/shop/?_sft_product_cat=guitar-picks

“Nothing To It” In the Style of Billy Strings

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