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Guitar Solos

How to End a Bluegrass Song with Style

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Lesson ID: A0211

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn a fun bluegrass guitar lick in G that you can use at the end of a guitar solo or at the end of an entire song. I use this guitar lick all the time when I’m jamming with friends. It’s a pretty simple lick, and it sounds best over a key of G chord progression that ends with: D – – – D – – – G – – – G – – – (there are a ton of bluegrass songs that end with two bars of D followed by two bars of G).

First we’ll learn the lick with tablature, and then I’ll show you two examples of how you can use this lick. Don’t forget to download the tablature below this lesson video, and check out the Guitar Lick Library for more licks like this one.

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Lesson Overview
00:25 min Playthrough with Tablature
01:39 min Full Breakdown
05:08 min Example of a Guitar Solo Using This Lick
06:26 min Example of Using This Lick to End a Song
Guitar Lick TABWoodtone Strings

12 Bar Bluegrass in G

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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 TimeLesson Topic
00:00 minListen to the 12 bar bluegrass solo
00:23 minLine 1 of Tablature
01:30 minLine 2 of Tablature
02:40 minLine 3 of Tablature
03:47 minPractice With Me
Guitar Lesson TABWoodtone Strings

Two Bluegrass Flatpicking Solos in C

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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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Guitar Solo 1 TABGuitar Solo 2 TABWoodtone Strings

“Nothing To It” In the Style of Billy Strings

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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

Gear Used in This Lesson

Bluegrass Series Mid Tension / Acoustic Guitar Strings
https://woodtonestrings.com/product/classic-triangle-pick-1-0mm-3-pack

Main Progression TABEnding Lick TABWoodtone Strings