Unlock every lesson, jam track, TAB, and tool Try One Month Free

Start Climbing the Neck in D Riffs and Scale Theory

learn country bluegrass guitar riffs in D
Lesson 13 – Rhythm Fill Riffs and Lead Guitar Course
Lesson ID: A0138

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn four country & bluegrass guitar riffs in the key of D that work up the neck a ways. These four riffs can be pieced together to create a guitar solo or you can use them as rhythm fill riffs. They’re all around great riffs that’ll give that country & bluegrass sound we’re going for. After you learn the riffs, we’ll talk about the guitar scales we’re using today to create these riffs so you can see where the notes are coming from instead of just learning licks and playing them from memory.

Lesson Overview

Guitar Riffs

Video 1 – Intermediate Breakdown

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Overview
00:17 min Riff 1 with Tablature
01:36 min Riff 2 with Tablature
03:25 min Riff 3 with Tablature
06:10 min Riff 4 with Tablature

Video 2 – Full Breakdown

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Riff 1 Breakdown
04:14 min Riff 2 Breakdown
05:18 min Syncopated Rhythm in Country & Bluegrass
06:32 min Riff 2 Breakdown Cont’d
09:17 min Riff 3 Breakdown
13:18 min Riff 4 Breakdown
18:05 min Riff Recap

Scale Theory

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Overview
00:58 min D Major Scale, 3rd Position Shape
02:10 min Major Scale Practice Tips
02:44 min D Blues Scale, 3rd Position Shape
03:52 min How to Use These Scales When You’re Improvising Solos
05:06 min Simple Country & Bluegrass Improvising Example
07:08 min Analyze Riff 1 with the Scales
09:20 min Your Homework

Member Content

Log in or register to watch this video!

Backing Track

Member Content

Log in or register to watch the jam track video!

Big Sciota

big sciota guitar lesson traditional tune origin
Lesson ID: A0137

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play “Big Sciota“, a traditional song credited to Burl Hammons. This song is named after a 231-mile stretch of river in Ohio that was very important to many Native American cultures. It is believed that Ritchie Stearns was the first to attach words to the tune, and much later, “Big Sciota” was made more popular by Old Crow Medicine Show.

Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Chord Progression

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Rhythm Overview
01:03 min “Big Sciota” Chord Progression
03:21 min Playthrough with Tablature
05:50 min Helpful Chord Transition Tips

Backing Track

Adding Fills Between Your Chords with Key of D Scales

country fill riffs in d guitar lesson bluegrass licks scales
Lesson 12 – Rhythm Fill Riffs and Lead Guitar Course
Lesson ID: A0133

In this guitar lesson, I’ll show y’all some fun ways to use key of D guitar scales to play country & bluegrass fill riffs. All of the licks we’ll cover today are great for transitioning between chords, and they’re also useful for playing country & bluegrass guitar solos. First, we’ll cover the main scale shapes that you need to memorize. After that, I’ll teach you ten of my favorite country fill riffs in the key of D. My main goal for this lesson is to show you how I visualize key of D scale shapes when I’m improvising key of D riffs. This should be a very useful lesson for the rhythm guitar folks and also for the country & bluegrass lead guitar pickers!

Overview

Guitar Scales

Country Fill Riffs

Your Homework

Member Content

Log in or register for practice tips!

Old Grimes in the Style of Chris Eldridge

old grimes bluegrass guitar lesson tablature
Lesson ID: A0130

“Old Grimes” has become popular at bluegrass jams largely due to Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage. I reached out to Chris and he said it’s a traditional tune that he learned from Jesse Cobb, his old bandmate in the Infamous Stringdusters, who may have learned it from Matt Combs in Nashville. In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you the main guitar melody for “Old Grimes”. Download the tablature below the lesson video.

Lesson Overview

Flatpicking Break

Chord Progression

Member Content

Log in or register to learn the progression!

Listen to Old Grimes

Eric Moore & Friends

This is a nice version of “Old Grimes” performed by Eric Moore and his friends Mark and Bryan. Big fan of Eric’s YouTube channel — he regularly posts traditional bluegrass tunes on guitar that y’all would enjoy. Subscribe to Eric’s YouTube channel to watch more of his videos.

 

Audio – Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage

Practice “Old Grimes” with Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage using the embedded 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.

 

Video – Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage

Practice along with Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage in this video from Fretboard Journal. You can also download some great music from Chris Eldridge and Julian Lage here and check out their 2017 Grammy award winning album Mount Royal that features “Old Grimes”.

Backing Track