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Gold Rush in the Style of Tony Rice

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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Foggy Mountain Rock

foggy mountain rock chord progression guitar lesson bluegrass licks
Lesson 4 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course
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.

Hot Bluegrass Flatpicking Licks That Travel the Neck

hot bluegrass flatpicking licks that travel the neck guitar lesson
Lesson ID: A0100

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you four of my favorite bluegrass flatpicking licks that travel the guitar neck. I use these licks all the time in my bluegrass guitar solo breaks and also as rhythm guitar fill riffs. All four licks are in the key of G and they’re built with a combination of the blues scales and the major pentatonic scales. Our tablature download includes comments that’ll tell you the scale positions each lick travels through up and down the neck. As you’re learning these licks, try to visualize the scales in each position. If you like this lesson, you might also like our Bluegrass Lick Library.

Lick 1

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Lesson Overview
01:34 min Important Guitar Scale Positions
04:16 min Lick 1 Breakdown – Measures 1 & 2
06:58 min Lick 1 Breakdown – Measures 3 & 4
10:30 min Practice Along with Me

How to Practice

Flatpicking Method

Lick 2

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Lick 3

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Lick 4

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Bluegrass Guitar Lick for a Song Intro or Solo Break

bluegrass intro guitar lick
Lesson ID: A0099

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach y’all a nice bluegrass guitar lick you can use during the intro of a bluegrass song or a solo break. Check out this YouTube video (guitar lick starts at 15 seconds) to watch Rhonda Vincent’s guitar player play a bluegrass intro lick similar to the one we’re covering in this lesson. Also watch this YouTube video on the “Lick Sample” tab of this lesson post below.

This lick sounds fast and tricky, but I’d encourage all levels to learn this one because it’s not too bad if you slow it down to a reasonable pace. Relax your right hand grip and focus on gettin’ those clean pick strokes.

Guitar Lesson

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Lesson Overview
01:20 min Measures 1 & 2
04:12 min Measures 3 & 4
07:43 min Measures 5 & 6
10:29 min Measures 7 & 8
12:51 min Measure 9
14:07 min Practice Along with Me

Lick Sample

See how this style of lick can be used in a bluegrass song (lick starts around 15 seconds).