In this guitar lesson, we’ll work on some flatpicking in the style of Molly Tuttle using a common “I-IV-V” chord progression that we’ll borrow from the song “White Freightliner Blues” by Townes Van Zandt. Molly Tuttle adds her own twist to this song and we’ll take a look at how she uses chord embellishments, crosspicking, and fill riffs to spice up her bluegrass rhythm guitar playing.
In this guitar lesson, we’ll work on some Johnny Cash style rhythm guitar. First we’ll take a look at an intro progression and learn a few bass line walks that will give your playing that Johnny Cash country sound. Then we’ll talk about a really easy way to use the chord numbering system to change keys when you’re playing country music. After we discuss some important music theory concepts, we’ll practice applying the chord numbering system to another chord progression in the style of Johnny Cash.
In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a 12 bar blues progression in the style of Merle Haggard. This is a progression that we’re borrowing from the old classic song “Blues Stay Away From Me” originally recorded by The Delmore Brothers. First, we’ll work through the main progression on guitar and then we’ll add some singing to it. After that, we’ll go over an easy country strumming pattern that you can use to play this entire song with cowboy chords. Finally, you’ll learn a bluesy guitar riff that you can play as a song ending and you’ll learn an easy riff that you can play at the beginning of the song.
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Measures 1 through 4 |
| 02:16 min | What is a triplet? |
| 04:00 min | Adding Staccato |
| 05:43 min | Measures 5 through 8 |
| 09:03 min | Measures 9 through 12 |
| 14:13 min | Practice the Progression With Me |
| 15:55 min | Let’s Add Some Vocals |
In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn some important crosspicking patterns and alternate chord voicings that will spice up your rhythm and lead guitar. First we’ll work on the crosspicking patterns and we’ll practice them using key of G open chords (G, C, and D). Then we’ll take a look at how you can play the G, C, and D chords at different locations up the guitar neck using alternate chord voicings. We’ll practice crosspicking over these new chord voicings and you’ll also learn some nice chord embellishments and licks that will make your crosspicking sound great.
In the second half of this lesson, we’ll work on some George Shuffler style crosspicking. George Shuffler was basically the pioneer of the crosspicking style in bluegrass music and he used a signature Down Down Up crosspicking pattern in most of his playing. We’ll work through an entire crosspicking progression in the style of George Shuffler to give you some different crosspicking ideas that you can use in your own country bluegrass rhythm and lead guitar. After you watch the lesson videos, practice your country bluegrass crosspicking with the two full-length backing tracks that are available with this lesson.