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George Jones Rhythm with Country Fills

george jones style country rhythm guitar lesson fill riffs choices chords tablature
Lesson 9 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course
Lesson ID: A0134

Let’s spice up our country rhythm guitar even more! In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you a classic country rhythm guitar pattern and we’ll practice using a progression in the style of “Choices” by George Jones. I’ll also show you some old school melodic country fills in the Key of D. We’ll break down the entire practice progression with tablature and I’ll give you some helpful country rhythm tips throughout the guitar lesson. After you master the progression, practice along with George Jones! Download tablature below the video.

Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Full Breakdown

Practice

Practice picking your country rhythm over the song “Choices” by George Jones. Play “Choices” below 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.

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

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Red River Valley

red river valley chords lyrics guitar lesson
Lesson ID: A0135

Red River Valley” is a traditional folk song and cowboy music standard that was written sometime during the 1800s. The exact song origins are unknown, but many believe it was composed at the time of the 1870 Wolseley Expedition to Manitoba’s northern Red River Valley. This song has been recorded by several artists over the years, including Woody Guthrie, Gene Autry, Roy Acuff, Jimmie Rodgers, and many others.

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn two instrumentals for “Red River Valley”. We’ll play the first with “Carter Style” boom chick country strumming. The second break will be loaded with bluegrass crosspicking riffs. For the fast learners, I’ll play through the each instrumental at a slow pace along with the tablature. Then I’ll break down each measure in detail and give you some pointers for working on your country rhythm and crosspicking technique. Download the tablature below the video!

Carter Style Arrangement

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Lesson Overview
01:02 min Playthrough with Tablature
01:40 min Full Breakdown with Tablature

Crosspicking Arrangement

Chords & Lyrics

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Wabash Cannonball

wabash cannonball guitar lesson chords lyrics
Lesson ID: A0125

“Wabash Cannonball” is a traditional American folk song that was originally published to sheet music in 1882 under the title “The Great Rock Island Route” written by J. A. Roff. The song was later rewritten under the title “Wabash Cannonball” in 1904 by William Kindt. In this guitar lesson, we’ll show you the chords and lyrics to “Wabash Cannonball” along with two full-length guitar solos. The first guitar solo incorporates a lot of the song’s melody line notes and the second solo is loaded with bluegrass flatpicking licks.

Lesson Overview

Melodic Solo

Bluegrass Flatpicking Solo

Rhythm Breakdown

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