“Brown’s Ferry Blues” was originally written in the early 1900s by The Delmore Brothers. Over the course of their careers, the Delmores wrote more than one thousand songs, including “Brown’s Ferry Blues”, “Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar”, and “Fifteen Miles from Birmingham”. The Delmore Brothers grew up in a musical home as their mother, Mollie Delmore, wrote and sang gospel songs for their church. The Brothers blended gospel-style harmonies with the faster paced guitar parts of traditional folk music and blues to help create the still-emerging country genre.
In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn a guitar arrangement in the style of “Brown’s Ferry Blues” by The Delmore Brothers. This particular arrangement is also inspired by Doc Watson and Billy Strings. We’ll cover an intermediate guitar break, an easier guitar break for the beginner country & bluegrass pickers, and the rhythm guitar progression. After you master the guitar arrangements, practice your picking over the backing track in the key of G.
Video 1 – Intermediate Break Playthrough with Tablature
Video 2 – Intermediate Break Full Breakdown
Video 1 – Easy Break Playthrough with Tablature
Video 2 – Easy Break Full Breakdown
| Video Start Time | Lesson Topic |
|---|---|
| 00:00 min | Chord Progression Overview |
| 00:56 min | Instrumental Break Chord Progression |
| 02:27 min | Chord Progression to Backup Vocals |
| 05:09 min | Chords and Lyrics Example |
| 12:23 min | Strumming Pattern 1 |
| 14:57 min | Strumming Pattern 2 |
| 17:44 min | Chord Transition Bass Line Walk 1 |
| 21:09 min | Chord Transition Bass Line Walk 2 |
| 23:36 min | Chord Transition Bass Line Walk 3 |
| 26:23 min | “Brown’s Ferry Blues” Song Structure |
After you’re done here