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Fill Riffs with the 5th Position G Major Pentatonic Scale

The 5th position of the G major pentatonic scale is the most important scale position in country and bluegrass. It’s used all the time to play open licks and open chord rhythm embellishments. In this guitar lesson…

Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Man of Constant Sorrow

“Man of Constant Sorrow” was first published by Dick Burnett in 1913 and later made popular by the Stanley Brothers in the 1950s. In this guitar lesson, we’ll show you how to play “Man of Constant Sorrow” in the style of The Soggy Bottom...

Difficulty:
4.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D Position, F

Shady Grove in the Style of Doc Watson

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you how to play the traditional Appalachian folk song “Shady Grove” in the style of Doc Watson. First we’ll go over the chord progression and a strumming pattern that you can play behind your vocals. Then I’ll teach...

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D minor

Adding Fills Between Chords with the G Major Scale

In the previous lesson of this series, we learned the 5th position of the G major pentatonic scale and I showed you how to apply this scale to a basic country and bluegrass chord progression. In this lesson, we’re going to…

Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Foggy Mountain Rock

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…

Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Basic Bluegrass Licks and Guitar Scales

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you some basic bluegrass licks in the key of G that will get you started improvising bluegrass lead guitar. We’ll also talk about the guitar scales that you need to learn for improvising bluegrass…

Difficulty:
2.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Intro to Rhythm Guitar Fill Riffs

This is the first video in a series of lessons where I’ll be teaching y’all how to play country and bluegrass rhythm guitar fill riffs, chord embellishments, and more! We’re going to start this series with the most basic beginner concepts and work our...

Difficulty:
2.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D, G, G Position

Tennessee Waltz in Drop D

Lesson ID: A0188 In this guitar lesson, we’ll work on a flatpicking arrangement that follows the melody of the classic song “Tennessee Waltz” written by Redd Stewart and Pee Wee King. The practice arrangement in this lesson is inspired by a version performed by...

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D

Fill Riffs with the 5th Position G Minor Pentatonic Scale

Up to this point, we’ve studied how you can use the 5th position major scale notes to create country and bluegrass riffs. Next, to make your riffs sound even more country, you need to mix in the 5th position G minor pentatonic…

Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Honey, You Don’t Know My Mind

Last lesson, we used the hybrid country and bluegrass scale to improvise with fill riffs over the song “Cripple Creek”. We went over the chord progression, some beginner nice fill riffs, and some more advanced fill riffs for the intermediate players…

Difficulty:
4.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Wildwood Flower

“Wildwood Flower” was first published in 1860 and was later recorded by the Carter Family in 1928 on the Victor label. Maybelle Carter leads a rendition of the song on the 1972 album Will the Circle be Unbroken, and frequently performed the song in...

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
C

Sunny Side of the Mountain Flatpicking Guitar Solo

Lesson ID: A0177 In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a country and bluegrass flatpicking guitar solo that you can practice over a chord progression from the old classic song “Sunny Side of the Mountain” by Harry C. McAuliffe and Bobby Gregory....

Difficulty:
4.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G Position, B

I’ll Fly Away in the Style of Alan Jackson

In this lesson, I’ll teach you how play the traditional gospel song “I’ll Fly Away” in the style of Alan Jackson. First we’ll go over the chord progressions and a few strumming patterns you can play behind your vocals. Then I’ll teach you two...

Difficulty:
3.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

12 Bar Blues with a Country Twang

In this country guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a variation of the 12 bar blues that has a country & bluegrass twang. In both arrangements below, we’ll use triplets to spice up our country fills and we’ll also replace…

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Flatpicking in the Style of Molly Tuttle

Lesson ID: A0187 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...

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
E, C Position

Jerusalem Ridge

Lesson ID: A0190 In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a flatpicking guitar arrangement that goes along with the old classic bluegrass fiddle tune “Jerusalem Ridge” by Kenny Baker and Bill Monroe. This is a catchy flatpicking guitar arrangement that will help...

Difficulty:
4.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
A minor

Home Sweet Home Crosspicking Lesson

In this country and bluegrass crosspicking guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a crosspicking version of the traditional tune “Home Sweet Home” in the key of C. This song was originally adapted from American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne’s 1823…

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
C

Chord Fills with the Hybrid Country Bluegrass Scale

Now let’s make your fills sound even more country! In the previous lessons of this series, we’ve seen how the 5th position key of G major and blues scales overlap. The next step is to combine these scales into a “hybrid”…

Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Intermediate Stock Bluegrass Licks

In this bluegrass guitar lesson, we’ll increase the difficulty a bit! I’ll show you four more bluegrass guitar licks that will take your picking skills to the next level. I’ll also talk more about the guitar scales that we’re using…

Difficulty:
3.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Angeline the Baker

“Angeline the Baker”, also known as “Angelina Baker”, is an old traditional song written by Stephen Foster and published in 1850. Foster was one of the first commercial pop composers and he wrote “Angelina Baker” for original Christy Minstrels…

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D

Whiskey Before Breakfast

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play the standard bluegrass tune “Whiskey Before Breakfast”. Many believe this song is an old tune from the Appalachians or the British Isles. We’ll teach you a nice bluegrass flatpicking instrumental break and we’ll also go...

Difficulty:
4.0 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D

Blackberry Blossom Tony Rice Style

Blackberry Blossom is an old traditional fiddle tune that has become a popular tune for bluegrass flatpickers to play on acoustic guitar. In this lesson video, we’ll slow down this tune and play along with interactive guitar tablature note for note. Be sure to...

Difficulty:
4.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

Old Grimes in the Style of Chris Eldridge

“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…

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
D

Makin’ It Country with Blues Riffs

In the previous lesson of this series, we learned the 5th position of the G minor pentatonic scale and I showed y’all some nice country and bluegrass riffs to get you started with your improvising. Now let’s make it sound even more country by...

Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
G

“Nothing To It” In the Style of Billy Strings

Lesson ID: A0201 In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a variation of the song “Nothing To It” written by Doc Watson in the style of Billy Strings. This song is loaded with some classic Doc Watson style guitar licks that you...

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Lesson Key:
C