G Position Archives

Sunny Side of the Mountain Flatpicking Guitar Solo

April 11, 2025December 5, 2019 by Devin

sunny-side-of-the-mountain-guitar-solo-lesson

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. “Sunny Side of the Mountain” was first recorded by Hank Snow and it has been recorded by several other country and bluegrass artists over the years. “Sunny Side of the Mountain” is also a really popular song to play at bluegrass jams.

The guitar solo that we’re learning today is challenging but it is doable for newer pickers if you slow it down a bit. Overall, this solo has a really nice melody and it is loaded with some hot bluegrass licks that will help improve your flatpicking accuracy and speed.

Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Full Breakdown

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Measures 1 through 5
08:49 min	Measures 6 through 9
14:08 min	Measures 10 through 13
18:01 min	Practice the First Half of the Solo
19:22 min	Measures 14 through 17
24:44 min	Measures 18 through 21
30:20 min	Measures 22 through 25
34:38 min	Practice the Second Half of the Solo

Practice Along

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Backing Track

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Lesson Tablature Chord Progressions Woodtone Strings

Salt Creek

April 13, 2025June 13, 2019 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0171

“Salt Creek” is a popular bluegrass flatpicking tune that you’ll hear at bluegrass jams all the time. This song was originally titled “Salt River” and it was renamed by Bill Monroe in the 1960s to honor the actual Salt Creek in Indiana near the location of Monroe’s annual Bean Blossom Festival. This song has been recorded by several bluegrass artists over the years, including Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Bill Monroe, Norman Blake, Clarence White, Billy Strings, and many others.

In this bluegrass guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play two flatpicking guitar solo breaks for “Salt Creek”. Both of the guitar solo breaks have a ton of momentum and they are loaded with some really nice bluegrass guitar licks. First we’ll play through each of the flatpicking guitar solos with guitar tablature. Then Devin will teach you each solo line by line and he’ll give you some helpful flatpicking tips along the way. The “Salt Creek” guitar tablature is available for download below the lesson videos.

Overview

Flatpicking Solo 1

Video 1 – Playthrough with Tablature

Video 2 – Full Breakdown

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	Kickoff – Measures 1 through 4
03:27 min	A Part – Measures 5 through 8
08:55 min	A Part – Measures 9 through 12
14:06 min	A Part – Measures 13 through 16
15:52 min	A Part – Measures 17 through 20
18:47 min	Practice the A Part with Me
20:14 min	B Part – Measures 21 through 24
25:24 min	B Part – Measures 25 through 28
30:05 min	B Part – Measures 29 through 32
31:42 min	B Part – Measures 33 through 36
33:16 min	Practice the B Part with Me

Flatpicking Solo 2

Video 1 – Playthrough with Tablature

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Video 2 – Full Breakdown

Video Start Time	Lesson Topic
00:00 min	A Part – Measures 1 through 4
03:09 min	A Part – Measures 5 through 8
08:46 min	A Part – Measures 9 through 12
10:17 min	A Part – Measures 13 through 16
16:01 min	Practice the A Part with Me
17:30 min	B Part – Measures 17 through 20
22:39 min	B Part – Measures 21 through 24
27:50 min	B Part – Measures 25 through 28
28:57 min	B Part – Measures 29 through 32
31:37 min	Practice the B Part with Me

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Chord Progression

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Backing Track

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Flatpicking Solo 1 TAB Flatpicking Solo 2 TAB Woodtone Strings

Bill Cheatham

April 13, 2025April 18, 2018 by Devin

Lesson ID: A0150

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to play the traditional tune “Bill Cheatham” on guitar. This flatpicking arrangement has a ton of momentum and it’s a great song for all levels of guitar players. Slow it down and it’ll help you build solid pick control accuracy; speed it up and it gets technical for the more advanced pickers. “Bill Cheatham” is a must-know flatpicking standard that will get your prepared for your next bluegrass jam! Download the “Bill Cheatham” guitar tablature below this lesson video.

Overview

Playthrough with Tablature

Full Breakdown

Ending Lick

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Backing Track

Member Content

Guitar Tablature Woodtone Strings

Bluegrass Guitar Solo over Song by The Grascals

April 13, 2025May 1, 2017 by Devin

improvise bluegrass guitar solos using scales guitar lesson

Lesson 4 – Bluegrass Guitar Solo Improvising Course

Course Outline Previous Lesson Next Lesson

Lesson ID: A0124

In this guitar lesson, you’ll learn two full-length guitar solos over a common bluegrass chord progression. The first guitar solo is a basic solo with a nice melody that will push your pick control to the next level. The second guitar solo is slightly more advanced and loaded with some awesome bluegrass licks. Throughout the lesson, we’ll also talk about how guitar scales are used to create each of these solos. After you master the solos, practice them over the instrumental break in the song “Where I Come From” by the Grascals.

Lesson Overview

Bluegrass Scales

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Basic Guitar Solo

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Advanced Guitar Solo

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Practice

Practice with The Grascals

Try to play these two bluegrass solos over the song “Where I Come From” by The Grascals using the embedded player from Spotify. A nice instrumental break starts around 1:17 in this song. 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. Also, check out The Grascals on iTunes. They’ve got a ton of other great songs to choose from.

Basic Solo Tablature Advanced Solo Tablature Woodtone Strings