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Seven Essential Country Strumming Patterns

easy beginner country strumming patterns guitar lesson tutorial bluegrass rhythm
Lesson 6 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course
Lesson ID: A0107

In the previous lessons of this course, I taught you several important strumming techniques that’ll make your rhythm guitar playing sound country and bluegrass. We covered the basics in lesson one of this series, and then we worked our way up to some fairly complex country bluegrass rhythm in later lessons.

In this guitar lesson, I’m going to show you seven different strumming patterns that will make your playing sound even more country. I’ll break down each strumming pattern in detail and then we’ll practice our country strumming over the classic country song “Write This Down” by George Strait.

Lesson Overview

Strumming Patterns

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Rhythm Guitar Course Recap
02:32 min Down Beats and Up Beats – Pick and Strum Direction
03:58 min Strumming Pattern 1
05:06 min Strumming Pattern 2
08:05 min Strumming Pattern 3
09:50 min Strumming Pattern 4
11:41 min Strumming Pattern 5
14:23 min Strumming Pattern 6
16:00 min Strumming Pattern 7
17:14 min Creating Your Own Strumming Patterns

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Chord Progressions

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min How to Practice
01:16 min Intro Chord Progression
02:22 min Verse Chord Progression Breakdown
04:27 min Verse Chord Progression Playthrough
05:06 min Chorus Chord Progression
06:35 min Instrumental Break
06:48 min Helpful Tips, Bridge, and Ending

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Listen

Practice playing the seven strumming patterns we learned in this guitar lesson over the song “Write This Down” by George Strait. This song is great for practicing country rhythm technique because it’s played at a relatively slow pace and it has that classic country sound we’re focusing on in this lesson series.

The embedded player below is brought to you by Spotify — I’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 e-mail.

Short Bluegrass Licks and Practice with Backing Track

how to improvise easy bluegrass flatpicking guitar licks solo breaks lesson pentatonic scales
Lesson ID: A0108

In this guitar lesson, I’ll teach you some short bluegrass licks that will get you started improvising your own bluegrass guitar solos. We’ll break down the licks with tablature and then I’ll show you how to use these licks to play a basic guitar solo over a common bluegrass chord progression. After you master the licks, practice the arranged solo and your improvising skills with the jam along video! If you like this lesson, check out our Bluegrass Lick Library.

Improvising in the Key of G

Learn the Licks

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Overview
01:56 min Lick 1 – Breakdown with Tablature
02:30 min Proper Left Hand Fingering
04:36 min Lick 2 – Breakdown with Tablature
05:19 min Lick 3 – Breakdown with Tablature
05:51 min Lick 4 – Breakdown with Tablature

Basic Guitar Solo

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Rhythm Progression
01:27 min Playing Bluegrass Licks over Rhythm
02:37 min Basic Bluegrass Solo – Measures 1 through 8
04:07 min Basic Bluegrass Solo – Measures 9 through 16
05:32 min Practice the Solo Arrangement with Me
06:19 min Wrap Up

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Jam Track

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Jam Track – Format
00:43 min Jam Track – Count In

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Scale Charts

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Accent Picks and Strums in Country Bluegrass Rhythm

country strumming patterns
Lesson 5 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course
Lesson ID: A0106

In the previous lessons of this course, I showed you several techniques that will make your rhythm guitar sound more country and bluegrass. You learned how to play the most important strumming pattern in country and bluegrass music, and we practiced our strumming over some nice country bluegrass chord progressions and songs.

In this lesson, we’re going to make our strumming a bit more complex by adding country sounding accent picks and strums. I’ll break down the entire strumming pattern and show you how to play it over a few common open chords. Then we’ll apply the strumming pattern to a country bluegrass chord progression and practice strumming with a modern bluegrass song.

Lesson Overview

Strumming

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Strumming Overview
01:01 min Strumming Pattern with Accent Picks and Strums
02:35 min Down Beats and Up Beats – Pick and Strum Direction
03:34 min G Chord – Bass Line Picks
05:26 min The Best Way to Play an F Chord
07:24 min F Chord – Bass Line Picks
09:46 min C Chord – Bass Line Picks

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Progression

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Progression Overview
00:56 min Strumming Dynamics
01:41 min Strumming over a Two Measure Chord Group
03:29 min Bass Line Picks over a Two Measure Chord Group
05:02 min Listen to the Entire Progression
05:40 min G Chord Bass Line Hammer-on

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Chord Embellishment

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Listen to the Chord Embellishment
00:52 min Chord Embellishment Breakdown with Tablature
03:02 min Pick Direction
04:44 min Play the Chord Embellishment with the Progression
05:46 min Practice Tips

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Song Practice

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min A Good Song to Use for Practice
02:00 min Lesson Recap

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Listen

Practice playing the strumming pattern and chord progression we learned in this guitar lesson over the song “Thorn Tree Shade” by Volume Five. Although the strumming pattern we learned in this guitar lesson isn’t the same exact strumming pattern you hear in “Thorn Tree Shade”, it blends very nicely with this song and I think it will be a fun way to practice this style of strumming over an actual piece of music.

The embedded player below is brought to you by Spotify — I’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.

Foggy Mountain Rock

foggy mountain rock chord progression guitar lesson bluegrass licks
Lesson 4 – Country & Bluegrass Rhythm Course
Lesson ID: A0104

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 “Forever And Ever, Amen” by Randy Travis.

In this lesson, we’re going to expand upon the strumming pattern we’ve been studying this series and make it a bit more complex using the bluegrass song “Foggy Mountain Rock”. We’ll cover all the song’s chord progressions, extra strumming techniques, a few common bluegrass licks, and some awesome bass line walk-ups that’ll spice up your chord transitions. If you like the guitar licks and bass line walks, you might also like our Rhythm Fill Riffs and Lead Guitar Course.

Lesson Overview

Chord Progressions

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Song Structure
01:11 min A Part Chord Progression
02:57 min Alternating Bass Line Notes
04:26 min B Part Chord Progression
05:40 min Practice Along with Me

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Strumming Tips

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Adding Accent Strums
02:08 min When to Use Accent Strums
05:51 min Practice Over the A Part
06:50 min Live Chat

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Bluegrass Licks

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Overview
00:18 min Intro Lick
01:16 min Turnaround Lick 1
04:24 min G Licks and Bluegrass Rhythm
05:16 min Turnaround Lick 2
06:35 min Syncopated Rhythm
08:03 min Ending Lick

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Walk-Ups

Video Start Time Lesson Topic
00:00 min Easy Walk-up to C Chord
02:40 min Easy Walk-up to D Chord
04:22 min Intermediate Walk-ups
05:09 min Intermediate Walk-up to C Chord
07:18 min Getting Your Speed Up
08:34 min Intermediate Walk-up to D Chord
10:48 min Intermediate Walk-up to G Chord
12:55 min Practice Drill over A Part Progression

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Listen

Listen to “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” performed by a few different bluegrass artists below using the embedded player from Spotify. I’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.