Lesson ID: A0116
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 over the chords and lyrics for those of y’all that want to sing along. After you watch the lesson, prepare for your next bluegrass jam with Devin’s jam track!
Instrumental Break
Video 1 – Overview
Video 2 – Learn the A Part
Video 3 – Learn the B Part
Video 4 – Practice Along
Backing Track
After you’re done here
very nice arrangement and teaching!
Nice lesson, Devin. I like this version a lot. I don’t think I can play it up to speed but I’ll have fun playing it slower. Keep up the good work!
Wow, amazing lesson! I really like the new tab thumbnails you added below the videos
Great lesson! On the way to sign up now…
Awesome, thanks for supporting my site! Working on the next lesson right now…going to pick back up with the fill riff course for a couple lessons and then probably some more songs!
That was a great lesson you do very good way of teaching love to learn many more old ones like that thanks Devin
Thanks Randy! I love these old tunes also…plenty more on the way like this one.
Thank you for the nice lesson Devin, I feel more confortable to play the D/F# with the tumb, but I’ll work on that.
Thanks for watching. Yeah, I usually play the D/F# with my thumb most times also…that’s probably from learning so many Jimi Hendrix songs early in the guitar career : )
great fun tune , i like to learn this added to favs!
wow , Devin really impressed, very nice site glad i joined! like the easy slow /beat/tempo stuff.. like the loop AB feature and just how you explain and teach ,, no need to wait, you have my annual donation! ty much!
Thanks John! I just saw your welcome e-mail come through. Appreciate the annual sign up! I hope you keep on enjoying the lessons. Plenty more like this one on the way soon! Have a great rest of your week. – Devin
I love what you did with this song and I wish you would do all your lessons this way I specially love the Jam track where you play all the way through the song and you play Rhythm and the brakes and allow me to play through the brakes while you play the rhythm
This was the song that got my wife and I interested in playing bluegrass in the first place (particularly this arrangement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtxdaAui4tw)! Thanks so much for the awesome lesson. Hopefully I can get my wife to busk with me at the farmer’s market this year 😛
My HD-35 loves this tune…….Awesome!
Awesome lesson Devin! This has got back to pickin’ !
Almost mastered Wildwood Flower. Now started this song. Fantastic stuff Devin! You’re so talented.
Thanks! Great to hear you got that one down. It’s a tough song but it’s still one of my favorites. Have a good weekend!
Amazing, amazing. Thanks a lot .
Devin, trying to print the instrumental break tab for Whiskey Before Breakfast but when I click print it comes up looking like a half of sheet and the worksheet you must have used. May be on my end, but don’t think so. Have not had trouble before. Can you take a look.
Hey Richard – Seems to be working on my end. When you click the Instrumental Break Tablature button below the lesson video, it takes you to the tablature page, then click the Print Tablature button above the tablature..that will take you to the print friendly tablature downloads. If you try to print the tablature straight from your browser, you will get a half sheet since those are protected and you need the print friendly download. Does that get you what you need?
Thanks Devin, works now. I don’t know what happened, have not had a problem before this. Appears that my brain “computer” needed to be shut down and restarted.
Thanks so much for the thorough jam track Devin! After learning so many measures it’s really gratifying to be able to try to put it all together with the backing track! Very helpful.
Like the D/F# shape, have a nice evening Devin!
What threw me with this version is that it is played out of the D position where almost all of the other versions of this song that I have seen (including Norman Blake) are played out of the C position. Why did you choose to do it out of the D position and how how will learning it in the D position help or hurt me when playing with others in a bluegrass jam?
Hi Devin,
I’m looking for a complete tablature for the whole thing so I can get it into context..Am I missing where that is?Thanks.
What’s great about this guitar solo is that you can break it up into parts and play a different part between verses and then maybe finish the piece off with playing it through from beginning to end.
Hey Devin, What’s the tempo/BPM on the 2 play along examples? Great lesson.