Bluegrass Licks Vol. 1: Guitar Lesson 

You're absolutely correct...I was the same to a degree, after years of rock playing, bluegrass flatpicking certainly does require a different approach and a solid knowledge in the open position...Good luck!!

Stop doing drugs with your son Harold.

Its bluegrass, its always fast. No need to Gen Z rename everything that already has a name.

How cool to have seen Clarence! Sounds like the bluegrass bug has bit!

@@pickinlessons I am finishing up a recording of a Chicago Style blues tune and the third example, to my surprise, worked just as well for a blues rift in the key of E. Click my avatar for some originals if interested.

Cheers, Dave.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed 🙏

Excellent!

Billy Strings is influencing me to pick up bluegrass! And also to never attempt it lmao xD I used to play guitar but gave up due to 'not getting it' but now that I know how to actually learn I feel much more confident about it

You’re welcome, and thank you for your feedback 😊

Thanks Jaysah 😊

You’re very welcome ☺️. Good luck with your picking 👍

John, where in Florida? There's lots of places to jam around the state.

Me too!

Thanks, Greg! Cheers, Heath 😊

Exactly the same here! I want bluegrass adventure, to rest from pentatonic 👍

Australian I think

Spot on 😊

Same here 😂

Actually I believe his accent is Austrailian

Thank you 😊

My pleasure!

Good luck and enjoy!!

Learning by ear beats tabs by a mile or 10👍

Glad you liked it!

You’re welcome ☺️

You’re very welcome ☺️

😎👍

Don’t wait to long for that Martin guitar. Life is short man. . A sweet sounding Martin D28 is expeNsive but being the richest man in the cemetery does you no good. Buy that guitar !

@@JohnnyRebKy I’ll second that! After 24 years of playing guitar, I finally went and bought myself a D28 last month. Almost brought me to tears… absolutely amazing guitar. I’ve had a lot of guitars over the years, and I wish I would have made the jump earlier. Still, many, many years left to enjoy this Martin’s sound!

This one is a Santa Cruz....

@@JustinBeyerlin1HD-28 owner here. Waited too long to pull the trigger. I’ve had it for 3 years and bought it 21 years after starting. This thing is unreal.

Yeah, for sure. The open position can be surprisingly challenging at first. Enjoy!

Feint greet playing

You’re welcome ☺️

You’re very welcome ☺️

Thanks, Gregory 😊

Nice 👍

😌

Thanks man! It’s very sweet to play

I use Elixir medium lights...although the guitar in this video is a Santa Cruz D-PW. The Martin's been in getting a neck reset and some other maintenance for the last several months, should be back any day now!

Yes! Thank you!

Thanks :) Resolving licks = played and ends over the one chord - feels complete. Doesn't need to be a whole measure. Passing licks = not resolving. eg. lick plays over the D, but then resolves as you enter the G. You could string together many passing licks, not resolving the phrase for many chord changes down the road. No rules.

My pleasure!

😊

Thank you 😊. This guitar is a Santa Cruz D/PW.

Fingering is all about context. Where you come from, but more importantly, what you need to play next. As long as it's efficient, and not clunky. Can be a personal choice, but IMO there are always 'better' options. BUT...Django did only use 2 fingers, so work with what you can!!

You’re welcome 😌 stick at it!!

Nice work! Gypsy Jazz is awesome, you'll love bluegrass! You could look at the 'popular' session fiddle tunes first. Tunes like: Salt Creek, Red Haired Boy, Soldier's Joy, Arkansas Traveler, Black Mountain Rag, Big Sciota, Billy In The Low Ground, Cherokee Shuffle, Goldrush, John Hardy, Whiskey Before Breakfast...That'll get you started and pretty much every bluegrass picker you meet will know these standards.

@@pickinlessons Hey thanks for the list of standards. I really think I can do it. I have one video of me on RU-vid but you can’t put links in comments. I will literally use this list. Thanks.

@@pickinlessons ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QgtEqkRQInQ.htmlsi=ijbShpQj1mBVkian This was 12 years ago and was the first tune ever learned.

Love it!!

Learn to read tab for a start. Don’t need notation, but understanding rhythm would certainly help. Although, nothing wrong with learning by ear either - depends on you really. Using both strategies would be beneficial. To start off, learn some tunes, that appeal to you and practice a few scales to help develop technique. Keep it interesting so you stop that guitar from collecting dust!!

Nope, the G is played on the first beat of the 2nd measure. The lick resolves on beat 1 - not on the 4+.

@@pickinlessons Got it. Thank you.

You’re welcome ☺️

I just figured it out; it's the first note in the next passage.

Each of the first 4 licks resolve/conclude on beat 1 of the following measure 👍

To achieve the speed, clarity and tone - unlikely. You could certainly use the ideas differently and approach it with you fingers :)

It would be very difficult, but not impossible.

G'day Doug, Great question! Fingering can often be a personal choice and there is usually more than one way of going about. Here is my approach & logic - we're playing in position 2, finger 2 starts out on string 1-fret 3 (G). We need to make use of finger 1 on string 3-fret 3 (Bb) to smoothly transition. This gives you 2 options for the hammer-on which comes next on to fret 4-string 3 (B) - your suggestion is fine with finger 2, my personal choice is finger 3, as this maintains the 2nd position fingering, and because we've just made use of the 2nd finger (on the first string) I personally feel it is easier to hammer on to the 3rd finger. Fingering choice is usually dictated by where you come from and what you are playing next. If the hammer-on was on it's own, your suggestion would be spot on. But we're in the middle of a series of notes, so not so straight forward. IMO :) Hope that helps shine some light on the subject. Cheers, Heath. Oh, and if you did alter the lick using a slide instead of a hammer-on, of course you would use the 1st finger :) But, considering we're about to move to the 2nd fret-4th string (E) and playing a fast tempo, a slide would only make it harder to play.

@@pickinlessons I think I don't know the fret assignments for position 2. By your explanation I am guessing 1 2 3 4 fingers are should line up with 2 3 4 5 frets on the high E? If that's the case then I can see where finger 3 works on the 4th fret. Possibly you can direct me to a discussion of positions? Thanks

You are correct. 1st finger begins at the position you're in, and each finger takes a fret from there. Everything is open to variation, but that should be your guide.

No triplets in the rhythm, but lots of syncopation. Picking direction is always following the down/up beat pattern. For example, in the 4th preparation lick, the 3 up pick strokes all fall on the off beat.

It’s a good plan!!

Nope 🤠

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Exactly 👍

I have a feeling that when you say "country" you're probably thinking of bad rock with an accent.

😂😎