Acoustic Guitar Lessons: 1 Picking, Fretting, & Chords

Course details

The bluegrass style is one of the most rewarding and technically demanding ways to play guitar. Unlike acoustic guitar, it concentrates on rhythm, groove, and playing as part of an ensemble—the skills Grammy-winning flatpicker Bryan Sutton emphasizes in his series, Bluegrass Guitar Lessons. Part 1 concentrates on the fundamentals of bluegrass guitar: picking and fretting, posture, and flatpicking flow. Bryan covers everything from holding the guitar and pick to strumming, fingering the fretboard, and using downstrokes, upstrokes, and repetition to reproduce popular picking patterns. He also helps you develop a sense of rhythm, muscle memory, and consistent sound and tone, and breaks down a selection of popular bluegrass tunes that are important for the repertoire of any bluegrass guitarist.

Learning objectives
Holding the guitar
Tuning the guitar
Picking hand and fretting hand techniques
Combining picking and fretting
Practicing picking pattern exercises
Changing chords and rhythm
Playing traditional bluegrass tunes

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - Welcome

1. Getting Started

02 - Introduction to bluegrass guitar
03 - Posture
04 - Tuning the guitar

2. Right- and Left-Hand Fundamentals

05 - Picking hand fundamentals 1 - Picking hand technique
06 - Picking hand fundamentals 2 - Picking arm technique
07 - Fretting hand fundamentals 1 - Fretting hand technique
08 - Fretting hand fundamentals 2 - Fretting arm technique
09 - Combining picking hand and fretting hand
10 - Fundamentals of practice - Part 1
11 - Fundamentals of practice - Part 2
12 - Fundamentals of practice - Part 3

3. Picking Pattern Exercises

13 - Introduction to picking pattern exercises
14 - Picking pattern - Exercise 1
15 - Picking pattern - Exercise 2
16 - Picking pattern - Exercise 3

4. Basic Rhythm and Chords

17 - Rhythm and chords overview
18 - Major chords 1 - The chords G, C, and D
19 - Major chords 2 - The chords A and E
20 - The boom chuck sound - Part 1
21 - The boom chuck sound - Part 2
22 - Changing chords in rhythm - Exercise 1

5. Basic Bluegrass Tunes 1

23 - You Are My Sunshine (basic)
24 - Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (basic)
25 - Whiskey Before Breakfast (basic) - Melody, part 1
26 - Whiskey Before Breakfast (basic) - Melody, part 2
27 - Whiskey Before Breakfast (basic) - Rhythm
28 - Whiskey Before Breakfast (basic) - Performance 70 BPM
29 - Whiskey Before Breakfast (basic) - Performance 80 BPM
30 - Turkey in the Straw (basic) - Melody, part 1
31 - Turkey in the Straw (basic) - Melody, part 2
32 - Turkey in the Straw (basic) - Rhythm
33 - My Home Across the Blue Ridge Mountains (basic)
34 - Soldiers Joy (basic) - Melody, part 1
35 - Soldiers Joy (basic) - Melody, part 2
36 - Soldiers Joy (basic) - Rhythm

Conclusion

37 - ArtistWorks and Next Steps