Country

[seanlowe]

I've always thought that country music (inc. bluegrass, cajun etc) has a lot to show guitarists in terms of harmony and fingerstyle, as well as phrasing and melodies. I'm a pretty poor country player, however, so would love for anyone who knew more could show me any resources, ideas, or plain information about this pretty lovely music. Cheers!

[aPAULo]

I really dont like country music myself. Heres a few links though that might be able to help your country guitar. WholeNote: Country Guitar Lessons
Country Guitar Lessons

[Gabriel]

Ah, country. I can't say I'm knee deep in it, but I do play a fair amount of it. Country music has been for a very long time, pretty simple music, more about the stories they tell than about the way its played. Personally, from a player's perspective, its more fun to listen to and play bluegrass as opposed to the slower stuff, but whatever:

Fingerstyle: Try honing your skills by learning some basic fingerstyle pop/rock tunes, such as Blackbird and Dust in the wind, before taking on the fun stuff, like Eric Johnson's "Song For George", or some chet atkins stuff.

The sound comes from the chords on top with the alternating bassline on the bottom.

Simple example:


|------0------0-||-----0----0----||-----2------2--||-----0-------0-|
|------2------2-||-----2----2----||-----1------1--||-----2-------2-|
|------2------2-||-----2----2----||-----2------2--||-----2-------2-|
|------2------2-||-----2----2----||--0------------||-----2-------2-|
|---0-----------||--0------------||--------0------||----------0----|
|----------0----||--------0------||---------------||--0------------|


Harder example:


|---------------||---------------||--2------2-----||--0-------------|
|--2-------2----||--2------2-----||-----1-------1-||---2-------2---|
|-------2------2||------2------2-||----2------2---||-----2--------2|
|-----2------2--||----2------2---||--0------------||-------2----2--|
|--0------------||--0------------||--------0------||----------0----|
|---------0-----||--------0------||---------------||--0------------|


Also try coming up wit a "picking pattern" and playing that over a pregression you already know.

[Butch]

I grew up hearing country being played in my house, relatives house and just about everywhere I went as a kid. I was very young, but my parents were listenning to Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, Chet Atkins et. al.

I don't like a lot of the newer country stuff as it just sounds like 70's pop music to me. I like the real "cry in your beer" stuff. There is some great song craft with a lot of country writers. I have had to play country music and I completely respect those musicians. I even tried to play pedal steel guitar at one time...it's like trying to play a calculator! Fiddles, acoustic guitars and oh man...the mighty telecaster players!! Danny Gatton, Ricky Skaggs to name a few. Some of those boys can play.

Furthermore, country music has always been about people getting together (fairs, picnics, camping and other places) where people go to have a good time. I will easily forgo some jazz gigs to take my wife out two-steppin' with friends at some funky bar with a great band and have a great time. Where else can "adults" do that kind of thing nowadays? I don't care for where rock and pop have gone in the mainstream as it all sounds very weak to me, but there are some great country acts still out there. Also, like jazz, country entertainers don't out grow their audience. They are still viable as they grow older (of particular importance to me ). I don't like about 90% of the country I hear on the radio, but there is a country underground that is just fantastic. Like jazz though, you won't hear most of it on the radio.

[Djinn1973]

One of the things that struck me was the link between country (particularly western swing) and jazz.

[fingerpicker]

Ahh, Haaaaa! This is jazz in cowboy boots!

[kaige]

Cowboy Jazz...
Check out Bob Wills, Vassar Clements for starters.
Would have loved to have heard the Texas Playboys cutting loose
during the last set on a hot southern night.
Bill Frisell's 'Nashville' is quite eclectic.

[John Curran]

Western swing actually comes pretty close to jazz, and I like some of the stuff I've heard from the band 'Asleep at the Wheel'. (What a great name for a road band)

Also Roy Clark has always gotten recognition from jazz players.

john

[derek]

Chet Atkins, Danny Gatton, and even Lenny Breau (started out as part of a family country act in Canada, dad's name was Lonesome Pine) cross the line between jazz and country pretty seamlessly.

A current guy who does both very well is Clint Strong. Clint used to be the guitarist for Merle Haggard, lives in Dallas and fronts his own jazz trio when he is not doing a country tour.

[swingbilly]

if you guys like Western Swing , you should check out Tom Morrel & "the Time Warp Tophands" I'm sorry to say Tom passed away earlier this year,but his recordings were a real benchmark in Western Swing...Clint Strong & other great Texas players are featured also...I played with & knew Tom personally & we have lost a real force in Swing music with his passing. RIP Tom [the wolf] Morrel

[whippersnapper]

Bob Wills band was basically the Tommy Dorsey band with fiddles, mandolins, and electric guitars. It's all essentially swing music. Anyone hear dig Jimmie Rivers or Jimmy Bryant?

[Earl]

Bob Wills band was basically the Tommy Dorsey band with fiddles, mandolins, and electric guitars. It's all essentially swing music. Anyone hear dig Jimmie Rivers or Jimmy Bryant?

I used to dig Jimmy Bryant big time..back in the 1950's. He was on Cliffie
Stone's Hometown Jamboree which aired on TV KTLA channel 5 in L,A.
Calif. He was paired with Speedy West on steel guitarand they both had
worked out some interesting harmony riffs (country music, but technical
nonetheless). He played a Fender Telecaster guitar (which was my favorite guitar at that time.

[Earl]

I used to dig Jimmy Bryant big time..back in the 1950's. He was on Cliffie
Stone's Hometown Jamboree which aired on TV KTLA channel 5 in L,A.
Calif. He was paired with Speedy West on steel guitarand they both had
worked out some interesting harmony riffs (country music, but technical
nonetheless). He played a Fender Telecaster guitar (which was my favorite guitar at that time.

Does anyone remember Buddy Merrill and Neil Levang. Both worked for
years on the Lawrence Welk show?

[DMatthewsBand07]

Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau have already been mentioned. Jerry Reed is also another country guitarist that could be grouped in with those two. He's a phenomenal fingerstyle guitarist and (like the other two) the harmonic structure of his songs takes a lot from Dixie-land and other early jazz. A lot of backcycling dominants and chromatic motion.

[Earl]

Chet Atkins and Lenny Breau have already been mentioned. Jerry Reed is also another country guitarist that could be grouped in with those two. He's a phenomenal fingerstyle guitarist and (like the other two) the harmonic structure of his songs takes a lot from Dixie-land and other early jazz. A lot of backcycling dominants and chromatic motion.

How about Hank Garland? He was equally adept at country or jazz!!!

[MissMisstreater]

Brent MOTHER FUCKIN' Mason!

[Earl]

Brent MOTHER FUCKIN' Mason!

I checked him out on you tube and he's a fine country player,,,but I think
you could show a little more class in your description of him. Most of the
country players I was talking about have been around since the early 50's.

[DMatthewsBand07]

Yeah as far as country/ jazz guys, it doesn't get much better than Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, and Lenny Breau. Except we haven't mentioned one other. He's not exactly country but he plays with Chet Atkins quite a lot. Good ole Les Paul. Great guitarist. Very unique and influential. Again not exactly country, but does a lot of that old school jazz that these country guys drew from.

[Earl]

Yeah as far as country/ jazz guys, it doesn't get much better than Jerry Reed, Chet Atkins, and Lenny Breau. Except we haven't mentioned one other. He's not exactly country but he plays with Chet Atkins quite a lot. Good ole Les Paul. Great guitarist. Very unique and influential. Again not exactly country, but does a lot of that old school jazz that these country guys drew from.

I totally agree. In his heyday, I was buying all his 45rpm records...did a
fantastic job of multi-recording with his wife Mary Ford. Last time I
checked..he was playing at Fat Tuesday's in New York.

[Bluesdude2]

Chet Atkins, Danny Gatton, and even Lenny Breau (started out as part of a family country act in Canada, dad's name was Lonesome Pine) cross the line between jazz and country pretty seamlessly.

I grew up listening to Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, and don't sell Roy Clark short. That man could play any type of music on almost any instument. Because he was on Hee Haw, a lot of people dismissed his skills.

And Danny Gatton. Six months ago Danny Gatton was just a name I heard people speak of on guitar websites. I recently bought a copy of 88 Elmira Street and it has quickly become one of my favorites. To quote Mark Knopfler, 'Oh Yeah, The Boy Can Play.'

[DMatthewsBand07]

I grew up listening to Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, and don't sell Roy Clark short. That man could play any type of music on almost any instument. Because he was on Hee Haw, a lot of people dismissed his skills.

And Danny Gatton. Six months ago Danny Gatton was just a name I heard people speak of on guitar websites. I recently bought a copy of 88 Elmira Street and it has quickly become one of my favorites. To quote Mark Knopfler, 'Oh Yeah, The Boy Can Play.'

The two guys from Hee Haw (I don't remember the second guy's name) are nasty. There's nothing wrong with what be able to make fun of yourself and not taking yourself to seriously, but I think it's just unfortunate that it ended up hurting their rep in the long run. Great musicians though.

[Bluesdude2]

The other guy was Buck Owens. He was very big in the 60's with songs like Sam's Place, and Tiger By The Tail. Through the 6o's and 70's, He and Merle Haggard were the vangaurd of the Bakersfield sound, a mantle now carried by Dwight Yoakam. Speaking of, Pete Anderson (Dwights guitarist)can play a lick or two himself.

[abdke99]

man,love country.just recently i have been bustin my a.. trying to learn jerrys breakdown,really dificult stuff.Not used to thumb pick so i use ordinary pick and other two fingers.Total respect to country boys

[Herby]

I was watching Eric Clapton's "Crossroads" video the other night at a friend's house. It was an all star lineup of many different players in many different styles. IMHO Vince Gill and Albert Lee stole the show, improvising as freely as any jazzer in country style. Here's a short clip of Albert Lee at Crossroads:

Check'em out.

Herby

[Herby]

Here's another longer song with Albert Lee, Vince Gill and Danny Gatton: