Guitar
Lessons
I teach bluegrass, fiddle tune lead and backup, and Western
Swing lead and rhythm guitar.
Bluegrass, fiddle tune lead and
backup: I'll cover techniques such as correct hand
and finger posture, getting good tone and proper use of the
pick. Much work is done on getting a correct bluegrass rhythm
guitar sound in the styles of pioneers like Jimmy Martin and
Tony Rice. Using my own book, Jack
Tuttle's Bluegrass Guitar Primer, we'll learn
standard fiddle tunes and how to take solos over bluegrass
singing pieces.
For more advanced students, well learn solos by some of
the great players, such as Doc Watson, Clarence White and
Tony Rice. Tablature is used, but also learning by ear is
encouraged. Developing improvising skills is also a major
focus for those who are ready and willing.
Swing and Western Swing rhythm and lead guitar:
I teach old style jazz, known commonly as Swing, in addition to the Texas flavored Western Swing guitar style. Usually I start students with Western Swing standards and and the "sock" western swing chords. You'll learn the walking bass
style of chordal backup pioneered by Bob Wills Eldon
Shamblin on songs like "Take Me Back To Tulsa" and "Miss Molly".
We'll also explore improvising using the CAGED fingerboard system to develop an understanding of soloing in Swing and Western Swing. We can also learn how to accompany Texas Style fiddle tunes,
like Grey Eagle and Sally Johnson.
Students are encouraged
to record the lesson.
Here are some helpful resources for guitar:
My list of practice suggestions
has always included playing with others. Band-in-a-Box or
a similar program to play along with can help you get there.
It can also be a good "non-complaining" accompianist
for when you want to go through your fiddle tunes for hours
on end. It can also be your metronome as you try to play slow
cleanly, or get faster. It's also great for improvising over
chord progressions. If you have the Band-in-a-Box program
but don't want to take the time to enter the chords, I have
done all the work. You can download a zip file containing
the chord progressions for 161
fiddle tunes.
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