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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.

Return to the Lessons Page

Here are some helpful resources for guitar:

I have two bluegrass guitar books with some mp3s at my Books page.

Here is my Recommended Guitar Albums and Recommended Bluegrass Albums page.

Go to the Transcription Page for a few tunes to work on.

Go to the Critical Listening to Bluegrass Page for tips on fitting into a bluegrass band.

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.