Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 1: Melody and Articulation

from: Advanced Flatpicking Guitar with Scott Nygaard

This lesson is part of the course Advanced Flatpicking Guitar with Scott Nygaard.

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Learn the essential techniques of bluegrass flatpicking guitar through classic and lesser-known songs and tunes, from bluegrass blues to old-time fiddle tunes to country swing sounds.

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Home Sweet Home

In Part 2 of the lesson on crosspicking, you'll learn the first part of Scott's arrangement of "Home Sweet Home," which mostly uses the traditional 3-3-2 roll. Since crosspicking is usually used to play song melodies, it's a good idea to learn the melody of a song before tackling a crosspicking arrangement, so Scott starts by making sure you know the melody to "Home Sweet Home" and then takes the arrangement apart phrase by phrase (or roll by roll).

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Worried Man Blues

Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 1: Melody and Articulation

Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 2: Adding Lead-In Runs

Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 3: Crosspicking, Strums, and Place-Holder Licks

“Worried Man Blues” Play-Along Track

Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 1: Melody and Articulation

Scott has a three-step method for creating bluegrass solos to songs, which you’ll learn in this lesson, using Ralph Stanley’s version of the folk classic “Worried Man Blues.” Step One is to learn the melody, and Scott walks you through the basic melody before showing you some easy ways to embellish and articulate the melody on the guitar.

"Worried Man Blues" (Available to subscribers)

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← Bluegrass Licksapalooza in G, Part 2

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Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 2: Adding Lead-In Runs →

Previous Lesson

← Bluegrass Licksapalooza in G, Part 2

Next Lesson

Creating Bluegrass Solos: “Worried Man Blues,” Part 2: Adding Lead-In Runs →

Previous Lesson

← Bluegrass Licksapalooza in G, Part 2

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