Country Style Guitar Course: Level 2

 

Country Style Course 2 starts off with advanced acoustic country guitar techniques. But quickly moves to electric lessons including Travis Picking, pedal steel techniques, advanced country rhythms and country style soloing. Then you can apply everything you’ve learned with a few practice tunes. This is where you'll learn how to play guitar in an advanced Country style.

Chapter: 1: The Acoustic Behind it All

Let’s get started with some advanced Country strumming, melody lines, and chords. Then we'll move on to Travis Picking and capo techniques.

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style

Country music ultimately comes down to an acoustic guitar. That's where almost every song starts, and being able to play a solid acoustic rhythm guitar part for a Country song is more valuable than any other skill you can acquire in this world. In this first tutorial we'll dig into some more advanced right hand work.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we'll explore some more fills and variations you can add to your basic country strumming. Some of these have to do with bass lines walking into and out of the chord changes and some of them are fills that can be used to fill in the space between vocal phrases or to mark the end of a section. This requires quite a bit of both left and right hand precision, but you'll need to dig into that hard work sooner or later, so you may as well get started on it right now.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we'll explore some of the more advanced chords used in Country. This will include dominant 7 chords as well as what's called "slash chords" which is a chord with a different bass note than the root note. These chords can be thrown in to a regular chord progression in order to add a little extra tension and harmonic variation. The idea is not to change the harmony, but purely to use use these tools to further the movement that is already happening.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we're going to ditch our pick and explore some more advanced finger picking. This will most likely be quite challenging for you, but we will take it all one step at a time and ultimately this will lay the foundation for the incredibly valuable country rhythm tool known as "Travis Picking". There is no limit to how far you can eventually take this concept, but even in its most basic form it's an incredibly useful rhythm guitar tool that any country guitar player should be able to use.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we're going to venture further into the wonderful, but challenging world of Travis-picking on acoustic guitar. Now we're going to add 1-5 motion in the bass as well as a movement between the I and the IV-chord on the treble strings. When you put all this together, you'll hear that it almost sounds like a ragtime piano and in fact this style of guitar playing was invented by imitating the left and right hand of a piano player.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Most chords offer some possibility for tricks and variations, but it's not always the ones you want to use especially when it comes to the more unusual keys like flat keys like E-flat and B-flat for example. That's where the device called a "capo" is incredibly valuable because it enables you to use all of these tricks and tools in multiple keys.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Chapter: 2: The Electric in Front

We'll get your electric skills dialed in this chapter with a boogie shuffle riff, some pedal steel guitar techniques and more Travis-picking.

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style

Even in the early days of the genre, there was a lot of overlap between Country Music and other styles like Blues and Rock'n Roll music. This particularly comes to light in many of the classic electric guitar parts used, and in this tutorial we'll explore a prime example of just that.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Now it's time to take your country shuffle boogie riff to the next level by adding a handful of authentic sounding licks and tricks to the basic riff. The rhythm vocabulary that you'll end up with from this will get you incredibly far in almost any style of music that's based on Rock, Country and Blues. We'll look at some variations that work best for the open position version of the riff as well as some that work for any key, anywhere on the neck.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In the first level of this country course we explored some of the most basic versions of pedal steel licks on electric guitar. You can get a lot of mileage out of even the simplest pedal steel vocabulary, but there is no limit to how far you can eventually take this concept. It can be used in everything from tasteful rhythm parts to blazing solos, and in this tutorial we'll explore the next level of pedal steel vocabulary on electric guitar.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

We've already explored some basic Travis picking on acoustic guitar, but now it's time to explore this great technique on our electric. Everything we did on the acoustic can be transferred directly to the electric guitar, and you'll most likely notice that it's all a lot easier to pull off. That's because most people generally have lighter strings and lower action on electric guitars. This will also mean we can make it slightly more advanced and add a bunch of cool tricks to the basic sound.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

At this point we've built up a pretty solid foundation for Travis picking, both on acoustic and electric guitar. And as I've mentioned many times before, there is no limit to how far you can eventually take the concept of Travis Picking, so in this tutorial we'll venture even further into this exciting but ever-challenging terrain. This will mostly have to do with adding melodies on the treble strings, and although we're exploring all of this in a rhythm guitar context, you may start to notice the first glimpses of how you can ultimately use this technique to play grooves and melodies at the same time.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Although you'll occasionally have the luxury of having a fiddle player or a pedal steel player in your band, you as the electric guitar player have to be prepared to take the lead on any intros, outros and solos. We've already covered the basics of how to do this, so in this tutorial we'll take it all one step further by including all of the elements you've learned since then: your new pedal steel licks, triads, half step below approach, chicken picking and Travis Picking.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Chapter: 3: Covering Country Leads

Get your leads Country-fied in this chapter with triads, the pentatonic scale, double stops and horizontal licks.

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style

In this tutorial we're going to explore the next level of using triads in your Country soloing. Just like it's the case with many of the other topics we cover there's virtually no end to how advanced you can get with a topic like this. So this will just be another step on your long, but exciting journey towards becoming a ripping country guitar player. And to make the deal even sweeter, understanding how to use triads in your soloing will benefit you in any style of music that you want to play down the road.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

So far we've mainly used our major pentatonic scale pattern as the basis for all of our soloing, and then we've thrown in tension notes to spice it up. Now it's time to explore how you can use a full scale pattern to add tension, and instead use single key notes from the major pentatonic pattern to resolve this tension. We'll be soloing over a chord progression in a major key, and the tense scale pattern will be the minor pentatonic.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Now it's time to explore the next level of using double stops in your country soloing. It is possible to use these licks with regular flat picking, but they definitely sound more Country when you use combine your pick and your right hand fingers. This technique is called "Hybrid Picking", and it will require a great deal of focus, while you're trying to learn the new double stop licks.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we'll explore some more classic country licks. Up until now we've mostly stayed with our left hand in one position at a time and moved up and down in a vertical scale pattern to improvise. At this point we're going to start venturing more and more into licks that move horizontally on the neck rather than just going up and down between the floor and the ceiling. I call this a "horizontal approach", and although it can be a little confusing at first, you'll also realize how this can open up the whole neck for you and unlock a whole new vault of super cool country licks.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this chapter we've explored a whole bunch of new tricks and techniques, and it's always important to take a little extra time to repeat and explore all of the new vocabulary, before you move onto the next thing. So in this tutorial we'll look at some of the best combinations of the different lead tools we've explored in this chapter, and try them out over a backing track.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Chapter: 4: More Electric Rhythm Tools

Country guitar rhythm can become complicated. In this chapter you’ll learn how to handle faster tempos, Jazzy guitar chords in Country, western ambiance and hybrid picking.

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style

Up until now we've mostly played in tempos that are slow to moderate. That's always the best thing to do whenever you're learning something new, cause ironically when it comes to learning rushing ahead only tends to slow you down. That being said it is quite common in Country Music to use much faster tempos for dramatic effect. This is a very exciting and fun element, but it requires a whole new level of time keeping and technical skill. Ultimately you'll want to be able to use all your rhythm and lead tools, at any tempo, but in this lesson we'll look at how, in the meantime, you can adapt your basic rhythm parts and rhythmic feel to work at these faster tempos. This way you'll be able to obtain a relaxed sound, even as the tempos get faster and faster.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Up until now we've mostly used the basic minor and major chords, with only a few basic tension notes added like the 6 and the b7. Now it's time to explore some of the more advanced chord types and used in Country like the 9 chords, 13th chords, diminished chords and #5/augmented chords. These chords will add a jazzy vibe to your rhythm playing that can be really fun to use from time to time.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

So far we've been playing rhythm parts that are very rhythmically active and all help drive the groove in different ways. Now it's time to explore a totally different approach where we sit back and play some laid back and cool ambient guitar parts that most likely will make you think of classic Western movies and bad guys riding off into the sunset.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Apart from the Travis Picking, we've really only used our hybrid our "chicken picking" tools for lead playing. Now it's time to explore all the crazy cool sounds you can get once you start using hybrid picking in your rhythm playing. This will open up the door to a whole new world of rhythm parts and riffs that are so full of motion and rhythm that they could drive the whole groove completely on their own.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Chapter: 5: At The Gig

Put all of your skills together with these practice tunes and easy guitar songs.

Artist / Title / Progress
Difficulty / style

Now we've reached the last chapter of the 2nd level of the country course, and it's time to start zooming out a little bit and looking up from the fretboard. It's always great to acquire new skills, and we'll keep on adding tricks and tools to your arsenal, but it's also important to start using all of these skills in a context that more resembles a real-life playing situation.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we're going to break down a practice tune with a rockin' and bluesy "honky tonk" vibe. Once again we'll start out each section with an acoustic guitar part, and draw from our whole arsenal of licks, tricks and tools to come up with a fitting electric guitar part. We'll play some solid rhythm guitar through the intro, verse and chorus sections, and then we'll break loose and play a rockin' solo in the middle.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we're going to explore another regional sound and vibe that you encounter in both contemporary and classic country. This sound has a lot of influences from south of the border, and it's a ton of fun to play. For our practice tune today we'll let our acoustic guitar be both the rhythm and the lead instrument, and we'll look at some very cool compositional tools as well as some new and exciting lead approaches that work extremely well on acoustic guitar.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

In this tutorial we'll explore an example of a more recent country sound. This variation of country is very rock-oriented, and we'll get to dig into some really fun riffs and soloing tricks throughout it. As always we'll start out going through the basic harmony for each section and then we'll use all of our knowledge as well as a few new tricks here and there to come up with a cool electric rhythm part for it all.

Published: 08/27/2018
Upgrade

Frequently Asked Questions

“How Forever Feels” by Kenny Chesney is a great beginner-friendly country song. It uses simple chords like G, D and C, and has a laid-back strumming pattern.

Start with the basic open chords like G, C, D, E, and A. These are used in tons of country songs and will get you strumming along quickly.

Country guitar focuses on twangy tones, catchy licks, and techniques like hybrid picking and chicken picking. Regular guitar playing can cover a broader range of genres, but country has its own distinct flavor.

Chicken picking is a snappy picking style where you pluck the strings with both a pick and your fingers. It creates a bright, staccato sound that’s perfect for country riffs.

Absolutely! Many country classics are acoustic-based, and acoustic guitars are perfect for strumming or fingerpicking traditional country tunes.

Start with basic strumming patterns and learn a few simple songs. Then add techniques like fingerpicking or hybrid picking and experiment with country licks and riffs.

A clean amp with a bit of reverb is ideal for country tones. Fender amps like the Deluxe Reverb or Twin Reverb are popular choices for their bright and clear sound.

Not necessarily, but lighter gauge strings can make bends and twangy tones easier. Phosphor bronze strings work well for acoustic country, and nickel-wound strings are great for electrics.

Fingerpicking is a big part of the country sound, especially for acoustic guitar. It’s not essential to start, but learning it will open up more classic songs and styles.