I'll be teaching many of the concepts and techniques, both large and small, that have helped me become a better musician and guitar player. For me to actually learn something, I have to understand why I should learn it. I'll discuss these concepts and techniques in the context of a song or arrangement, so that their relevance will be more clearly understood. In the first lessons I'll be starting out with basics, because I believe that every single musician will stand to benefit from stronger fundamentals. For instance, holding the pick is still something that me and my guitar buddies still talk about. You never master those things, but you should always be working on them. Eventually we'll get into more advanced topics like chord voicings, different approaches to improvising, building up technique, musicianship, etc.
Over the course of the year we'll learn about 10 new songs, but each week I'd like to illuminate different approaches that can be applied to these songs. I'll also share what I've learned about singing and delivering a song to an audience.
Chris "Critter" Eldridge
Chris' syllabus:
The Pick
- Importance of stiff pick for bluegrass
- Different ways of making contact with the strings
- Rotation for smoother pick strokes
Right Hand Mechanics
- Tension, posture, etc.
- Pick direction
- Alternating picking
- Theory of when up and down strokes happen
- Even subdivisions vs. triplets
- Rest strokes - what they are and how and when to use them
- Groove and flow through large body movements
Left Hand Mechanics
- Left hand thumb position
- Why is that important?
- Fretting
- Finger independence
- Exercises to get out of old left hand habits
- Pinky as dominant LH finger
Developing Better Technique
- Practicing mindfulness and why it's so important
- Why sloppiness is sometimes encouraged to break through to another plateau
- Capo technique
- Tuning well by ear
- What overtones and "beats" are and how to hear them
Scale Basics
- Explain scale degrees
- Do, rae, mi, etc = 1, 2, 3, etc
- How can scales be used to help figure out melodies?
Chord Basics
- How chords are constructed
- Root, 3rd, 5th, etc
- Inversions
- Giving new colors to the same old chords
Basic Strumming
- Boom chuck
- Alternating root / 5th in bass with strum
- Importance of staying loose
- Wrist, arms, shoulder
- Only way to have good groove and groove is king
G-runs
- Core, super important part of bluegrass guitar
- Why G-runs must be played using rest strokes
- Different kinds of G runs
- Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, Tony Rice, Del McCoury ...
- Use for punctuation
Other bass runs
- Going from I to IV, I to V, IV to V, etc
- Chromatic
- Ascending and descending
Different Strumming patterns
- Review boom chuck as foundation
- Dudley Connell style chugging train
- Jimmy Martin style
- Rice-style "brushed" rhythm
Cross Picking
- Alternate picking vs. DDU
- 3 against 4
- How to use cross picking as accompaniment
- Imitating a banjo role, gives different texture
- How to use cross picking to play melodies
- A few simple examples
Rice-Style Rolling Rhythm Fills
- How they mimic alternating bass
- How using extra beats for the arpeggiation fills out the sound
- Different ways they can be used
Timing
- General concepts relating to timing
- Meditative strategies to improve timing
- Using other parts of your body to hold a groove
- The Metronome (IT IS THE GREATEST TOOL!)
- Tricks to change the metronome from dictator to coach
Improvising
- Finding a unique voice
- Your mind dictating to your hands, not vice versa
- Using the melody to keep improvisations coherent
Singing
- Improving pitch
- Delivering the intent of a song
- Accompanying yourself while singing
Examination of Flatpicking Greats
- Tony Rice
- Norman Blake
- Doc Watson
- David Grier
- etc.
Songs
- White Dove (Stanley Brothers)
- Honey You Don't Know My Mind (Jimmy Martin)
- Liberty (trad. fiddle tune)
- Nine Pound Hammer (we will explore the different approaches of Tony Rice, Norman Blake and Clarence White)
- Eighth of January (trad. fiddle tune)
- Church Street Blues (in the respective styles of Tony Rice and Norman Blake)
- Whiskey Before Breakfast (trad fiddle tune)
- Wildwood Flower (Carter Family)
- Banks of the Ohio (Trad., Doc Watson)
- Let Him Go On Mama (John Hartford)
These are all topics that I'm interested in and that I plan on teaching. I welcome suggestions for any other related topics that people want to explore as well. Let me know!
Chris "Critter" Eldridge
