Hey man, thanks for the comment and nice words - out of what I can hear, I think Russell plays it in the original take, but since the slowed down explanations fit the bars and the note is not being played, I think it is down to you, if you want to play it there or not. Try both approaches and see what you like best - I for one, feel like it's a bit extra to have it there, so I would go without it Cheers!! Cosmin
Hi Russell, thanks for this lesson. I started today with guitarmasterclass.net because I didn't have enough inputs lately.
I just got one question though. I'm currently exercising step 3 and to me it seems that you play it slightly different than in the original track. It also looks a bit different on the tabs. In the 3rd bar (A major) you don't play the last 8th note which is a "b". Is that correct? But you do play it in the original take, right?
Thanks again for you lesson!
Cheers, Bjoern
what an amazing feel he's got going!
He certainly the right last name. haha (Johnny Cash) This is really cool!
amazing lesson, i like this style a lot i´m working in it, but in a heavier way haha hailz up for this lesson man!!!
Well done Russell, Tele for the win!
Made me say Yee Haw!!! Awesome man! Love this lesson
Wow Rusty - you can really play, man! Awesome!
Amazin Russell!!! Awesome first lesson!! We needed something like this on Gmc!
Awesome first lesson, man
This is just the type of country chops lesson i have been waiting for awesome first lesson
Awesome lesson Russell & welcome to GMC!
Such great feedback for my first lesson. Thanks
Very nice first lesson!
Man you rock!!! I love Albert Lee and similar players. This is just awesome. Thanks for the great lesson.
Great style & first lesson man !
WOW! jaw on the floor niceness
Wow wow! This is so great! Very cool style and awesome playing!
Russell thats some great playing man! Ye ha!
This is the coolest country-style lesson yet! The whole thing just put a big smile on my lips that will last for weeks! Thank you so much for bringing this to my life. You're awesome!
WOW
awesome!
Amazing stuff man!
Amazing stuff Rusell!
Really countryish lesson Russell..
Spimds awesome!! Some beginner country would rock!
will start practicing this NOW!
Welcome again, Russell! Love the style. You have really tasty phrasing
Amazing lesson Russell! I love these country style lessons!
Sounds awesome, gotta love the chicken pickin sound!
cool lesson, welcome again!
Great first lesson Russell!!!
That is awesome, thanks
Wow, that's amazing!
Fantastic Russell - I am especially blown away by those pedal steel bends!
Russell's intro thread can be found here!
Inro - Hello everyone. Welcome to the lesson titled Country Chops. In this lesson we take a medium tempo country jam and play a lot of double stops and triplets to create the chicken picking sound. Most of these types of double stops and phrasings are similar to a country style like that of Brent Mason. Remember most of the tone come from the right hand. I am hybrid picking using my pick and my middle and ring ginger throughout. Pay close attention to the slower videos if you need help with this.
Chords & Scales - The lesson example is in the key of A. The chord progression is below.
| A | A | A | D - G |
| A | A | A | A | x2
| A | A | A | D |
| D | A | B | E |
| A | A | A | D |
| D | A | E | A | x2
| A | A | A | A |
Where it applies, most of the licks could come from the A mixolydian mode. We would also be using notes from the A maj and A min blues. It's more common in country to see licks using a combination of notes from all three scales. We'll save that for another lesson though.
Hints & Help - Country players tend to think more in terms of chord positions and triads rather than scales and modes. One of the reasons is most of the difficult solos incorporate many chromatic notes and passing tones. So there really isn't one particular scale to emphasize this unless you want to practice a chromatic scale. Because many of the rhythms include double stops (two notes) triads, or chords in various positions up and down the neck, most players become familiar with where the outside tones (b3, b5, b7 etc) lie with respect to a particular chord position. It's concept that was probably carried over from Jazz. If you think in this manner over examples that use double stops such as our lesson you may find it easier to grasp rather than depending strictly on the tab. Most of these licks using double stops will pick out notes with respect to A7, D7, B7 and E7. Try and visualize this because after you learn it once you can use some of these licks over and over in other keys.
Tone - I'm playing my G&L ASAT Classic through the Line 6 UX2 Studio console. With the Line 6 Amp Farm simulation software I choose the setting called "Country Standard" and then tweak it a bit. Essentially this setting includes a noise gate, Fender Tweed Bassman, compression and spring reverb. Ideally I like to use an effect called Tube Echo. Not only does it act as a delay but I think it helps tighten the sound a little making the tone similar to a recording artist. It sounds good on most high quality recordings but when rendered to mp3 or lower video formats it appears to shift pitches a little and sounds as if your guitar is out of tune. You might hear this a little in the recording. However, it is a good effect to experiment with if you have this software.
If you need help or have a question please ask.
Thanks
Rusty