Play Country Guitar 8: Advanced Rhythm Principles

Let's go over some bluegrass inspired techniques on an electric guitar. Playing bluegrass on an electric guitar may seem a little different, but if you want to play fast—as we chickin pickers are prone to do—it's definitely the way to go.

When I play these bluegrass licks, I'm using my middle and ring finger alongside the pick, which have attached fake nails (which I use to play the chickin pickin' style licks as well). They also help me keep my hand stationary and still near the back of the bridge. The pick is hitting the bass notes while my nails hit the higher strings, allowing me to do some rolls and separate the rhythm from the bass part. This gives you more of your hand to play the bluegrass licks with, and allows you to move them around the bassline.

Now we'll talk about one of my favorite rhythms—the rhythm for "Working Man Blues," a Merle Haggard tune that's a favorite of any country player. It's usually played in A, however we'll learn it in B here to help us with the percussive aspects. There are two distinct parts being played here, the chord being on the bottom strings with your fingers, and the second percussive part being picked up top.

Next, we'll move it back into A and listen to how it's usually played. I'll demonstrate a few licks that you can use with this rhythm part and how to move it around to different positions on the neck. Just remember, if you want to use filler licks with the rhythm part you have to really nail the percussive part to make it work!

Moving along, now let's get into some western swing. This is a very fun genre to play with lots of movement, now with the bass movement included in the chord. It uses "chunk rhythm," or chord comping, which we recognize as the western swing sound.

I'll show you some chord options for playing in this style, and some techniques like using double stops and triads to add variation to the rhythm part. If you want to add a filler lick, make sure you keep with the meter and are able to get back into the "chunk" easily.

If you're playing in a western swing band, and there's already someone playing comp chords, you need to play a different part! Try playing at a different position on the neck so you can set yourself apart and free yourself up to play a lead part if need be. You're still chord comping, but in a different register so you don't blend in with the "chunk rhythm."