WaylenDale
Verified buyer
02/21/26
Good Americana Riffs
This is a good course. I'm writing songs and trying to get out of the rut of playing the same old patterns.
30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms You MUST Know
Must-know acoustic rhythms inspired by the genre's greats
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About this course
American roots music spans a wide variety of styles and sub-genres ranging from blues and country to rock and folk. Besides all being ‘rooted’ to the history, geography, folklore, and cultural heritage of America, they share another very common attribute — roots music relies heavily on engaging rhythms and overall vibe.
Whatever style of roots music you happen to play, as a guitarist you must have a big vocabulary of chord voicings, rhythmic patterns, and right-handed strumming techniques to play these genres convincingly. Mike Zito will equip you with ample doses of all the above with 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms You MUST Know.
”If you're a singer-songwriter, or if you're accompanying someone, you'll likely find an acoustic guitar in your hands. That's what 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms You MUST Know is all about. I've hand-picked 30 very versatile rhythms that will jumpstart your vocabulary and keep you excited about these great styles of music.”
Mike will guide you through 30 performance studies, each covering a versatile rhythmic approach for a popular style of roots music. For example, you’ll work on an open road groove in A that incorporates double stops and open strings. You’ll also learn a rhythm part with passing tones and suspended chords, a shuffle with a cool blues vibe in the key of E, and a honky tonk groove that uses a hammer-on to resolve and a seven for another dash of vibe.
In the key of D, Mike will show you how to get low down with some drone notes and moving chords, you’ll also learn a big open C chord rhythm that modulates and suspends, a straight up progression in A, a rootsy progression in D that changes chords with ease and economy, and an E minor ballad that uses some hammer-ons in an A7 chord to reel in the emotion. That’s just a few of the 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms you’ll learn in this course!
Mike demonstrates all of the rootsy rhythms over rhythm tracks and then breaks them down note-by-note emphasizing the techniques you’ll need to get a grip on to play them correctly.
All of the licks are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Mike generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s get rootsy with Mike Zito!
Whatever style of roots music you happen to play, as a guitarist you must have a big vocabulary of chord voicings, rhythmic patterns, and right-handed strumming techniques to play these genres convincingly. Mike Zito will equip you with ample doses of all the above with 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms You MUST Know.
”If you're a singer-songwriter, or if you're accompanying someone, you'll likely find an acoustic guitar in your hands. That's what 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms You MUST Know is all about. I've hand-picked 30 very versatile rhythms that will jumpstart your vocabulary and keep you excited about these great styles of music.”
Mike will guide you through 30 performance studies, each covering a versatile rhythmic approach for a popular style of roots music. For example, you’ll work on an open road groove in A that incorporates double stops and open strings. You’ll also learn a rhythm part with passing tones and suspended chords, a shuffle with a cool blues vibe in the key of E, and a honky tonk groove that uses a hammer-on to resolve and a seven for another dash of vibe.
In the key of D, Mike will show you how to get low down with some drone notes and moving chords, you’ll also learn a big open C chord rhythm that modulates and suspends, a straight up progression in A, a rootsy progression in D that changes chords with ease and economy, and an E minor ballad that uses some hammer-ons in an A7 chord to reel in the emotion. That’s just a few of the 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms you’ll learn in this course!
Mike demonstrates all of the rootsy rhythms over rhythm tracks and then breaks them down note-by-note emphasizing the techniques you’ll need to get a grip on to play them correctly.
All of the licks are tabbed and notated for your practice, reference and study purposes. You’ll also get Guitar Pro files so that you can play, loop and/or slow down the tab and notation as you work through the lessons. Plus, Mike generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.
Grab your guitar and let’s get rootsy with Mike Zito!
What you'll learn
- Use double stops in strumming
- Create blues-style rhythm fills
- Add suspended notes to enhance chord sound
- Modify bass line without moving entire hand position
- Add embellishments to basic rhythm playing
Release date: 10/12/2016 • 2h 07m runtime
Sample lessons
Open Road in A
Rhythm 2
Americana Roll in A
Rhythm 15
Moving Pictures in C
Rhythm 20
Cry Baby Cry in D
Rhythm 24
What's included
32 lessons • 30 charts • 10 Jam Tracks
30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms
Hi, I'm Mike Zito and welcome to 30 Rootsy Acoustic Rhythms You MUST Know. Roots music, like blues, country, rock 'n' roll, and Americana, all rely heavily on rhythm and vibe. As guitarists, we must have a big vocabulary of chord voicings, rhythmic patterns, and right-handed strumming techniques to play these genres convincingly.
If you're a singer-songwriter or if you're accompanying someone, you'll likely find an acoustic guitar in your hands. That's what this course is all about. I've hand-picked 30 very versatile rhythms that will jumpstart your vocabulary and keep you excited about these great styles of music.
Everything is tabbed and notated, and you'll have all the rhythm tracks to work with on your own. So grab your guitar, and let's get started!
If you're a singer-songwriter or if you're accompanying someone, you'll likely find an acoustic guitar in your hands. That's what this course is all about. I've hand-picked 30 very versatile rhythms that will jumpstart your vocabulary and keep you excited about these great styles of music.
Everything is tabbed and notated, and you'll have all the rhythm tracks to work with on your own. So grab your guitar, and let's get started!
Open Road in E
Here's a great rhythm that has that open road feel. Big open E chord with all of those open string sounds makes for a full sound and accompaniment. I'm throwing in the A octave note on the G string to alternate the pattern between E/A, giving it a suspended sound. I'm also using the F# note on the low E string to kind of complete the pattern and start again on the open E.
Open Road in A
Now I promise not to recreate the same idea too many times in different keys, but this just goes hand in hand with the pattern in E and I couldn't help myself.
I'm playing the open A string but using double-stops on the G and D strings to give it a walking down feel. I'm using a G major sounding double-stop and an F# minor and then resolving into the open A string.
I'm playing the open A string but using double-stops on the G and D strings to give it a walking down feel. I'm using a G major sounding double-stop and an F# minor and then resolving into the open A string.
Open Road Run
Here's a cool little rhythmic run in E that makes things more interesting than just chording that you can use all over the guitar neck. I'm playing the open E string and hammering on the G note on the 3rd fret and then the 4th fret to land on the B note on the second fret of the A string. I continuing to hammer on the 4th and then 5th fret of the A string. I'm still playing the open E note as a drone as I work my way back down the A string to the 4th fret, 2nd fret. This last lick is playing the open E note, hammering on the 3rd fret for the G, striking the octave E note on the 2nd fret of the D string, and then playing the open E note again.
Passer By in A
This is taken from my song "Gone to Texas", which uses a very common chord rhythm. I'm strumming an open A chord, but hammering on a passing chord with A6sus4.
Passer By Frills
Using that same theme from my song "Gone to Texas", here are some frills you can throw into this rhythm pattern to make it your own.
Strumming Blues in E
This is based on that bar room blues rhythm, but let's use the open strings to make it more strummy on the acoustic and open sounding. This is great for accompanying a bluesy vocal.
+ 25 more lessons
Reviews
17 results
Greenwave
Verified buyer
12/08/25
Great insights
If you love acoustic guitar, fill your boots on gaining further options and insights. Love Mike's instructional style and he is a great musician. Thanks
dhmckinley
Verified buyer
04/01/25
Practical Roots Music Learning
Although I have just started this course, the lessons have already taught me acoustic techniques that I will use for years to come. I look forward to learning more and connecting the techniques with the songs I am playing and learning.
LaughingLion
Verified buyer
10/25/22
Great Americana Guitar Licks Course
Just a fabulous delivered with a folksy, relaxed vibe. Haven't made it all the way through yet, but I really appreciate Mike's laid-back but professional approach, and have learned a lot of great riffs Just wish I could play 'em as well as he does!
Brenda
10/23/21
Rhythms inspired by the genre's greats
This is a good lesson that contains several acoustic rhythms that are quite fun to learn to play, they have a style that will help you to improve your variety and knowledge in rhythm guitar, some more technical than others, but without any doubt very entertaining. Mike's explanation of each of the rhythms is very good and understandable making this a lesson that is advisable to review to increase your rhythm guitar skills.
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