30 Bluegrass Runs You MUST Know

The three most important elements in playing bluegrass guitar today are rhythm, runs, and leads. In Stephen Mougin’s Bluegrass Rhythm Evolution, you focused on bluegrass chords, progressions, and rhythm guitar patterns. Here in 30 Bluegrass Runs You Must Know, Stephen shows you how to connect chords and define song sections with 30 very versatile bluegrass runs.

”The bluegrass rhythm guitar player uses runs to connect chords, articulate song sections and sometimes even to end a tune. They’re also a great way to draw the listener’s ear toward a particular chord structure and to express your own personal style.  I’ve put together this essential collection of 30 authentic runs to jump start your bluegrass guitar playing, covering some of the most common bluegrass chords and progressions.“

Stephen Mougin is one of the most respected Jack-of-All-Trades in acoustic music. A touring guitarist currently with Sam Bush; an accomplished songwriter for dozens of top bluegrass bands; a sought-after producer with his own studio, Dark Shadows; and a widely respected vocal, guitar and mandolin teacher.

Across the entire collection, Stephen covers a wide variety of versatile runs. You’ll learn several G-runs inspired by players like Lester Flatt to Del McCoury. You’ll work on impactful ways to change from a G chord to a C chord. Stephen will show you ways to adjust timing in runs and alter the phrasing. Based on a signature Jimmy Martin run, you’ll learn how to cycle through a G-D-G progression.

Stephen will also pass on a couple runs to get you from a C chord to a D chord, show you how to use pull-offs and slides to modernize a run in D, how to apply chromatics to get from one place to another on the fretboard, and you’ll also work on ending runs flavored by the influences of players from Doc Watson to Tony Rice. These are just a few of the 30 tasty, versatile runs that you’ll add to your bluegrass rhythm guitar vocabulary.

For each of the 30 bluegrass runs featured in this course, Stephen will first demonstrate the run, and then break it down for you note-by-note emphasizing the essential techniques and harmonic concepts in play.

All of the performances 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.

Grab your guitar and let’s play some bluegrass with Stephen Mougin!