Licks & Riffs: Bluegrass & Folk (JamPlay)

Learn Bluegrass and Folk Licks & Riffs from Top JamPlay Educators

Marty FriedmanTommy EmmanuelSteve VaiEric GalesEric Johnson

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Licks & Riffs: Bluegrass & Folk (JamPlay)

About this course

Embark on an unprecedented musical journey with "Licks & Riffs," a collaborative masterpiece between TrueFire and JamPlay, designed to catapult your guitar skills to legendary heights. This comprehensive collection, spread across six distinct volumes, encapsulates the soul and expertise of genre maestros, delivering it through concentrated, high-impact video lessons. Each volume delves deep into a specific genre - Blues, Metal, Rock, Country, Bluegrass & Folk, and Jazz, providing a rich, immersive experience that resonates with both the heart and fingers.

This series a treasure trove for aspiring guitarists!
  1. Diversity and Depth in Learning: "Licks & Riffs" isn't just a tutorial; it's a mosaic of musical flavors, each genre meticulously explored and presented. From the soulful bends of Blues, the electrifying aggression in Metal, to the intricate fingerstyle of Bluegrass & Folk, every style is unpacked, providing learners with a universe of guitar expressions. This series helps you comprehend the language of different genres, widening your musical vocabulary.
  2. Building Blocks of Creativity: Licks and riffs are the DNA of guitar music. By mastering them, you're not just repeating notes; you're internalizing a language. This series offers these vital building blocks that stimulate your creative process, enabling you to improvise, compose, and truly speak through your instrument. It's about igniting a continuous cycle of learning, expression, and creation, essential for any evolving musician.
  3. Technique Refinement: Each video lesson is a close encounter with the technical nuances that constitute a genre. You're not only learning a sequence of notes but absorbing the technique, emotion, and subtlety behind them. This focused approach enhances hand dexterity, timing, phrasing, and articulation, refining your overall playing technique.
  4. Practical and Convenient Knowledge Absorption: The beauty of "Licks & Riffs" lies in its format. The short, potent lessons are crafted for maximum absorption, making profound use of your practice time. This micro-lesson structure facilitates easy and quick learning, allowing for immediate application, which is a boon for consistent practice routines and busy schedules alike.
  5. Connectivity to the Maestros: Each lick, each riff, is a story, an emotion, or a statement that iconic guitarists have used to define their sounds. By learning these, you're stepping into the shoes of guitar legends, understanding their thought process, and keeping the musical conversation going. This series forms a timeless link between you and the greats.
Genre-specific Insights:
  • Blues: Discover the raw emotion behind every bend and slide, tapping into the soulful expressiveness of the blues.
  • Metal: Command the stage with the high-octane riffs and ruthless precision unique to metal.
  • Rock: Harness the power of anthemic melodies and the rebellious energy inherent in rock.
  • Country: Embrace the narrative lyrical style and rhythmic complexities that drive country music.
  • Bluegrass & Folk: Explore the acoustic heritage and intricate fingerstyle patterns rooted in tradition.
  • Jazz: Dive into the sophisticated world of jazz, mastering the art of improvisation and complex chords.
In the universe of guitar mastery, "Licks & Riffs" is your multi-genre passport, a comprehensive guide through the landscapes of timeless music genres. It's more than a lesson series; it's a connection to the soul of music, a toolbox for your creativity, and a stepping stone towards your individual sound. Join us in this rhythmic odyssey and become not just a guitarist, but a storyteller, a creator, and a legacy in the making.

What you'll learn

  • Navigate between 7th position and lower positions fluidly
  • Apply consistent alternate picking to a single-note line
  • Apply chromatic runs in a musical context
  • Use the flatted third to major third movement for bluesy flavor
  • Maintain strict alternate picking throughout position changes
Release date: 08/01/2023 • 3h 53m runtime
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Sample lessons
Classic Bluegrass Lick
Classic Bluegrass Lick
Open String Bluegrass Lick
Open String Bluegrass Lick
DADGAD Lick #9
DADGAD Lick #9

What's included

54 lessons • 53 charts

G Based Bluegrass Rhythm
This bluegrass rhythm idea is based on the G chord and features a hammer-on. It's a simple way to spice up your bluegrass strumming.Check out more from Steve Eulberg
Cascading Lick
Jim Deeming teaches a cascading lick in the style of Chet Atkins and Tommy Emmanuel. This lick features descending sequences played within a common pentatonic box pattern. It can be used over either an Am or a C major chord. Alternate endings are applied to the lick depending on the harmonic context in which it is used.Check out more from Jim Deeming
G Chord Bluegrass
This rhythmic figure can be used to add interest to a bluegrass strumming pattern. A simple hammer-on is inserted in between strums of a G major chord.Check out more from Steve Eulberg
Combo Bluegrass Lick
In this lesson, Steve combines elements from "G Chord Bluegrass" and "G Based Bluegrass Lick" to create a rich, beautiful strumming pattern.Check out more from Steve Eulberg
D Bluegrass Lick
Steve Eulberg demonstrates a descending bluegrass lick in D major. This lick is played in second position. However, it can easily be transposed to all 12 keys.Check out more from Steve Eulberg
C Bluegrass Lick
This lick descends through the first position pattern of the C major scale. The fingering for the lick is loosely based around the "open" C major chord. Notice how Steve keeps his first finger anchored throughout the entire lick.Check out more from Steve Eulberg
Descending G Lick
Steve demonstrates a bluegrass lick that features a descending line derived from the G major scale.Check out more from Steve Eulberg

+ 47 more lessons

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Reviews

1 result

GFrisbie

Verified buyer

07/26/25

Dig in and learn some great Bluegrass and Folk skills!

If you like the demo vids for this tutorial, you'll find lots to enjoy in this course of Bluegrass and Folk Licks and Riffs. The course is designed to introduce advancing beginners to the intermediate level of playing by starting with scale-based riffs and patterns that gradually become more challenging along the way. Each lesson gives you the tools to understand how more complex figures can evolve from mastering these basic forms. Intermediate players will find plenty to enjoy in this course. These instructors take time to demonstrate the material at various tempos allowing you to get the music into your fingers - if you're willing to do the work to get there. The more you learn here, the more there is to learn. I especially appreciate the way the second half of the course becomes more challenging. It's still "intermediate" stuff but it encouragess the player to absorb the early lessons in order to develop the chops to understand and incorporate the later material. By the end of the course, there are some great lessons for playing in DADGAD tuning. I consider this an excellent source of material that will benefit players who appreciate the various techniques used in the scales, patterns, and lexicon of bluegrass and folk music.

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