You’d need a DNA sequencer, a room full of musicologists and a very large wall to accurately map the rapid evolution of country music from its inception as Appalachian folk music back in the 20’s, to it’s mega-mainstream position in our culture today.
The wall would display branches to the Hillbilly, Singing Cowboy, Western Swing, Bluegrass and Honky Tonk music of the 30’s and 40’s, branches left and right to the Rockabilly, Nashville and Countrypolitan sounds of the 50’s and 60’s, and then all kinds of zigs and zags to and from Country Soul, The Bakersfield sound, Country rock, Outlaw country, Country pop, Neo-country, Alt Country and so many more country derivatives it would make your head swing.
If you compare Country music’s evolution to any other genre, you’ll find one very significant distinction — every generation of country music features the guitar front and center. And you’ll also find that the requisite skills for each generation’s guitarists likewise rapidly evolved to its present state of fretboard virtuosity. That's why so many blues, jazz and rock guitarists beg, borrow and steal techniques from country players and make no bones about it.
Jason Loughlin’s 1-2-3 Country is your fast-track Country guitar crash course. Intermediate players will be well served by Jason’s intuitive hands-on curriculum specifically designed to introduce students to the foundational right and left-hand techniques, rhythmic feels and harmonic considerations required to play both rhythm and lead Country guitar.
1-2-3 Country Guitar is organized into three hands-on sections designed to get you up to speed quickly without having to struggle through boring exercises and tedious theory — you’ll play your way through Jason’s engaging curriculum.
In the first section, Jason focuses on Country rhythm guitar. You’ll learn the essential ins and outs for utilizing the CAGED System, 3 versatile moveable chord shapes (C, A and E), 3 ways to navigate through I-IV-V Progressions and 3 essential Rhythm Guitar Techniques: Carter, Country Shuffle and Country Rock. Work through this section and you’ll be able to hold down the rhythm guitar parts for hundreds of Country tunes in all 12 keys.
In the second section, you’ll focus on lead guitar by exploring key approaches for soloing and improvisation and building a vocabulary of Country licks, which can be applied over any of the three moveable chord forms, in a any key.
You’ll acquire Flat Pickin' Licks for the E, A and C moveable chord forms; Double Stop Licks for the E, A and C moveable chord forms; and Bending Licks for the E, A and C moveable chord forms. These three techniques and bag of licks equips you with the skills and vocabulary needed to start soloing and improvising in a Country setting.
The third section puts everything you've learned in the first two sections to work in a musical context with a series of playalongs using rhythm tracks, You’ll play rhythm parts and then you’ll solo over six popular Country grooves; Honky Tonk, Boot Scootin’, Bakerfield Shuffle, Prison Blues, Why Won't You Call Me? and Okie On Parole.
For each of the grooves, Jason first demonstrates the rhythm parts and then shows you how to solo over the tracks using the techniques and licks you learned in the previous section. All of the key examples are tabbed and notated, plus you’ll get all of the rhythm tracks to work with on your own.
If you’re anxious to get in the Country guitar game, you won’t have to beg, borrow or steal — all you need is just a click away. Take 1-2-3 Country Guitar to the shed today!
P.S. When you’re ready to take your new-found Country guitar skills to the next level, pick up Jason’s
Country Guitar Survival Guide: Lead Edition.
