S.W.A.T. Sessions: Country

Our resident SWAT guitar commander, Carl Verheyen is one of today’s most sought after, “first call” session players. You’ve heard him do his inimitable thing on hundreds of albums, TV shows and movies. His reputation for being able to play any style of music with remarkable mastery.

While Carl’s previous TrueFire courses have featured a variety of styles, SWAT Sessions will focus on particular styles. This first edition of SWAT Sessions drills down on Country guitar and we promise you that whatever style you play, this is a must-see!

”Country music is one of the most challenging styles of guitar to play. But it's also the most fun! There’s so many right and left-hand techniques, embellishments and expressions to get a solid grip on and those are the Special Weapons and Tactics that I’ll be demonstrating and breaking down for you over 12 performance studies. We’ll examine different feels, in a variety of tempos and keys, and each study will focus on a particular technique that you’ll need in your own arsenal. I’ve also included many of my favorite licks from my own heroes!”

For the performance studies, Carl demonstrates two solos over 6 distinctive rhythm tracks varying in feel, tempo and key - 12 soloing performance studies in all! Each of the solos focuses on specific techniques and creative approaches. After the performance examples, Carl breaks each of them down, stepping you through the key concepts and techniques that he applied in the solo.

G Bluegrass: 1 & 2 - ”We’ll kick off our first session with a couple of solos for a bluegrass track in the key of G. In my first solo, I’ll present you with a variety of open string bluegrass licks as well as some double stops. Then in the second solo, we’ll add in some pedal steel bends and take a more modal approach.”

Take Sick and Pass: 1 & 2 - ”Our second rhythm track is in the rockabilly style and in my first solo, I’ll show you some Brian Setzer inspired rockabilly bass lines as well as a more complicated tritone approach. In the second solo, I’ll utilize some hammer-on double stops and introduce you to what we call ‘the lick from hell’ and you’ll see for yourself why that is.”

Traveling Down The Road: 1 & 2 - ”Over a simple jam band-style progression in the key of C, I’ll start out by demonstrating the use of major pentatonics encompassing the entire range of the guitar in the first solo. The second solo on this track will introduce some classic licks I’ve learned from folks like Hank Garland and Chet Atkins.”

Country Blues in A: 1 & 2 - ”In the first solo, we’ll work with a country blues in the key of A, and I’ll show you the ins and outs of my right-hand alternate picking technique. I think you’ll like that a lot. In the second performance, I’ll show you some Danny Gatton style pivot licks, I’m sure you will love playing as much as I do!”

The Spaceman: 1 & 2 - ”In the first solo, we'll be focusing on how the dominant II chord effects the scale choices and look at a positive string bending technique to emulate the pedal steel guitar. In the second solo, we’ll work on two specialty techniques; the ‘SOG I’m Tired’ lick and some outrageous Jerry Reed-style chickin' picking!”


My Entirety: 1 & 2 - ”In our final session we’ll deal with more complicated chord changes using a progression based on the standard, All of Me. My first solo will demonstrate how bending, double stops, banjo rolls and compound bends make up the ornamentation of the style. We’ll work with boutique modes and the infamous Verheyen cross-picking lick to round out the session.”

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. Plus, Carl generously includes all of the rhythm tracks for you to work with on your own.

Grab your guitar and let’s get countrified with SWAT commander Carl Verheyen!