Intro to Bluegrass | Free Online Guitar Lesson

lesson summary

Lesson 1 of 12 in our Bluegrass Series: Intro to Bluegrass

About this teacher

The roots of early bluegrass can be found around the early 1920’s in the southern United States. Bluegrass emerged as a synthesis of many genres popular at the time combined with traditional music. The Scotts-Irish in the Appalachian region combined their traditional music with popular American styles such as blues, country, jazz, and ragtime. Bill Monroe is widely known as the father of bluegrass since the genre’s name was derived from the name of his band, The Blue Grass Boys. The sound of bluegrass is also often associated with the banjo picking of Earl Scruggs. Both of these acts are must listens in order to hear the fundamental musical techniques of bluegrass.

As Steve mentions, the guitar is the backbone instrument of a bluegrass band. In bands that do not feature a drummer, the role of timekeeper falls upon the bass player. However, many traditional bluegrass bands do not have a bass player. As a result, the role of bass player, timekeeper, and rhythmic accompanist all fall upon the guitarist. This is possible since the guitar’s range overlaps somewhat with the four string bass.

The mandolin, fiddle, upright bass, four string banjo, and vocalists typically join the guitar in a bluegrass band. Occasionally, a resonator guitar is added to the lineup. Resonator guitars are most typically referred to by the popular Dobro brand name. Most bluegrass bands feature three or four part vocal harmony. The lead singer typically has a high, nasal voice. He or she sings a high, nasal melody line above the primary melody.

Before you begin to practice the bass/chop technique, some slight right hand adjustments need to be made. When playing bluegrass, a heavy pick must be used. This is due to several factors. Bluegrass is primarily played on a steel string acoustic guitar. Thin picks will cause a plastic, clicking sound when they strike steel strings. Also, a heavy pick will create a clearer tone when playing low bass notes. This is especially important when a guitarist fulfills the role of bass player. Finally, the right hand wrist must be kept as loose and relaxed at all times. The bluegrass genre requires frequent, rapid strumming. You run the risk of dropping your pick or having your wrist lock up if you do not keep it relaxed.

Many styles of musical composition such as the march feature an emphasis on the so-called “downbeats” or beats 1 and 3. These accents create a very rigid, deliberate rhythm. However, many popular American styles such as jazz and rock and roll feature an emphasis on the “backbeat,” or beats 2 and 4. The emphasis on beats 2 and 4 gives a style its terpsichorean quality. If one of the performers in a bluegrass group flips the beat and begins emphasizing beats 1 and 3, the music will loose all of its rhythmic impact, and the audience will cease to dance.

The bass/chop technique may seem sound quite elaborate and difficult, but it is rather easy to perform. Start by fingering the basic open G chord that you learned from Phase 1 lessons. On beats 1 and 3, play the low G of the chord. On beats 2 and 4, strum all of the notes in the guitar chord with the exception of the bass note. A slight accent should be placed on these beats. Beats 2 and 4 comprise the “chop” portion of the bass chop technique. Observe Steve closely for a great example of how this technique should sound. As always, begin at a very slow tempo and gradually work your way up to the tempo that Steve initially demonstrates the bass/chop with.

Now that you have mastered the bare basics of the bass/ chop Steve demonstrates a great exercise that will take this technique to the next level. This basic exercise combines the bass/chop with a full chord progression. The progression is four bars long. Here is a measure by measure breakdown of the chords:

Bar 1: G
Bar 2: C
Bar 3: D
Bar 4: G<

Once again, the bass note of each chord should be played on beats 1 and 3. Be careful when you get to the C chord. You will have to avoid strumming the low E string. When playing D, you will have to avoid strumming both the low E and A strings.

This basic traditional song will put what you learned in the last exercise into a practical musical context. Once again, the G, C, and D chords are used for this tune. Here is a breakdown of all the chord changes.

Bar 1: Beats 1 and 2-G Beats 3 and 4- C Be careful of this first measure! Each chord only lasts 2 beats.
Bar 2: G
Bar 3: G
Bar 4: D
Bar 5: G
Bar 6: C
Bar 7: D
Bar 8: G

Once again, the bass note will be played on beats 1 and 3. The chop will occur on beats 2 and 4. For example, in measure 1, the bass of the G chord will land on 1. The chop of the G chord occurs on beat 2. Beat 3 is now the bass note of the C chord. Finally, beat 4 is the chop of the C chord.

The rhythm of this song sounds a little too empty compared to most traditional bluegrass songs. For this reason, a bass and chop will now be played within the space of every beat. Previously, all the notes you were playing were quarter notes. Now, all of the rhythms will be played in eighth notes. The bass note is now played on the first eighth note of each beat. The second eighth note of each beat is the chop. Watch how Steve plays these rhythms very carefully. Pause the lesson, and practice the song several times by yourself. Once you are ready, try to play along with Steve.

The bass/chop technique is the rhythmic foundation to bluegrass guitar playing. The following lessons will continue to expand upon this important fixture in the bluegrass genre. Do not proceed to the following lessons until you have mastered all of the exercises in Lesson 1.

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