Bluegrass Instruments and Influence Guitar Lesson
Bluegrass Instruments and Influence
Nick explains the musical role that each instrument plays in a bluegrass band.
Taught by Nick Amodeo in Bluegrass with Nick Amodeo seriesLength: 17:01Difficulty: 1.0 of 5
Supplemental Learning Material
Bluegrass with Nick Amodeo
Found in our Beginner Lesson SetsA sub-genre of country music which blends improvising with folk-like melodies. Pioneered by Bill Monroe in the 1930s in the "bluegrass" state. Nick will present flatpick techniques.
Lesson 1
Series Introduction
Nick Amodeo introduces the Bluegrass Series and explains what to expect in the following lessons.
Length: 2:27 Difficulty: 0.5 Members Only
History and Influence of Bluegrass
Nick discusses the history of bluegrass and the influence it has had on other styles of music.
Length: 27:44 Difficulty: 1.0 Members Only
Bluegrass Instruments and Influence
Nick explains the musical role that each instrument plays in a bluegrass band.
Length: 17:01 Difficulty: 1.0 Members OnlyLesson 4
Bluegrass Chords
Nick explains how to play some of the most commonly used chords in the bluegrass genre.
Length: 19:42 Difficulty: 2.5 FREE
Right Hand Techniques
Welcome to a right hand "boot camp" with Nick Amodeo! In this lesson, Nick demonstrates several picking and strumming exercises that will whip your right hand into shape.
Length: 24:48 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Right Hand Boot Camp
Nick Amodeo continues his discussion of picking technique in this installment of right hand "boot camp."
Length: 24:33 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Crosspicking Techniques
Nick presents several exercises that develop string skipping and crosspicking technique.
Length: 23:35 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Common Bluegrass Scale Exercise
Nick covers some exercises and scales that develop left hand technique.
Length: 33:15 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Bluegrass Ornaments
Nick explains how to play various slurs such as slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs. Also included are some common bluegrass licks that utilize these techniques.
Length: 30:54 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Bluegrass Right Hand Rhythm
Nick covers some basic bluegrass strumming patterns.
Length: 12:23 Difficulty: 3.0 Members Only
Left Hand Boot Camp
Nick covers some of the most commonly used scale patterns in bluegrass.
Length: 31:45 Difficulty: 2.0 Members Only
Nine Pound Hammer
Nick applies fundamental guitar techniques from previous lessons to the song "Nine Pound Hammer."
Length: 31:39 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
Texas Gales
Nick demonstrates his interpretation of "Texas Gales." You might say this one will blow you away!
Length: 38:30 Difficulty: 4.0 Members Only
Cross Picking: Home Sweet Home
Nick teaches the song "Home Sweet Home" and uses it to demonstrate cross picking techniques. Nick also covers the chords, and a chord with melody version to correspond with a picked version he has created.
Length: 57:24 Difficulty: 3.5 Members Only
About Nick Amodeo
View Full Biography
Nick Amodeo is a multi-instrumentalist based out of Denver, Colorado. A self taught musician, he took up guitar at age 12 before moving on to mandolin and electric bass. He is the 2005 Colorado state mandolin champion, and was featured on the 2007 Downbeat magazine Blues Album of the Year, Otis Taylor’s “Definition of a Circle.”
Nick has shared the stage with such artists as Buddy Guy, Chuck Campbell, Mollie O’Brien, Nick Forster and Pete Wernick of Hot Rize, and many others. Nick currently is the mandolin department at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado and has over 10 years teaching experience.
Acoustic Guitar Lessons
Our acoustic guitar lessons are taught by qualified instructors with various backgrounds with the instrument.
Kaki King
In lesson 6, Kaki discusses how the left and right hands can work together or independently of each other to create different...
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Kroos
Free LessonSeries Details
Steve Eulberg
Steve Eulberg does a quick review of this lesson series and talks about moving on.
Free LessonSeries Details
Randall Williams
In this lesson Randall introduces the partial capo (using a short-cut capo by Kyser) and talks about how it can make the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Jessica Baron
Jessica kindly introduces herself, her background, and her approach to this series.
Free LessonSeries Details
Erik Mongrain
Erik expounds on the many possibilities of open tunings and the new harmonics that you can use in them. He explains what...
Free LessonSeries Details
Orville Johnson
Orville Johnson introduces turnarounds and provides great ideas and techniques.
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Lincoln
Time to unlock your creativity because in this information packed lesson. Mark dives deep into how to deconstruct the process...
Free LessonSeries Details
Jim Deeming
Jim Deeming discusses how to use a metronome for practice, skill building, and speed building.
Free LessonSeries DetailsElectric Guitar Lesson Samples
Our electric guitar lessons are taught by instructors with an incredible amount of teaching experience.
Dennis Hodges
Learn a variety of essential techniques commonly used in the metal genre, including palm muting, string slides, and chord...
Free LessonSeries Details
Michael Ripoll
Michael "Nomad" Ripoll dives deep into the rhythm & blues, funk, and soul genres that were made popular by artists like Earth...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brad Henecke
Free LessonSeries Details
Bryan Beller
Bryan Beller of the Aristocrats, Dethklok, and Steve Vai takes you inside his six step method to learning any song by ear....
Free LessonSeries Details
Allen Van Wert
Allen shows you the 24 rudiments crucial to developing finger dexterity. This is a short lesson but the exercises here can...
Free LessonSeries Details
Lisa Pursell
Lisa breaks into the very basics of the electric guitar. She starts by explaining the parts of the guitar. Then, she dives...
Free LessonSeries Details
Mark Brennan
Mark Brennan teaches this classic rock song by Jethro Tull. Released on the album of the same name in 1971, this song features...
Free LessonSeries Details
Kris Norris
Kris analyzes different pick sizes and their effect on his playing. Using a slow motion camera, he is able to point out the...
Free LessonSeries Details
Brendan Burns
Brendan demonstrates the tiny triad shapes derived from the form 1 barre chord.
Free LessonSeries Details
Steve Stevens
Steve Stevens shows some of his go-to licks and ideas while improvising over a backing track he made.
Free LessonSeries DetailsAdditional Lesson Features Available to Members
While we have attempted to provide you with an accurate rendition of our video lesson experience, there are some features which
require a membership with us!
Custom Progress Reporting
At JamPlay, we give you the ability to monitor your own progress for any lesson! If you watch one of our lessons and feel as though you understand around half of it, mark your progress at 50%. This adds the lesson to your customized Progress Report, and gives you an incredible ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.
Progressive Bookmarking
With thousands of lessons at your fingertips, JamPlay can be a touch intimidating to a first-time user. With Progressive Bookmarking, we give you the ability to systematically bookmark sections of any lessons you are working on to quickly access later. After all, what is the point of all this content if it isn't easy to use?
Save Your Notes
JamPlay also gives you the ability to leave notes for yourself on any lesson. Just like in any educational system, taking your own notes while learning gives you the ability to highlight the instruction that is important to you. Leave your notes, and we store them in our database for you to reference each and everytime you come back to the lesson.
Join the Thousands of Members at JamPlay
Signup today to enjoy access to our entire database of video lessons, along with our exclusive set of learning tools and features.
Unlimited Lesson Viewing
A JamPlay membership gives you access to every lesson, from every teacher on our staff. Additionally, there is no restriction on how many times you watch a lesson. Watch as many times as you need.Live Lessons
Exclusive only to JamPlay, we currently broadcast 8-10 hours of steaming lesson services directly to you! Enjoy the benefits of in-person instructors and the conveniences of our community.Interactive Community
Create your own profile, manage your friends list, and contact users with your own JamPlay Mailbox. JamPlay also features live chat with teachers and members, and an active Forum.Chord Library
Each chord in our library contains a full chart, related tablature, and a photograph of how the chord is played. A comprehensive learning resource for any guitarist.Scale Library
Our software allows you to document your progress for any lesson, including notes and percent of the lesson completed. This gives you the ability to document what you need to work on, and where you left off.Custom Chord Sheets
At JamPlay, not only can you reference our Chord Library, but you can also select any variety of chords you need to work on, and generate your own printable chord sheet.Backing Tracks
Jam-along backing tracks give the guitarist a platform for improvising and soloing. Our backing tracks provide a wide variety of tracks from different genres of music, and serves as a great learning tool.Interactive Games
We have teachers covering beginner lessons, rock, classic rock, jazz, bluegrass, fingerstyle, slack key and more. Learn how to play the guitar from experienced players, in a casual environment.Beginners Welcome.. and Up
Unlike a lot of guitar websites and DVDs, we start our Beginner Lessons at the VERY start of the learning process, as if you just picked up a guitar for the first time.Our teaching is structured for all players.
Member Comments about this Lesson
Discussions with our instructors are just one of the many benefits of becoming a member of JamPlay.so, the mandolin takes the place of the snare drum, and the snare drum was something you hit with a stick, my grand dad use to hit me with a stick, guess I'm a snare drum.
Nice lesson on how it all fits together.
I've watched up to lesson 5 in this series and can say that Nick's approach is top notch! I appreciate the time he's taken to explain the background of Bluegrass.I firmly believe in learning about the history behind any style of music.A BIG THANK YOU,Nick!
Nick, great last two lessons. Being originally from NYC I didn't get much Bluegrass listening. I loved the short history lesson and the roles of the other instruments including the guitar. Looking forward to more lessons. I will be attending my first local workshop in two weeks and every week thereafter; at least that's the plan.
What type of acoustic guitar is best for bluegrass? Dreadnought? spruce top? 000?
max, the vast majority of bluegrass players prefer some sort of spruce topped dreadnought, for its resonance and volume and clarity. as i explain, the guitar is really the only instrument in a traditional bluegrass band that can play big full chords, so we look for guitars that provide that sound.
Keep it up Nick, I am looking forward to more. The Doc Watson/Tony Rice type of flatpicking has been up to now not addressed on Jamplay
This was really good and important info. to have in order to know what to do at a bluegrass jam...which I want to do! Thanks Nick!
Are you going to do any GUITAR lessons???? TOO many history lessons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nicks Lessons are built around the foundation of bluegrass as a whole. And to start his series off he wanted to first explain Some historical aspects. History flows deep in Bluegrass Music and is something Nick firmly believes in. He will however very soon be diving into actual applied techniques. There is plenty of information to follow.