Orville Johnson

Orville Johnson was born in 1953 in Edwardsville, Illinois and came up on the St. Louis, Missouri music scene, where he was exposed to and participated in a variety of blues, bluegrass and American roots music. He began singing in his Pentecostal church as a young boy, in rock bands in middle school, then took up the guitar at 17,with early influences from Doc Watson, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Hurt, and Chuck Berry. In the early 1970's, Orville spent several seasons playing bluegrass on the SS Julia Belle Swain, a period-piece Mississippi river steamboat plying the inland waterways, with his group the Steamboat Ramblers. (More)

Orville's Contributions to JamPlay.com

Orville Johnson has 67 videos at JamPlay, with 10 beginner lessons, 36 intermediate lessons, 6 song lessons and 15 entertainment videos. Use the tabs below to learn more.

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Beginner
Intermediate
Songs
Entertainment

Beginner Acoustic with Orville

Discover the essentials with Orville Johnson by learning some of the most popular topics and techniques in beginner guitar.

Lesson 1

Overcoming Beginner...

Orville talks about some challenges you will likely face as a beginner and offers some...

Length: 13:05

Lesson 2

Flatpick and Strumming

Orville talks about flatpicks, how to hold them, and how to strum with them.

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Lesson 3

Fingerpicking and Patterns

Orville Johnson introduces some basic fingerpicking patterns.

Length: 6:58

Lesson 4

Metronome and Practicing

Orville Johnson explains why it is important to practice with a metronome. He also covers...

Length: 21:35

Lesson 5

Practical Theory Part...

Orville dives into part 1 of his beginners' guide to practical theory. In this lesson,...

Length: 17:30

Lesson 6

Practical Theory Part...

Orville Johnson takes a look at scales in part 2 of his practical theory mini-series.

Length: 18:40

Lesson 7

Practical Theory Part...

Orville Johnson jumps into part 3 of his practical theory mini-series. This lesson is...

Length: 21:08

Lesson 8

Connecting Chords with...

Orville Johnson demonstrates how simple chord progressions can be spruced up with bass...

Length: 12:04

Lesson 9

Basic Blues Shuffle

Orville Johnson demonstrates a basic blues shuffle. This incredibly easy rhythm piece...

Length: 12:38

Lesson 10

Voice Leading

Orville Johnson talks about the concept of voice leading. This concept will help you...

Length: 10:20

The blues is a distinctly American style of music. Many popular genres such as jazz, rock, and country music draw upon basic blues concepts. Consequently, it is advantageous for any guitarist to study the blues.

Lesson 1

Alternating Bass

In this lesson, Orville introduces one of the basic fingerstyle techniques - the alternating...

Length: 14:49

Lesson 2

Winin' Boy Blues

Orville Johnson teaches his interpretation of the piano-based song "Winin' Boy Blues"...

Length: 29:33

Lesson 3

Blues Turnarounds

Orville Johnson introduces turnarounds and provides great ideas and techniques.

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Lesson 4

Payday Blues

Orville Johnson teaches the fingerstyle blues song "Payday Blues."

Length: 19:04

Lesson 5

Walking Bassline with...

Orville Johnson demonstrates how to play a walking bass line in conjunction with chordal...

Length: 18:33

Lesson 6

One Dime Blues

Orville Johnson teaches his take on a blues standard entitled "One Dime Blues."

Length: 13:46

Lesson 7

I'll Fly Away - Piedmont...

Orville Johnson teaches the classic gospel tune "I'll Fly Away" in the Piedmont style.

Length: 18:40

Lesson 8

Beulah Land

Orville Johnson teaches the classic gospel song "Beulah Land."

Length: 12:40

Lesson 9

Make Me a Pallet on...

Orville Johnson teaches "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" in the Piedmont style.

Length: 17:58

Lesson 10

How Long, How Long Blues

Orville teaches the a fingerstyle version of the classic blues number "How Long, How Long."

Length: 23:31

Lesson 11

Common Blues Melody

Orville Johnson teaches a common blues melody that has been used in several classic songs...

Length: 15:09

Bottleneck slide guitar is a method of playing the guitar using a slide to mimic the sound of the human voice. The term slide is describes the sliding motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides, which were originally chopped off necks of glass bottles. Using a slide can expand the aural diversity of the guitar and give another avenue for expressiveness.

Lesson 1

Bottleneck Slide Basics

Orville Johnson covers the basics of the bottleneck slide. He talks about the history...

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Lesson 2

You've Got to Move

Orville Johnson uses his version of the traditional blues song, "You've Got to Move,"...

Length: 18:23

Lesson 3

Trouble In Mind

Orville Johnson teaches the classic blues song "Trouble In Mind" using a slide.

Length: 21:37

Lesson 4

Soul of a Man

Orville teaches a beautiful slide guitar arrangement of "Soul of a Man."

Length: 8:52

Lesson 5

Country Blues

Orville Johnson teaches the catchy tune "Country Blues" in a slide guitar style.

Length: 22:13

Lesson 6

John Henry

Orville teaches the song "John Henry" using a slide.

Length: 22:53

Lesson 7

Sitting on Top of the...

Orville Johnson teaches a slide guitar version of the classic blues tune "Sitting on Top...

Length: 23:32

Lesson 8

Guitar Rag

"Guitar Rag" was one of the first blues songs ever recorded. Orville Johnson teaches...

Length: 15:36

A sub-genre of country music which blends improvising with folk-like melodies. Pioneered by Bill Monroe in the 1930s in the "bluegrass" state. Learning to flatpick properly is absolutely crucial to the Bluegrass style.