Variations on Tunes (Guitar Lesson)

Variations on Tunes

Tyler Grant is back with a look at how to make variations on the tunes you are playing. This can be done either on the fly through improvisation techniques, or by writing specific variations and arrangements ahead of time.

Taught by Tyler Grant in Bluegrass Flatpicking seriesLength: 16:18Difficulty: 3.0 of 5

Supplemental Learning Material

Bluegrass Flatpicking

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.

About Tyler Grant View Full Biography Tyler Grant brings his Flatpicking expertise to JamPlay!

Tyler took first place honors at the Rockygrass guitar contest in 2003, the Wayne Henderson festival contest in 2005, the 2008 New England Flatpicking Championship, the 2009 Doc Watson Guitar Championship at Merlefest and became the National Flatpicking Champion for placing first at Winfield in 2008. He has been an instructor at CalArts, Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, Rockygrass Academy, Augusta Heritage Center Bluegrass Week and Grand Targhee Music Camp. He has been featured in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine. He lives in Lyons, Colorado, where he writes music, enjoys the outdoors, teaches lessons and records for Grant Central Records.

National Flatpicking Champion Tyler Grant is a versatile guitarist and multi-instrumentalist with a wide range of musical expertise. He is an internationally recognized guitar virtuoso with two solo albums and an impressive resume as a session musician, bandleader and sideman. He has shared the stage with such luminaries as Tony Rice, Sam Bush, Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, Chris Thile, John Oates, Steve Kaufman, Leftover Salmon, Yonder Mountain String Band and The String Cheese Incident. Tyler showcases his powerful and original style of Flatpicking on his latest CD release, Up the Neck. His current band project, The Grant Farm, is taking root and growing fast.

Tyler graduated from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 2000 with a Bachelors degree in Guitar Performance. After moving to Nashville from Southern California in 2003 he joined Adrienne Young’s band and toured with her for nearly two years, acting as musical director and playing on her acclaimed CDs Plow the End of the Row and The Art of Virtue. In 2004 he joined Casey and Chris Henry and the Two-Stringers. In the fall of 2004 he toured China with Abigail Washburn and Friends and appeared on her Song of the Traveling Daughter CD. During the first half of 2005 he toured with phenomenal Canadian fiddler April Verch. Tyler revealed his talents as a singer and songwriter with his first solo album, In The Light, released in June 2006 on FGM Records.

From 2005 through 2010 Tyler made hundreds of appearances across the country as a member of the Drew Emmitt Band and the Emmitt-Nershi Band, featuring the frontmen from two of the world’s most popular jambands: Leftover Salmon and the String Cheese Incident. Tyler played on Long Road, the latest acclaimed Drew Emmitt release, which reached #1 on the Jam Band chart, and New Country Blues, the outstanding current release by the Emmitt/Nershi Band. In 2011 Tyler will focus his attention on solo dates, acoustic duet acts with Andy Thorn and Benny Galloway, and his latest band, The Grant Farm.

Tyler took first place honors at the Rockygrass guitar contest in 2003, the Wayne Henderson festival contest in 2005, the 2008 New England Flatpicking Championship, the 2009 Doc Watson Guitar Championship at Merlefest and became the National Flatpicking Champion for placing first at Winfield in 2008. He has been an instructor at CalArts, Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, Rockygrass Academy, Augusta Heritage Center Bluegrass Week and Grand Targhee Music Camp. He has been featured in Acoustic Guitar Magazine, Flatpicking Guitar Magazine and Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine. He lives in Lyons, Colorado, where he writes music, enjoys the outdoors, teaches lessons and records for Grant Central Records.