Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Alt-Country Style Lead Guitar Lesson – EP350

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play an Alt-Country (Alternative Country) style lead with a lot of open space. The first half is very slow and easy to play, basically strumming arpeggiating chords. The second half has more of a country, blues style lead.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walk-Through

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  1. Jeff W says

    Very well done Brian!…. And so tasteful! (As usual).

    If you or anyone else likes this, you’ve got to check out Tift Merrit’s Bramble Rose CD! She is an incredible talent that never seemed to get the recognition she so well deserves. That album has this sound.

    Thanks so much and God Bless!

  7. San Luis Rey says

    I love this lesson Brian. Got to know Lucinda W’s music through the blues channel and what a voice. Sad and just gripping. I can imagine a Black Crows riff , like in” She Talks to Angels,” in this one too.

  9. Brent C says

    Been playing (and a website member for 3yrs now). Thanks (in no small part to listening to you) beyond being able to play it, I am really starting to “get” exactly what your are doing in a piece like this. Hope you can remember what it was like to reach that point where you could sit down & play something like this…., and how dog-gone much FUN it was. If you can, thank you!! GREAT lesson!!

  11. PJR says

    1 to the 4 chord by adding the pinky. I didn’t see that one coming. So well explained, and turning on the light bulb moments. Sweet sus chords. Thanks Brian for another great lesson.

  16. John H says

    I echo these sentiments above. Mostly thank you for the hard work and creativity. Every one of these creations are performance worthy and with your touch they sound amazing. I can’t wait to get started on this. And, thank you for all the “mini-lessons” within each lesson. So much fun!

    John

  17. KevinE says

    In the opening, I heard some what The Band would do and then the 3rd measure reminded me of David Lindley in a Jackson Browne song (These Days?). In any case, it is an excellent lesson. Love that you are using the backing track when you are putting the ideas together, it really gives it a nice context.

  22. Jim Dog says

    Brian,
    Another great lesson.
    PLEASE KEEP “REPEATING YOURSELF”!!!!!
    As I go through your lessons and see the same licks applied in different compositions, they become more reflexive and natural.
    Associating pentatonic patterns with chord shapes has been huge for me.
    I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your approach to teaching guitar.
    Cheers

  31. Riff Raff 60 says

    I’ve never taken the time to learn anything remotely country but this one really captivated me. Had a lot of fun learning it. The wife even walked in and said, “what is that?…It’s beautiful”.

  34. Gary R says

    Another great lesson. Reminds me of g-damn lonely love (drive by truckers w/ J Isbell days).
    Finding these lessons has cemented the dots of understanding I have accumulated over the past ~50 years, talk about yer lightbulbs!
    Plus you touch on all the americana styles I do dabble in. All the CAGED concepts I approximated (note it took me 40 of those 50 years to get it). I run in a tell my wife l thought I knew this and now Brian says it is true!
    I would add one nugget that works for my amateur brain though. I find it anchoring to my known homespot to interchange the first position F chord shape with the E barred shape chords when playing the first four strings up the neck thinking in caged. When you describe it, I see there. I have always seen the fretboard from the major pentatonic first, then to minor. Which apparently is slightly odd, like me. Ramble over.

  35. RNArizona says

    A lot of Great Takeaways for me in this lesson, and I just love the tone and sound of the song. I’ve been working on Eddie Cochran’s 1958 “Summertime Blues,” and just left my guitar and amp in the rockabilly settings, and it works great on this song.

    I hope that you, your family and friends weren’t affected by the horrible weather in Nashville–scary stuff. God Bless.

  37. mritalian says

    Hey Brian, Wow! Blown away Great lesson and composition. I hope you and your family and friends are safe after that devastation in Nashville. Let us know if your guitar community out here in the ether can help in anyways, Contributions, etc to help those that were affected by this terrible storm. Take care.

  39. Ted P says

    Thank you I have been off the grid for almost a year I am happy to be back. While I was off I keep playing what things that I have been learning. I played as much as I could with the 2 worship bands I am in Things started to click for me a couple of years ago. I play a lot of triads in the group. I seen this lesson and loved the sound.
    I was watching the video and another click. I could understand what was being said. I had practice today and this was the first time I never played an open cord in any of the 10 songs being played. We played in several different keys . I felt confident in what I was doing and the Esus cord you used in this lesson was a great.
    Thank you again.
    Ted

  40. Robert Burlin says

    I have been using my acoustic
    Guitar on all previous lessons but the bends in this one with 13’s on my guitar finally motivated me to bring out my electric guitar from the closet. 10 years it has been waiting. I can’t stop playing this one and 349,they are becoming part of me. And I have been checking since morning for 351.

  41. Geoff says

    I am a classical guitarist wanting to try something new so I subscribed to your site because I absolutely love your touch on the guitar and the way you can introduce an a range of different styles to ignoramuses like me.

    Working through this one is forcing me to completely rethink the how I play.

    Keep it up please.

  45. David G says

    Brian, am I imagining it or do you have a little tremolo effect in there too? (Wait, never mind. I see you answered my question in a previous comment above.)

    Anyway, awesome tune and lesson. I’m learning a ton from you. Thanks!

  46. Michael H says

    Hey Brian you are a phenomenal teacher. Thank you. I just realized in part 2 at 2:34 not only is that the d shape of the b chord but the d shape is also part of major pentatonic pattern 3!

  50. Mark says

    This is Excellent Brian! I’m working my way through all your material starting in order from EP001 and made it to EP085 so far because I don’t want to miss anything, but I cheated and skipped ahead to this one and love the fact that each lesson keeps getting better!

    Keep up the great work like this one!

    Mark

  53. Abraham O says

    New to the site and just stumbled across this one. More of this would be awesome! So great. Loving all of the country stuff, but more Jayhawks/The Band/Whiskeytown stuff would be worth the price of admission alone (the hundreds of other lessons would just be gravy). Such as great site–thank you!

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