I’m a guitarist. Always played rock and pop. But I never played country. But after watching this video I have realized there is soooo much for me to learn. Thank you for this wonderful video. I’m literally a beginner again 😅
@@jackieandthesheetmetals I believe SS (no humbucker) Telecasters are an excellent choice for country, especially if the pickups are not high output impedence.
Hi, I’m an old guy who has been in rock/blues bands. I love country and appreciate you taking time to make these techniques more easily understood. You play flawlessly, too. Wonderful, sir. Thanks again.
I've been playing since I was 5 years old. I've worked on everything from rock, blues rock, jazz, R&B, to disco. The hardest thing I've ever worked on is " chicken pickin' ". All of lives we teach ourselves to let every note ring clear and to hit it cleanly. In Chicken Pickin', every 2 or 3 notes is muted. It really takes a while to get a handle on it. Great lesson!
Incredible video as always! I've learned more watching your surf guitar and country guitar videos in the last 20 minutes than I have in the last 2 years with rhythm and technique!
Play the D cowboy chord up an octave. add the pinky to make it the sus4. hit that and bend that first finger up a tone. Hit that again but play just the major chord. now slide down to the 9th fret and play the same shape, hit that once, then last hit you play the sus4 while bending the first finger on the G string up to finish the lick. Its a total of five chord strikes w/bends and or w/added 4th.
Great lesson but even better is your old well-worn Tele. We note how the main used sections of your guitar are the top four strings from the 12th fret up to the 21st, and the top fours strings from the 1st fret up to the 7th. How many times have you had that thing serviced? The electrics, pots, pickups, machine heads (tuners), nut etc have all hung in over that time?
His gear description includes the phrase "Heavy Relic" with the Telecaster, so I think it's not nearly as old as it looks. It is a great looking guitar though.
Hi Ryan, could you please give me a tip on some practise exercises on how to learn this style of fingerpicking. My fingers seem soft and ineffective for this at the moment and I never really got the hang of travis picking either…always been a plectrum player.
Always eager to hear some good ole country music .........from a dude with a british accent. Go on: Show us what some authentic country guitarist taught you.
You mentioned Albert Lee a few times - I've always loved his playing on Clapton's "Just One Night" live album, recorded in '78 or so, and spent some time learning his tasty solo in "If I Don't Be There By Morning"....
I recently started doing steel style bends also on the D string. Slightly different fingering, and more push needed on the thicker string. You also need to use the little and 3rd finger on the upper 2 strings, rather than the little finger on both. I've always used little+3rd finger on all the upper 2 strings, 'cos I'm often holding that bend (+ the lower of the upper 2 strings), and playing another line over it on just the top string, using the little + 1st finger.
Thanks Stuart, I'm a fairly advanced intermediate and this video really filled in some gaps in my country playing which I started later in my guitar life. Keep it coming. Ron
Didn't know Stuart Ryan had his own YT channel!? He's a stonkin' guitar player and I've got a lot of his articles in magazines like Guitar Techniques and the DVDs they put out several years ago.
I'm from TN but have always preferred blues, however, there's no doubt that blues and country have crossed tracks many times, even rock/country. I can strum chords and keep up with most country songs and being exposed to country all my life the rhythms in country come pretty naturally but the lead parts are difficult for me.
Great Video. I always thought the chicken picking was with the right hand ( a sort of hybrid) which was why I couldn't do it. Now, thanks to you, I can. Thank-you.
marvellous stuff. whilst here I was encouraged to buy your soul rhythm book so plenty of fun to be had whilst I create my own musical mayhem. thank you
Fantastic, more of a prog and hard rock guy but always admired Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Brad Paisley. This helped tremendously in breaking down some of those techniques and they're incredibly fun to try and master.
You all probably dont care at all but does someone know of a method to log back into an instagram account? I somehow lost the account password. I love any assistance you can offer me!
@Reign Leonardo I really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and im in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
Do you have any video showing how to step by step learn the open string lick and chicken picking lick? Also do you happen to have any video that teaches how to spice up country songs in D, G, E and A?
A really great lesson, Stuart. You are a great talent in so many aspects of guitar. It would be interesting to see something on adapting the bends for acoustic guitar. As a banjo player, I would just mention, in addition, that the classic banjo forward roll is not TIM, TIM, TI, but is TIM repeated against the bar lines so your thumb is on beat 1 of every 4th bar - Earl's major contribution, and what gives bluegrass its drive. Works the same way for TMI (the backward roll). The other classic banjo licks are not grouped in 3s, but are more like regular guitar fingerpicking. The open string lick also comes in part from banjo, so called 'melodic' banjo as introduced by Bobby Thompson and Bill Keith. I would really recommend anyone serious about banjo rolls to get a beginner bluegrass banjo tutorial, even if you never play the banjo. Earl's book is great, and Pete Wernick has loads of stuff out there, a lot of which is free. Cheers and thanks again.
Hi Stuart, Thanks for this! I am in the midst of putting fills on a song I just recorded and this has been helpful. Most of it Ialready knew, but I also learned a lot. You make a great teacher and are obviously a very good picker as well!
Same but for me I need to hear it. Sometimes it’s fun to use a software like guitar pro to input the notes or tabs from a book and then it can play it back to you. That way you can hear what it’s supposed to sound like.
Amazing video, thanx. But even more amazing was your country sound. How do you get that? I have a Fender tele and a Vox ac but i never get that twang. I tried to lower the volume knob on the tele, what i read that would help. But not near as your sound. And now daily practice!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words! I recorded this through a Kemper with a Princeton profile but I normally use a real handwired AC15 for this stuff. I find with Teles a large part of the Country sound comes from the maple fingerboard - when I had a rosewood board Tele I couldn't ever quite get the right sound. A fairly hot bridge pickup also helps along with the amp being turned up a little so there's some natural compression. You can also add an MXR Dynacomp to help with the twang. Hope that helps!
@@StuartRyanMusic As I assumed. In that case I can no longer watch your YT channel as quite obviously you would rather buy soul than earn it. Relicing should be a jailable offense.
@@Neil-Aspinall I get that and I've owned vintage instruments too. At the end of the day I don't mind what they look like, if they play and sound great they work for me. For me the Soul aspect comes from my 35 years of playing and learning, the instrument is just the voice for all that. But hey, you have to be happy and if you hate relics then that's cool with me, I'll never tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like. Enjoy your playing, that's all that matters and sorry to see you go from here!
@@StuartRyanMusic Thank you for the information. They just look so playable, if that makes sense. Sorry, forgot to subscribe previously. I was subscribed previously on my old channel…I really need to start doing some recordings again. Thanks again.
Good video! I never understood the reason for hybrid picking, seems like the complication of holding the pick is a waste. I'd rather pick with thumb and fingers, but that's just me. I don't play with my nails so that may be influencing me.
Great stuff Stuart, thanks! I can incorporate these licks into my traditional British folk band, goes quite well, Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, that sort of thing. Best wishes from England!
The irony of having a Brit teaching country guitar. And really well. Cheers man. This is great!
Surprised at a British teaching country guitar 😅 really!! where do you think Abert lee was born 😊
Ray Flacke
@@dermotgillespie5138What percentage of professional Country pickers are not American?
Uh Albert Lee?! He was a legend
All the best guitar teachers on RUclips seem to be brits
I’m a guitarist. Always played rock and pop. But I never played country. But after watching this video I have realized there is soooo much for me to learn. Thank you for this wonderful video. I’m literally a beginner again 😅
Man if you own a Tele you’ve got let it go country now and again.
Never liked country music, but country guitar is really cool 👍
@@4stevio are teles good for country?
Danny Gatton, Roy Buchanan? gee whiz! Incredible stuff!.
@@jackieandthesheetmetals I believe SS (no humbucker) Telecasters are an excellent choice for country, especially if the pickups are not high output impedence.
Hi, I’m an old guy who has been in rock/blues bands. I love country and appreciate you taking time to make these techniques more easily understood. You play flawlessly, too. Wonderful, sir. Thanks again.
Great playing and great instruction, also I love the look of that tele. Omg it's a work of art.
I've been playing since I was 5 years old. I've worked on everything from rock, blues rock, jazz, R&B, to disco. The hardest thing I've ever worked on is " chicken pickin' ". All of lives we teach ourselves to let every note ring clear and to hit it cleanly. In Chicken Pickin', every 2 or 3 notes is muted. It really takes a while to get a handle on it. Great lesson!
Incredible video as always! I've learned more watching your surf guitar and country guitar videos in the last 20 minutes than I have in the last 2 years with rhythm and technique!
Sincere thanks for keeping our music alive.
Play the D cowboy chord up an octave. add the pinky to make it the sus4. hit that and bend that first finger up a tone. Hit that again but play just the major chord. now slide down to the 9th fret and play the same shape, hit that once, then last hit you play the sus4 while bending the first finger on the G string up to finish the lick. Its a total of five chord strikes w/bends and or w/added 4th.
Great to see you out there helping players Stuart. Jules
Very thorough lesson on the essential country guitar techniques. Nice work.
Thank you.
Thanks Frank!
Great lesson but even better is your old well-worn Tele. We note how the main used sections of your guitar are the top four strings from the 12th fret up to the 21st, and the top fours strings from the 1st fret up to the 7th. How many times have you had that thing serviced? The electrics, pots, pickups, machine heads (tuners), nut etc have all hung in over that time?
His gear description includes the phrase "Heavy Relic" with the Telecaster, so I think it's not nearly as old as it looks. It is a great looking guitar though.
Well done mate......
Nice! But I cannot find the tabs on the linked site.
Great practical examples for more advanced players who want to add more country to their playing.
Hi Ryan, could you please give me a tip on some practise exercises on how to learn this style of fingerpicking. My fingers seem soft and ineffective for this at the moment and I never really got the hang of travis picking either…always been a plectrum player.
Always eager to hear some good ole country music .........from a dude with a british accent.
Go on: Show us what some authentic country guitarist taught you.
love the lesson genius I am take it little by little
You mentioned Albert Lee a few times - I've always loved his playing on Clapton's "Just One Night" live album, recorded in '78 or so, and spent some time learning his tasty solo in "If I Don't Be There By Morning"....
Albert is such a great player! Thanks for watching!
great breakdown of basic country playing...
Thanks Steve! All the best, Stuart
Ace stuff. I am looking at ways to improve my rockabilly playing. These are just the job. Thanks
So in the pedal steel lick, your bending with the index finger, and the other two fingers, on the lower strings, are in place just fretting the notes?
Hi Neville, that's correct - those fingers are just giving support to the bend. All the best, Stuart
@@StuartRyanMusic thanks for the clarification
Very Good- I forget some of these----- Thank You Train Wreck II
This is an amazing video. Straight forward and easy to follow.
I recently started doing steel style bends also on the D string. Slightly different fingering, and more push needed on the thicker string. You also need to use the little and 3rd finger on the upper 2 strings, rather than the little finger on both. I've always used little+3rd finger on all the upper 2 strings, 'cos I'm often holding that bend (+ the lower of the upper 2 strings), and playing another line over it on just the top string, using the little + 1st finger.
You forgot to mention that you need a Telecaster with ash tray and brass saddles as well. 😁
Great lessons 😎
Very good perfect teaching.thanks
Thanks Stuart, I'm a fairly advanced intermediate and this video really filled in some gaps in my country playing which I started later in my guitar life. Keep it coming. Ron
Ok! I'm subbed. This is a gold mine. I'm shopping your book. Please keep up this channel forever!
Thank you! More on the way!
Excellent. Very clearly presented and extremely useful techniques.
Thank you for these great ideas! It’s like going to school again @ 73 years old! 🎸
Thanks for watching, glad it helped!
Excellent tutorial! Short and direct. Well done!
is that an aftermarket neck. those jumbo frets are huge.
No, it's the original but it was specced with Jumbo frets
Wow, I'm a lifetime musician, and that was fantastic! You have Demystified a boatload of stuff for me!
Thank you, glad it helped!
This is the best class I’ve seen about country music ever!! Thank you so much
Liking the guitar !
Great lesson. Thanks, Stuart!
Cool stuff! You nailed the really signature country licks!
Didn't know Stuart Ryan had his own YT channel!? He's a stonkin' guitar player and I've got a lot of his articles in magazines like Guitar Techniques and the DVDs they put out several years ago.
I'm from TN but have always preferred blues, however, there's no doubt that blues and country have crossed tracks many times, even rock/country. I can strum chords and keep up with most country songs and being exposed to country all my life the rhythms in country come pretty naturally but the lead parts are difficult for me.
Terrific lesson !
This is so valuable! I have been at this style for decades, but this adds a lot to my creative options. Thank you!
Yah ol gotta own a telecaster 🎸, 👍😂😅thank you for sharing 🎸👍
Great Video. I always thought the chicken picking was with the right hand ( a sort of hybrid) which was why I couldn't do it.
Now, thanks to you, I can.
Thank-you.
marvellous stuff. whilst here I was encouraged to buy your soul rhythm book so plenty of fun to be had whilst I create my own musical mayhem. thank you
Country stuff explained in beautiful RP English. The wonders of the internet. And very well explained as well.
Tips to become a considerable country player in a nutshell❤️
Awesome video!!!
Fantastic, more of a prog and hard rock guy but always admired Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed and Brad Paisley. This helped tremendously in breaking down some of those techniques and they're incredibly fun to try and master.
8. Slap-back delay and room reverb hides my mistakes. Thanks for this. Good lesson.
You all probably dont care at all but does someone know of a method to log back into an instagram account?
I somehow lost the account password. I love any assistance you can offer me!
@Waylon Josiah instablaster ;)
@Reign Leonardo I really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and im in the hacking process atm.
Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
@Reign Leonardo it did the trick and I finally got access to my account again. I'm so happy!
Thank you so much you saved my account !
@Waylon Josiah No problem xD
This is great. Thanks for sharing this big group of techniques as a country hit list. Good luck with the book and channel!
Great tips and ready to expand to other levels. Thank you!
Thank you Bruno, glad it helped! All the best, Stuart
Beautiful old Tele. What year? You have a great method of spelling your techniques out.
Exxcellent, really. Thanks a LOT!!!
Do you have any video showing how to step by step learn the open string lick and chicken picking lick? Also do you happen to have any video that teaches how to spice up country songs in D, G, E and A?
Is your Tele stock? Looks like the frets are jumbo and your tone is superb.
What mods have you done (if any)?
What can you tell me about it?
I love the style here I go I'm going to learn it your student
Thanks for watching!
This is good stuff. I'm trying to play 'fingerstyle' guitar, so I'm always interested in these specific technique videos.
A really great lesson, Stuart. You are a great talent in so many aspects of guitar. It would be interesting to see something on adapting the bends for acoustic guitar. As a banjo player, I would just mention, in addition, that the classic banjo forward roll is not TIM, TIM, TI, but is TIM repeated against the bar lines so your thumb is on beat 1 of every 4th bar - Earl's major contribution, and what gives bluegrass its drive. Works the same way for TMI (the backward roll). The other classic banjo licks are not grouped in 3s, but are more like regular guitar fingerpicking. The open string lick also comes in part from banjo, so called 'melodic' banjo as introduced by Bobby Thompson and Bill Keith. I would really recommend anyone serious about banjo rolls to get a beginner bluegrass banjo tutorial, even if you never play the banjo. Earl's book is great, and Pete Wernick has loads of stuff out there, a lot of which is free. Cheers and thanks again.
Hi Stuart, Thanks for this! I am in the midst of putting fills on a song I just recorded and this has been helpful. Most of it Ialready knew, but I also learned a lot. You make a great teacher and are obviously a very good picker as well!
Is it OK to bend the strings down instead of up when doing bends?
Generally, yes, it’ll sound just fine. Often, it’s easier to do that for some patterns. It’s a good thing to experiment with.
Awesome lesson. Thanks
Thanks Scott! All the best, Stuart
master class ! Great
I NEED a video version of your book. I can't read music notes. I even have trouble with Tabulature
Same but for me I need to hear it. Sometimes it’s fun to use a software like guitar pro to input the notes or tabs from a book and then it can play it back to you. That way you can hear what it’s supposed to sound like.
How do I see the guitar tab to this lesson?
Dude. You’re an absolute Hoss
I’m very interested in pedal steel bends . I haven’t quite managed the technique yet. I’ll keep on until I get it .
man alive !! your awesome !!
This great stuff 🙂
Amazing video, thanx. But even more amazing was your country sound. How do you get that? I have a Fender tele and a Vox ac but i never get that twang. I tried to lower the volume knob on the tele, what i read that would help. But not near as your sound. And now daily practice!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words! I recorded this through a Kemper with a Princeton profile but I normally use a real handwired AC15 for this stuff. I find with Teles a large part of the Country sound comes from the maple fingerboard - when I had a rosewood board Tele I couldn't ever quite get the right sound. A fairly hot bridge pickup also helps along with the amp being turned up a little so there's some natural compression. You can also add an MXR Dynacomp to help with the twang. Hope that helps!
Great video, I especially loved the open string section, very well explained.
Greeting from the USA! Just ordered your book! Looking forward to it! Cheers!
Thank you and sorry for late reply, just getting over the dreaded Covid!
@@StuartRyanMusic No woories at all! Glad you got over it!! Book should be here on the 11th. Looking forward to it!
I could see you wearing a big Stetson living in Nashville...thx Stuart!
Ha ha! Nashville is FULL of monster players, it's the last place any professional guitar player should want to move to really!
Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
Very helpful.
Been playing a while and found 2 new techniques.
Thanks you very much.
Peace🙏
Excellent! Just wanted to mention pre-bends too. Very country-sounding when used effectively!
Stu, that tele though!
Really great video thanks
Great lesson! subbed
Yeehaa! All good stuff mate. I love playing country guitar :)
Fantastic video really help me in my search … well done great stuff love it ❤️
I like your guitar.
Stu, is that a real weather beaten hard gigged worn Tele or a relic job?
Hi Neil, it's a Heavy Relic if I remember correctly, I think they did a good job on it, not always the case with CS relics!
@@StuartRyanMusic As I assumed. In that case I can no longer watch your YT channel as quite obviously you would rather buy soul than earn it. Relicing should be a jailable offense.
@@Neil-Aspinall I get that and I've owned vintage instruments too. At the end of the day I don't mind what they look like, if they play and sound great they work for me. For me the Soul aspect comes from my 35 years of playing and learning, the instrument is just the voice for all that. But hey, you have to be happy and if you hate relics then that's cool with me, I'll never tell anyone what they should or shouldn't like. Enjoy your playing, that's all that matters and sorry to see you go from here!
@@StuartRyanMusic paint job messed up but medoubts that affects the tone. Dope vid, BTW
Great stuff!
Some lessons on the blues
maybe in another lesson but this lesson is some tele spankin country ! 🙂
Great overview
Thank you for your very useful country guitar playing lessons, I'm looking forward to learning more through your videos.😊
Thank you, great video and really appreciate the tabs
What size frets are on the tele, please? I have never seen such chunky frets and they look great, and guessing they make playing great too.
I think they are 6105 on these though they were crowned last year so aren't quite so chunky now!
@@StuartRyanMusic Thank you for the information. They just look so playable, if that makes sense. Sorry, forgot to subscribe previously. I was subscribed previously on my old channel…I really need to start doing some recordings again. Thanks again.
Good video! I never understood the reason for hybrid picking, seems like the complication of holding the pick is a waste. I'd rather pick with thumb and fingers, but that's just me. I don't play with my nails so that may be influencing me.
Best of best
Awesome thanks for your efforts and sharing your knowledge.. thoroughly enjoyed it ❤
Just subscribed and liked 👍
Fender Tele , awesome for Country!
Great lesson
Thanks for sharing your skills 👍
Well thanks , back to the woodshed for me cause I ain't quite country yet ..
just recently getting into county and bluegrass stuff. do you have any must know albums ?
Nice jumbo frets.
I had them levelled a few months ago...not as jumbo now so a re-fret will be next :(
Amazing video mate..you nailed it in one video for my money..brilliant teacher if ever there was one !
Thanks for watching Mike, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Best wishes, Stuart
those frets are huge!
Yes they are. What size are they?
Great stuff Stuart, thanks!
I can incorporate these licks into my traditional British folk band, goes quite well, Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention, Pentangle, that sort of thing.
Best wishes from England!
This is gold