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This lesson is part of the course Intermediate Flatpicking Guitar with Scott Nygaard.
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About This Course
 
Learn to play fiddle tunes and other bluegrass and roots melodies, with an emphasis on alternate picking, simple scales, and developing good picking- and fretting-hand technique. Designed for guitarists just starting to play melodies as well as intermediate players who want to work on their flatpicking technique.
 
 
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Sally Gooden
 
The B part of “Sally Gooden” starts with a simple scale fragment, starting on the open G, that may be familiar from the Alternating Picking video. Scott walks you through the melody of the B part phrase by phrase, and gives you advice on keeping your fretting-hand fingers in position above the notes, as well as “planting” them: keeping them down on the fret until after you play the next note in the phrase.These are very important things to work on, as they give your playing a lot of fluidity and make your fingering more efficient.
 
 
 
The Intermediate Flatpicking Guitar Subscription Includes:
  • A step-by-step approach to mastering flatpicking technique
  • More than 40 extensive video lessons
  • 34 complete tunes and songs to play, with variations
  • Detailed tab/notation for all lessons
  • In-depth lessons on flatpicking and fretting-hand technique
  • High-quality video with multiple camera angles so you can see closeups of both hands in action
  • Play-Along Tracks so you can practice what you’ve learned
 
 
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Big Sandy River  
 
Big Sandy River  
 
Big Sandy River, Part 1
Big Sandy River, Part 1
 
Bill Monroe’s fiddle tune “Big Sandy River” has been a favorite of flatpickers ever since Dan Crary recorded it as “Cross the Big Sandy” on his 1970 instrumental album Bluegrass Guitar, one of the first albums devoted to flatpicking guitar instrumentals. “Big Sandy River” has a distinctive beginning in its first two measures, but from there on people play it very differently, and the melodies people choose are based more on the chords of the tune and the general shape of the melody rather than a specific series of notes. This makes it a great tune to jam on, and allows you to easily come up with your own version. The original Bill Monroe version features Kenny Baker on fiddle, and his line on the V chord in the A part is very distinctive but a little unwieldy on the guitar, which is probably one reason guitarists, including Dan Crary, started modifying it right off the bat. In this lesson, you’ll learn Kenny’s original fiddle melody as well as a way to play the tune that is more like the way guitarists generally play it.

  "Big Sandy River" (Available to subscribers)
 
 
 
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Learn to play fiddle tunes and other bluegrass and roots melodies on guitar in our latest Peghead Nation course.
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Mandolin/guitar duo play a song from Joe’s new album, “Borderland.”
 
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    ● For Beginners
 
 
    ● Vintage Vault
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    ● Fine Lutherie
 
 
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