You’re wrong about bluegrass rhythm guitar being simple / musical slight of hand / turkey in straw

In-depth video lessons with me here: www.skool.com/alexs-acoustic-...
More thoughts and examples of how to progressively increase the complexity of your rhythm playing. Ultimately the goal with this is not that we are playing the most complex always but that we have the wherewithall to be able to select these parts of the whole to improve the listener's experience and create something even more musical and interactive than before.
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Musical Slight of Hand - Make it Sound Easy
2:17 Fiddle Tune : Turkey in the Straw
2:49 Elements of Bluegrass Guitar Rhythm
5:08 Use the Elements to Create Rhythm Variation
5:48 8 Variations Explained
9:30 Winding Up the Metronome (skip here if you're impatient)
10:02 Turkey in the Straw Melody
11:01 1) Boom Chuck
11:44 2) Waling Bass Lines
12:18 3) Rumble Rhythm
12:58 4) Dynamics
13:35 5) Most Complexity
14:10 6) Do the Least, Groove The Most
14:50 7) Back to Boom Chuck
15:34 The Big Picture and How to Practice this
16:08 Singing The Melody Exercise
17:29 Example 1 with Boom Chuck
19:00 Example 2 with Do The Least Groove the Most
20:27 Putting it All Together

[@TommyDargesen-ey4yz]

Never EVER have I absorbed so much valuable information about how to go forward with my bluegrass playing. Which i almost have given up upon. Can not afford having a guitar teacher. I am so pleased. So inspired by this video. I'll pick up my guitar again today. Thank you Alex!

[@alexgraf8417]

LETS GO!! I love to hear that. It’s literally the reason I made the video. Success. Cheers!

[@uberjam-sam8512]

Really great lesson and demonstration of the levels of complexity of bluegrass rhythm guitar 🎸 playing. A crucial topic that gets scant attention on KZbin. I really liked the way you taught this as a way to practice.

[@alexgraf8417]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it

[@bdm50]

Love your style and your lessons. Tell those who don’t like your writing to go pack sand. 😂

[@alexgraf8417]

So glad you’re getting something out of them! Thanks! I know I’m just out here trying to teach about something I’m passionate about and people are leaving comments like “oh the information wasn’t spoon fed to me and absolutely efficient at every single second so do better” haha. The audacity. I digress.

[@JoshFarley-fw1es]

Your absolutely right about bluegrass rhythm guitar and how complex and intricate it could be. When I first started playing guitar I was a metal player. I was ignorant in my younger years thinking bluegrass was easy till I joined my uncles bluegrass band years ago and had to learn. Boy was I wrong and it proved me wrong time and time again how difficult it is when you really deep dive into it. Great playing and lessons! Your videos have helped me tremendously! Keep them coming brother!

[@alexgraf8417]

So glad to hear you’re getting something out of the videos! Absolutely man!

[@BURGRKNG]

the bass walks are an excellent way to sound more old time than bluegrass like norman blake, i personally like them in my arrangements because its the only time in this sort of music where you might have a fleeting moment of 'crunchy harmony' when it's just two guitars, because most of the classic b/g repertoire is so straight up and down diatonic. You can also develop them into a full counter melody for an instrumental arrangement or to make different sections of a song that otherwise has the same chord progression for everything stand out. And on the subject of Dynamics, I also like to do that loud chuck strum like blake does where the g run would normally be in his vocal tunes, its a small and simple but effective mashup of a few of the principles you laid out there, basically it goes like this in a single 4/4 measure, 1-2 are regular boom chuck, but 3 and 4 are divided into eighths, so you hit two bass notes and two strums on 3 and 4, the bass notes are usually the 3rd and the open string above it but in his slightly more complex grooves he actually rolls in the other direction. Loads of his playing I would put in the 'simple but damn effective' especially his and nancy's backing parts. BTW Excellent vid, you have a great way of breaking a wider technique and taste discussion down to its smaller parts so it's easier to learn

[@alexgraf8417]

Great stuff! Boom-chuck, boom-a-chuck-a! Kind of like a train groove on a snare. Cheers bud thank you so much.

[@thorolse]

Love the off-the-cuff style of this video. Thanks!

[@alexgraf8417]

Glad to hear it. Cheers.

[@alexrediske4134]

This is sweet man. And so important. Here in Germany, we have a lot of guitar players focusing on nailing breaks but don’t go beyond (quiet) boom chuck. This is good stuff, Alex, keep it up!

[@alexgraf8417]

Good to hear from you my friend. Absolutely. And look, there’s nothing wrong with that (quiet) book chuck, but also, there’s so much more we can do to support a song as rhythm players. Cheers!

[@benwilliams2067]

I think those asking for more specific info can just pause the video but yeah this is exactly how I learn because you do a good job being musical throughout the entire video

[@gdt76]

Excellent lesson - breakdown, explanation, and playing example were all very helpful! Appreciate you for all you do!

[@alexgraf8417]

So glad to hear you’re finding it useful. Cheers!

[@acousticarchivefortwayne930]

Excellent lesson Alex. I just did a quick run through of your video but this is one where I'm going to take a deeper dive later. The rhythmic variations you're teaching are great. Keep up the good work!

[@alexgraf8417]

Many thanks! Glad you’re liking them. I have no plans of stopping. Cheers!

[@connorsullivan9287]

This was an excellent video man (as all these grateful comments can attest). Don’t let a vocal few get you down! Eagerly awaiting the next upload and excited to try out isolating and incorporating these components in my own playing. Cheers!

[@alexgraf8417]

Thank you and Cheers indeed! No one can stop me! Haha

[@luckyloop7503]

Nice video. Just started my bluegrass journey and still learning a whole lot about rhythm playing although I have been playing guitar for 20 years now haha. Greets from Austria

[@alexgraf8417]

Incredible! Man this is what I love to hear. Greetings indeed. Cheers to you!

[@sdg1685]

Very very cool. What a thoughtful approach to musical growth: in pieces. How do you get better? One step at a time. This inspired me so much, thank you! Personally, I just love the effect of the "rumble." It's amazing how that swing thickens the groove.

[@michaelmorrisguitar]

Man. Absolutely love your channel thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with us!

[@alexgraf8417]

Thanks so much. Happy to do so!

[@sprucifers]

Thank you! This is amazing

[@alexgraf8417]

Great to hear. Cheers!

[@RickHardcore]

Very well played and nice guitar sound my friend!!🎸Like +1 and subscribed!

[@alexgraf8417]

Many thanks!

How great it is! Thank You!

[@BrandonBunch-ft3ww]

Another great video. Love the ideas! DTLGTM!

[@alexgraf8417]

Glad you like them!

[@ambroseharper8316]

That's a super video 😊

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

Great playing. Great video.

[@theburnerband6440]

Yeah man spot on. ❤

[@Jprov410]

Great video! I’d love to see some more about chord substitutions. For example, I’ve borrowed your quick G7 with the B as the bass note between G and C in the key of G. I’d love to hear about why you made certain choices in the rhythm part to your Red Haired Boy jam video.

[@timothyentwistle1244]

Alex this was so fascinating to watch! Had me hooked man, I'm signing up to your patreon.

[@alexgraf8417]

Great to hear Timothy! I’ll see you inside!

[@Wolferal]

Is there any way you can not talk at all and sort telepathically convey the information instead? Also, I don't like that color ink. Can you use blue next time? But seriously, thanks for this! You're a killer musician and a good teacher, sir!

[@alexgraf8417]

Hahahaa this is incredible.

[@jimbojones3874]

Great video. Just what I need right now. Thanks.

[@alexgraf8417]

Love to hear it. Cheers.

[@pcl1886]

Excellent! Thank you

[@alexgraf8417]

You are welcome!

[@GeraldSmith1953]

Bless it!! PTL

[@EmmettMeierbachtol]

I think we need a DTLGTM sweatshirt

[@staleyexplores]

Which tuner do you have in the sound hole?

[@Emmetgriffin9]

Red wing. Dad. That’s the ice cream truck tune. 😂. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@donsmith820]

DAMN!!! 😮

[@staleyexplores]

So it looks like you have upgraded your saddle? It looks wider than normal for a martin guitar. Is this correct? If so, were you having an intonation issues?

[@alexgraf8417]

Nope! I think the light is just a little blown out on the picture image. That’s a Martin saddle.

[@makeitcount179]

Never happy hitting ANY guitar. No Alex. Not happy about that. But I've done it and maybe everybody. Don't do that for "us"...can we just get to the Zen diagram of endless rhythmic permutations and we can all try making the complicated look easy. Thanks Alex. Appreciate y'all.😊

[@alexgraf8417]

Haha. I’ll knock my guitar any day for the consistency with your comments. Cheers.

[@Shawn15Kirkpatrick]

What metronome are you using?

[@alexgraf8417]

Brand is “gleam”. Pretty cheap Amazon purchase tbh

[@marcalexander9075]

It seems like the metronome is on the 2 and 4, so wouldn't that make this 200 BPM?

[@alexgraf8417]

Cut time

[@That.Guy.]

Good guitarists make it look so easy. Boy was I surprised how difficult it was (and still is) when I decided to learn. Ps I want to see more writing and less talking.😅

[@alexgraf8417]

You’re not alone! Never stop! Cheers.

[@dannygrecs275]

Haha I love chirping you’re doing at the people that don’t want to put the work in 😂. Fuck em if they don’t find the value in something that’s longer than 30 seconds.

[@JODYCARROLL]

Black pen

[@alexgraf8417]

You sound smart

[@jessehudson7113]

Honk it on …

[@Steviepinhead]

Sleight of hand: different word, meaning, and etymology than 'slight.' Not a criticism, just an fyi.

[@alexgraf8417]

Ty

[@JackRogers-kk1ve]

Nerd!

[@Dave-nm3xc]

Nothing to do with bluegrass is simple to play.