Cool stuff Blue. I'm 74 years old and the guitar keeps my hands nimble and working through the pain of arthritis. I have never been a good picker but this lesson may actually improve my picking speed. I love your lessons and use all of them. I wish you did more for acoustic. But thanks for the free lessons. It's all I can afford on my fixed income. You are a very good instructor....Paul
Thanks Paul! I've been doing mire electric lessons on UA-cam just because those seem to get lots more views. I don't know why. I do have another acoustic one coming up. But it still needs editing.
I dont usually comment on vids 1. thanks for the download tab 2. your explanation of picking down on whole and up on &. i understand now 3. this will be the only youtube lesson that i actually do at home 4. a lesson that also sounds good. my family will appreciate it.
Thanks for actually having a free download. So many people say, "download the link in the description" and only to find out its behind a pay wall. Good lesson!
Hes literally walking you through it with tabs on the screen and playing slowly ... why would you need to download tabs? You could write them yourself in a couple of minutes if you need them. I dont get people some times. They want everything handed to them on a plate as if having that attitude isnt exactly what will prevent them from being good at the thing they are trying to learn.
@sacredgeometry hey fella. What's with animosity? I just made a nice comment. I write tabs down all the time. I was just appreciative of an easy one. Didn't you mother ever tell you if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
I've been practicing this piece by piece for about a month. Have no ambition to become a straight out bluegrass player but it is definitely helping with my alternate picking. I've been playing for over 50 years and have been learning the triads, circle of 5ths, some Hendix stuff, Steve Howe stuff etc at the same time doing this and want to thank you. It's definitely an exercise for alternate picking that helps. And alot of this genre is played in that one key. Anyway just wanted to express some gratitude to you for taking your lifetime and doing this for us all.
This is so cool and so much fun to play. Working on flatpicking has taught me that my right hand technique is holding me back, and this kind of exercise is just what I need. So glad to have found your channel!
Mr. Morris I just found you last night. I love your demeanor in teaching. I have hundreds of hours watching lessons lol. So yes I’m a little bit of authority on it lol. You were in the top five unbelievable thank you.
This is such a great lesson. Thank you so much. Just starting to play with flat picking and your teaching style, clarity, explanations and pace are absolutely perfect. Can’t tell you how much your gift of teaching inspires me to keep playing and practicing.
I had gone through learning the G run in different positions, and different keys and strung them together in I IV V but directly one into the other. The way you connected them makes it sound like a real song. Great stuff....
Glad to hear it thank you! Just listened to your song Chase the Dragon. Well done, great sound you have. Lots more guitar lessons here on this channel :)
Thanks! I need work on my picking and you making this fun will get me trying. Thanks also for freely sharing your tabs on the lesson! I learn best off tabs.
This was the exercise I didn't know I needed! Just started touching more bluegrass stuff on my guitar and your lesson was 5 stars on Google! Thanks! :)
I recently came across your video. I am located in the province south of Vancouver, Washington State.😅 I am delighted to have discovered your teaching. I am currently working on expanding my flatpicking repertoire, and I find your teaching style to be very beneficial.
This is a great lesson. I have been looking for the right flatpicking exercise to set me on my way and this is just perfect. A cool exercise that is fun to play and gives you a reward as you improve. Fab!
I've been wanting to get into bluegrass in the last few months but I'm a pretty fresh guitarist. I think I'll slowly incorporate this as I nail down my barre chords and start learning scales. Thanks!!!
Just over a week into it and almost got it nailed. Just those pull offs on the last two bars need some more work to get the tempo and phrasing en point. Well, when I say “nailed”, I forgot to mention “at half speed”. Tempo at 100 bpm, not too bad. Now I’ve just got to figure out how on Earth you double it!😂. As an aside, thank goodness for the UA-cam half speed playback setting… it’s been a big help.
You have some lucky students in Vancouver. Your a very good teacher. I’m not a big bluegrass guy but I’m going to work on this. Thank you for doing this exercise. Happy new year 😊
Hi, I am just starting to learn bluegrass guitar I play this FP Friday exercise everyday for a warm up and my goal is to play like you when you play this exercise fast. I am not patient, so I started using the metronome set at 80 I just hope I am doing this right. Thank for the good video. any tips will help.
Hey Blue! This is a GREAT drill for up-down picking. My problem is this: when I try to build up some speed, I always have a tendency to CHEAT... For example, on the last 4 notes (E, D, Bb, B), which should be D-U-D-U.... I do D-U-U-D. ("sweeping"). Basically, I've beed a finger style player for so many years that I'm actually scared to use a pic !!! Hope this makes sense!
It's hard to break habits. The only way to change them is the hard way... play slow and really pay attention to it. Maybe say out loud down up down up etc. It's hard to do the opposite of what you say out loud. Keep it slow. Only gradually get up to speed.
Hey Blue, I love your Bluegrass flatpick excersize. I was curious about the lick at the end over the 5 chord. Why does it work? Is it just cromatic? Chaning to minor pent for a second? It sounds so cool I just want to know how else I can use it in other places. Thanks!
Thanks again for the lesson Blue! I tried to add the picking to the pdf, but got a little lost, please excuse my ignorance! As a relative newb i would have gotten a lot of value out of the pdf having the picking pattern on it. Just thought i'd pass that on in case it could help others, should you consider it. Thanks again 😃🙏
Good point, I should have put the picking pattern on there. But generally speaking, it's going to be "down up down up" throughout except where there are quarter notes, and except at the end where there are pull offs.
This is great, you Sir a a great teacher, thanks! What is the chord progression? Feels like 12 bar blues in G, but when trying to play this over it something feels off.
If you’re going down with your pick on one string for one note and then playing the next note on a string below the first note should you still be going up with your pick? It seems more efficient to go down again.
For certain passages you can do that... but we we should still train our hand to learn alternate picking so it's our default method when we are not familiar with whatever notes are ahead. Economy picking takes forethought. Alternate does not.
Hi, What tempo do you play this exercise at when you play the whole exercise fast? This is a good right hand exercise for me to learn that bluegrass style picking Thanks
Hello again Blue... I just looked at your Flatpicking Friday PDF file. Something I don't understand. The PDF file shows a CRAZY speed of 200BPM!!! But according to my electronic metronome, you play the exercise at 115BPM. Am I missing something here? Best regards, Dennis
I don't have time to relisten today but could it be we are counting 8th notes not quarter notes? I was definitely not going by the BPM on the tab. This video is old so I don't remember but I was probably just demonstrating without a metronome.
No problem at all... I understand. I've been going over this 12 bar demo, as low as 70BPM, and STILL having some issues! I'm a long was from getting up 100, let alone 115BPM. THANKS FOR TIS, Blue !!! @@GuitarLessonsVancouver
You can do it! It takes time. Just make sure you're using alternate picking when you practice them, keep it slow until you got it, then gradually get faster.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver I was talking to my buddy on the phone yesterday and was going through the first two bars and he was like “that sounds good” haha those two bars alone has helped. Going to piece it all together
Thanks! Glad it helped. Unfortunately I'm not doing lessons on Zoom anymore but there are lots more lessons on this channel and our Patreon www.patreon.com/guitarlessonsvancouver
Applying the psychology, well played instructor, but at the end of the day forget your scales theory etc...play from your heart n soul, that's what makes great musicians!
"major pentatonic in open position"......then immediatly plays a NON pentatonic run. "lots of blue notes in there" translation-NOT pentatonic. I don't understand why people thow the word pentatonic all over the place when they're not playing pentatonic🤦♂🤷
Maybe you pay more attention - he says major pentatonic "with the blue note". And OK he doesn't give a warning of the minor pentatonic run at the end......
@@djavidianmx1832 He says at the beginning of the video that the exercise is based on major pentatonic with the 'blue notes' (in G b flat and f natural) included. This is exactly what he plays and as the most commonly used scale in Bluegrass probably the most appropriate for an exercise, so what's the problem?
Nice guy, who talks you through every step with patience throughout
Thank you! Lots more lessons on the channel!
Cool stuff Blue. I'm 74 years old and the guitar keeps my hands nimble and working through the pain of arthritis. I have never been a good picker but this lesson may actually improve my picking speed. I love your lessons and use all of them. I wish you did more for acoustic. But thanks for the free lessons. It's all I can afford on my fixed income. You are a very good instructor....Paul
Thanks Paul! I've been doing mire electric lessons on UA-cam just because those seem to get lots more views. I don't know why. I do have another acoustic one coming up. But it still needs editing.
I dont usually comment on vids
1. thanks for the download tab
2. your explanation of picking down on whole and up on &. i understand now
3. this will be the only youtube lesson that i actually do at home
4. a lesson that also sounds good. my family will appreciate it.
Great! Thanks for commenting!
Thanks for actually having a free download. So many people say, "download the link in the description" and only to find out its behind a pay wall. Good lesson!
Hes literally walking you through it with tabs on the screen and playing slowly ... why would you need to download tabs? You could write them yourself in a couple of minutes if you need them.
I dont get people some times. They want everything handed to them on a plate as if having that attitude isnt exactly what will prevent them from being good at the thing they are trying to learn.
@sacredgeometry hey fella. What's with animosity? I just made a nice comment. I write tabs down all the time. I was just appreciative of an easy one. Didn't you mother ever tell you if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.
@@chetfishmt I wasnt talking about you I was talking about the people you were addressing.
I've been practicing this piece by piece for about a month. Have no ambition to become a straight out bluegrass player but it is definitely helping with my alternate picking. I've been playing for over 50 years and have been learning the triads, circle of 5ths, some Hendix stuff, Steve Howe stuff etc at the same time doing this and want to thank you. It's definitely an exercise for alternate picking that helps. And alot of this genre is played in that one key. Anyway just wanted to express some gratitude to you for taking your lifetime and doing this for us all.
Great lesson! One of the better bluegrass ones ive found yet, thank you!
Thank you for watching and commenting 😀
This is so cool and so much fun to play. Working on flatpicking has taught me that my right hand technique is holding me back, and this kind of exercise is just what I need. So glad to have found your channel!
Cool thanks Gabe! New video every Saturday
This is great! I appreciate drills that have a little bit of musicality to them. Doesn't even feel like practice!
Cool that's the best when that happens
Mr. Morris I just found you last night. I love your demeanor in teaching. I have hundreds of hours watching lessons lol. So yes I’m a little bit of authority on it lol. You were in the top five unbelievable thank you.
Thanks for the great review!
Oh,
And yes the tabs help immensely!!
This is such a great lesson. Thank you so much. Just starting to play with flat picking and your teaching style, clarity, explanations and pace are absolutely perfect. Can’t tell you how much your gift of teaching inspires me to keep playing and practicing.
Thank you that's great to hear
I had gone through learning the G run in different positions, and different keys and strung them together in I IV V but directly one into the other. The way you connected them makes it sound like a real song. Great stuff....
Awesome thanks for watching and commenting! Lots more on the channel
Noiiiiice just what I was looking for! Learned it, love it, thank you!
Glad to hear it thank you! Just listened to your song Chase the Dragon. Well done, great sound you have. Lots more guitar lessons here on this channel :)
This is the best and most fun flat picking exercise I've ever played! Thank you!
Awesome thank you!
Thanks! I need work on my picking and you making this fun will get me trying. Thanks also for freely sharing your tabs on the lesson! I learn best off tabs.
Thank you Have fun! Lots more lessons on the channel when you are done this one
This was the exercise I didn't know I needed! Just started touching more bluegrass stuff on my guitar and your lesson was 5 stars on Google! Thanks! :)
Thank you! Lots more guitar lessons onnour channel 👍🎸
Love this, feels like I’m at an actual lesson! Could you possibly explain how to hold the pick when flatpicking?
greatings from Switzerland! Love your lessons!!!
Thanks! 😃 Glad you're enjoying them!
❤Great stuff, very well put across. Another fan..😊
Thank you! New lessons here almost every Saturday 🎸😎
I recently came across your video. I am located in the province south of Vancouver, Washington State.😅 I am delighted to have discovered your teaching. I am currently working on expanding my flatpicking repertoire, and I find your teaching style to be very beneficial.
Wonderful thanks for subscribing and commenting!
Nice short exercise. Thanks
Thanks for watching and commenting!
really handy exercise, enjoyed this thanks
Thanks for watching!
Love this lesson. Thank you
Glad you enjoyed it!
This is a great lesson. I have been looking for the right flatpicking exercise to set me on my way and this is just perfect. A cool exercise that is fun to play and gives you a reward as you improve. Fab!
Thank you! Glad it helped 👍
Thanks.
This is just the thing for me! Great instruction. I am a subscriber now. Thanks!
Cool Thanks for the sub!
Great excercise!!! Thanks!!!
Thanks Andrés!
great lesson, going to get the book.
Great thanks! Let me know if you have any questions about the book :)
Learned alot from this, great video!
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you!
Thanks for watching J S
I've been wanting to get into bluegrass in the last few months but I'm a pretty fresh guitarist. I think I'll slowly incorporate this as I nail down my barre chords and start learning scales. Thanks!!!
These are definitely good exercises for bluegrass, you can do it! :)
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver Will do! I learned the G major scale yesterday:) its something lol.
Another good lesson. ❤
Thanks Marc!
Super explain for me to improve my guitar play and my English 😉, best wishes from germany
Thank you! Lots more guitar lessons on the channel!
Nice lesson. Looks like an Adirondack top.
Really like my Santa Cruz Tony Rice but wish it had an Adirondack top
Really like this drill! When I first heard you play this, it was intimidating to say the least, but surprising how easy it is if you take it slow ❤
Cool, good work if you got it goin :)
Just over a week into it and almost got it nailed. Just those pull offs on the last two bars need some more work to get the tempo and phrasing en point. Well, when I say “nailed”, I forgot to mention “at half speed”. Tempo at 100 bpm, not too bad. Now I’ve just got to figure out how on Earth you double it!😂. As an aside, thank goodness for the UA-cam half speed playback setting… it’s been a big help.
Thank you so much!!
Thanks for watching! Lots more guitar lessons on the channel 👍
You have some lucky students in Vancouver. Your a very good teacher. I’m not a big bluegrass guy but I’m going to work on this. Thank you for doing this exercise. Happy new year 😊
Cool, thanks Tim!
Thanks my man I like this great video cheers my man much appreciated!! Brian Ireland 🇮🇪🎸🎸
Thank you Brian!
Great lesson ! Bst rgrds from Germany
Thanks! 😃
This is great. Don’t see many Larrivee guitars,had mine since 1998
Nice! Yeah I have two of them. A D and an OM.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver mine’s a L-09
Fun! Thanks!
Thanks for watching 😀
Ty for this. IT opened a door!!
Great thanks! Lots more on the channel 👍😎
Loved it
Thanks Allen!
Dude…thanks thanks thanks!
Glad it helped!
Hi, I am just starting to learn bluegrass guitar I play this FP Friday exercise everyday for a warm up and my goal is to play like you when you play this exercise fast. I am not patient, so I started using the metronome set at 80 I just hope I am doing this right. Thank for the good video. any tips will help.
Thanks! Sounds like a good plan!
Hey Blue! This is a GREAT drill for up-down picking. My problem is this: when I try to build up some speed, I always have a tendency to CHEAT... For example, on the last 4 notes (E, D, Bb, B), which should be D-U-D-U.... I do D-U-U-D. ("sweeping"). Basically, I've beed a finger style player for so many years that I'm actually scared to use a pic !!! Hope this makes sense!
It's hard to break habits. The only way to change them is the hard way... play slow and really pay attention to it. Maybe say out loud down up down up etc. It's hard to do the opposite of what you say out loud. Keep it slow. Only gradually get up to speed.
Great
Thank you sir, what would be a good place to start as far as bpm?
A very good lessons thanks.. could you give a lessons on passing notes.. I'm sure your subscribers would be grateful for it.🤗
Hey. Great clip. I'm searching for crosspicking exercises. If anyone knows where I can find some good ones please let me know.
Hey Blue, I love your Bluegrass flatpick excersize. I was curious about the lick at the end over the 5 chord. Why does it work? Is it just cromatic? Chaning to minor pent for a second? It sounds so cool I just want to know how else I can use it in other places. Thanks!
Thanks again for the lesson Blue! I tried to add the picking to the pdf, but got a little lost, please excuse my ignorance! As a relative newb i would have gotten a lot of value out of the pdf having the picking pattern on it. Just thought i'd pass that on in case it could help others, should you consider it. Thanks again 😃🙏
Good point, I should have put the picking pattern on there. But generally speaking, it's going to be "down up down up" throughout except where there are quarter notes, and except at the end where there are pull offs.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver Thanks Blue! Have a great day mate
I am a fingerpicker.....looking how you bloody do that....I will start one day
You can do it! You might be surprised how quickly you can get used to playing with a pick. It takes time, but nice to have the option for sure
This is great, you Sir a a great teacher, thanks!
What is the chord progression?
Feels like 12 bar blues in G, but when trying to play this over it something feels off.
It is a 12-bar form, but not a blues. Meaning they are simpler chords. Just G C D rather than G7, C7 and D7 which would make it blues.
If you’re going down with your pick on one string for one note and then playing the next note on a string below the first note should you still be going up with your pick? It seems more efficient to go down again.
For certain passages you can do that... but we we should still train our hand to learn alternate picking so it's our default method when we are not familiar with whatever notes are ahead. Economy picking takes forethought. Alternate does not.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver thank you for the response and the lesson!
Vancouver Canada or Washington ?
Vancouver Canada 🍁
Lv it
Thank you for watching and commenting 😀
Hi, What tempo do you play this exercise at when you play the whole exercise fast? This is a good right hand exercise for me to learn that bluegrass style picking Thanks
Sorry I don't remember the BPM. You can try a tap tempo metronome to figure it out.
Hello again Blue... I just looked at your Flatpicking Friday PDF file. Something I don't understand. The PDF file shows a CRAZY speed of 200BPM!!! But according to my electronic metronome, you play the exercise at 115BPM. Am I missing something here?
Best regards,
Dennis
I don't have time to relisten today but could it be we are counting 8th notes not quarter notes? I was definitely not going by the BPM on the tab. This video is old so I don't remember but I was probably just demonstrating without a metronome.
No problem at all... I understand. I've been going over this 12 bar demo, as low as 70BPM, and STILL having some issues! I'm a long was from getting up 100, let alone 115BPM. THANKS FOR TIS, Blue !!! @@GuitarLessonsVancouver
After many years of skipping scales for the most part, I just revisited them and I’m appalled at how bad I am lol
You can do it! It takes time. Just make sure you're using alternate picking when you practice them, keep it slow until you got it, then gradually get faster.
@@GuitarLessonsVancouver I was talking to my buddy on the phone yesterday and was going through the first two bars and he was like “that sounds good” haha those two bars alone has helped. Going to piece it all together
@@Photognick521 Cool, it's nice to get a compliment from a buddy on your guitar playing too :)
Your hired how about zoom lessons 😂
Thanks! Glad it helped. Unfortunately I'm not doing lessons on Zoom anymore but there are lots more lessons on this channel and our Patreon www.patreon.com/guitarlessonsvancouver
Applying the psychology, well played instructor, but at the end of the day forget your scales theory etc...play from your heart n soul, that's what makes great musicians!
"major pentatonic in open position"......then immediatly plays a NON pentatonic run.
"lots of blue notes in there" translation-NOT pentatonic. I don't understand why people thow the word pentatonic all over the place when they're not playing pentatonic🤦♂🤷
Maybe you pay more attention - he says major pentatonic "with the blue note". And OK he doesn't give a warning of the minor pentatonic run at the end......
@@djavidianmx1832 He says at the beginning of the video that the exercise is based on major pentatonic with the 'blue notes' (in G b flat and f natural) included. This is exactly what he plays and as the most commonly used scale in Bluegrass probably the most appropriate for an exercise, so what's the problem?