Levi Clay - Country Guitar for Beginners: A Complete Country Guitar Method to Learn Traditional and Modern Country Guitar Playing

Considered by many to be the sound of America, surveys will tell you that there's no more popular genre of music than country music. Country and Western has a rich history, but to many only conjures up images of cowboys. However, the reality is that there's so much more to the story than this.

Born in the 1920s, country music shares many similarities with the blues, in that country is a fusion of music from other continents that found a footing in a new location. While we might think of the birthplace of the genre as the Appalachian Mountains, many would argue that the music was actually conceived in in the traditional folk sound and instrumentation of countries like Ireland and Scotland.

After many generations in the Appalachian melting pot (where music was played socially for entertainment), residents began to move south to work in cities like Atlanta, Georgia. This brought country music to ears of a different type of person; the business man. It was here that the recording industry would start to experiment with the commercial potential of country music. By the end of the 20s, the American people would come to know these early country sounds through success stories such as Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family.

During the 30s, the Great Depression saw a dramatic drop in record sales. The solution for music lovers was the radio renaissance, with the Grand Ole Opry filling the ears of anyone willing to listen. Thanks to Hollywood, the idea of the cowboy ballad caught on, with artists like Roy Acuff having hits with classics such as Wabash Cannonball.

Things really changed in the 1940s as western swing took off, with Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys bringing amplified electric guitar and even drums into his band. This may sound trivial now, but at the time these changes were revolutionary and despised by purists. Simultaneously there was an explosion in the bluegrass scene, as Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys took the traditional unamplified folk and gospel music to new commercial heights.

Country music would continue to grow and branch into numerous sub-genres over the next sixty years, not to mention become one of the driving sounds behind rockabilly, and eventually, rock and roll. From the ballads of Hank Williams to the stardom of Johnny Cash the simple sounds of Merle Travis to the sophistications of Chet Atkins the class of Merle Haggard to the rebellion of Willie Nelson the pop of Dolly Parton to the rock of the Allman Brothers or the traditions of Alan Jackson verses the progression of Carrie Underwood: Country music is a genre you could spend a long time getting to know, as it runs deep in the DNA of the music of the 20th century.

Country guitar is a fascinating genre and will require serious dedication and passion to achieve the mastery of Albert Lee or Brent Masons hot licks. On the other hand, it's very easy to achieve a good command of the genre by playing songs and solos typical of the style.

I really do believe that Scotty Anderson may be one of the most terrifyingly technical players to ever pick up the guitar, and this should come as no surprise when you hear the playing of Jimmy Bryant, way back in the 50s; long before shred guitar appeared!

If you want to get technical, then stick at it, but remember that the foundations of timing, tone and stylistic awareness are the bedrock on which these skills should be built.

Country Guitar for Beginners is split into two sections that are designed to develop the specific skills needed to become proficient in the many elements of the genre.

Part One focuses on chord playing and rhythm guitar skills. By developing a good feel now, you will sit tightly on the groove later when you're running up and down the neck with open string cascades and punchy double stops. Remember, the guitar didn't really function as a lead instrument until much later in the genres development. It's all well and good being able to play Hot Wired (in fact it's pretty impressive!), but you also need to be able to know how to play something like Hey Good Lookin' or San Antonio Rose when required.

Once youve completed Part One, you will be ready to play anything you'd hear from Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash or similar icons of the genre. Building a sense of this style is imperative if you want to study players like Chet Atkins or the great Jerry Reed.

Part Two takes you through everything you need to play lead guitar solos typical of the earlier styles of country music. You'll look at basic picking concepts and how to flat pick and thumb pick how to embellish rhythm parts with typical double stop riffs scales in multiple keys the use of triads as soloing guides bending ideas, diatonic intervals and arpeggios. The goal is to teach you to fill the shoes of legendary guitarists like Roy Nichols, James Burton, Luther Perkins, and Eldon Shamblin.