THE ULTIMATE COUNTRY GUITAR LESSON
Hello and welcome. My name is David Henriksson and I’ll be your guide as we get to grips with the basics of country guitar playing. But before we get started, you should know a little about me. In my native Sweden, I studied for a bachelor’s degree in electric guitar teaching, and I’ve always really enjoyed helping other guitar players to understand their instrument on a deeper level. But I also had another dream: Music City.
I’ve always loved country guitar. In July 2017, I decided to pack up my life, move to Nashville and try to make it as a session guitar player in the most competitive and demanding environment on the planet. Shortly after arriving, I scored a crazy opportunity for a newcomer: an audition for legendary country singer Tracy Lawrence, who has sold 14 million albums and has 18 Billboard No.1 singles.
I landed the gig and, fewer than two months after arriving in Music City, I hit the road with Tracy. During my 17 months of touring, I had the honour of playing with 11 other Billboard-topping country artists, including superstar Luke Combs, as well as three Grammy winners. I also performed at iconic venues such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Ryman Auditorium, appeared on national TV and played festivals in front of crowds of 30,000 people. My time in Nashville also gave me the opportunity to befriend some of my heroes, such as Brent Mason, Vince Gill and Guthrie Trapp. I also had a fun year on the road with up-and-coming country rocker Kyle Daniel in 2019. I returned home to Sweden shortly before the pandemic hit but what I learnt in Nashville will stay with me forever – and makes me well suited to initiate you into this most exciting style of guitar.
The first country guitar I remember hearing was Albert Lee’s playing on Dave Edmunds’ Sweet Little Lisa. I was about 10 years old and blown away. There were a few elements that I recognised already and that I still consider incredibly important ingredients to country guitar: open-string licks, doublestops, pedal-steel-inspired bends and, of course, hybrid picking and chicken pickin’. This guide is broken down into five distinct lessons, through which we’ll master the fundamentals one by one before putting everything all together. In the final part, we’ll take on two full solos: one over a traditional country shuffle and another with a country-rock flavour. To hear the examples and their backing tracks, head to the link below. Let’s get started!
PART 1 THE BEDROCK
Let’s begin with the basics. The use
