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hippiebob
05-20-2010, 10:28 PM
I've been wanting to learn how to be a better bluegrass picker, and recently got into Chris Thile's new band Punch Brothers. I'd like to learn how to do some of the standard bluegrass runs. Anybody got any cool websites?
Onswah
05-20-2010, 10:31 PM
Listen to bluegrass. Transcribe songs, find a local bluegrass get together.
musicofanatic5
05-20-2010, 10:46 PM
It's a long-shot, but how's about googling flatpicking?
hippiebob
05-20-2010, 10:55 PM
It's a long-shot, but how's about googling flatpicking?

Tried that. Tired of sorting through 15+ pages of descriptions of flatpicking and wanted to see if anyone had a site they visited regularly.
thetower07
05-21-2010, 08:22 AM
Check out Banjo Ben on Youtube. He is an incredible flatpicker and banjo player (the only part of Taylor Swift's band I like) and has some great videos on his channel on how to play some standards.

His version of 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' makes me drool everytime I watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BanjoBen1#p/u
Bob Maximus
05-21-2010, 08:35 AM
I think of Tony Rice as one of the greatest flatpickers. Here's an example

_u964a0f38s&feature=related
VicAjax
05-21-2010, 09:35 AM
Check out Banjo Ben on Youtube. He is an incredible flatpicker and banjo player (the only part of Taylor Swift's band I like) and has some great videos on his channel on how to play some standards.

His version of 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown' makes me drool everytime I watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/BanjoBen1#p/u

subscribed! thanks for the tip, this is great stuff.
JohnM
05-21-2010, 09:37 AM
I have an article I did a while back with a bunch of runs and a couple of pieces of tunes that are focused around developing alternate picking...
http://johnmcniel.com/blog/alternate-picking-part-2/
MikeVB
05-21-2010, 11:37 AM
About the only halfway decent one is umgf.com, and there's not much there. Flatpicking Hangout looks pretty and has an excellent os, but nothing much new happens on the forum.
MudPies
05-21-2010, 12:17 PM
Learn Blackberry Blossom and Cripple Creek. When you can rip those tunes while adding your own thing to them you're ready.
flyingvees
05-21-2010, 12:36 PM
You can youtube tony rice's lessons on Manzanita and other songs...Master Manzanita and you have it down cold...:)
TubeStack
05-21-2010, 12:47 PM
Check out Flatpicking Guitar Magazine at www.flatpick.com (http://www.flatpick.com)

They've got lots of great stuff. Have fun! :)

(You should check out some older Larry Sparks too, he's one of my faves. Norman Blake, as well.)
bynt
05-21-2010, 12:53 PM
I think of Tony Rice as one of the greatest flatpickers. Here's an example

_u964a0f38s&feature=related


That's what I was going to suggest: Look up Tony Rice on You Tube. There is some great video of him playing and it's a bit like a tutorial for me to watch him play. That guy is amazing. It's like he's got ten pounds of Zen in a five pound right hand. I'd love to be able to pick like that. He makes it look effortless.
:puh
MikeVB
05-21-2010, 02:14 PM
sent you a pm
Darth Tater
05-21-2010, 07:24 PM
Dan Tyminski and Ron Block:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fn2Zm6W_dU


Norman Blake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYau7QfiiuM&feature=related
Crowder
05-21-2010, 09:14 PM
Bryan Sutton's instructional DVD is really good. His insights on tone production and volume are worth the price of admission.

David Grier is the absolute 500lb Gorilla of flatpicking today. So good, creative, original, technically brilliant. I don't know if his instructional materials are worthwhile. I took a lesson from him once and he was a total prick about the whole thing, which irritated me. But he is a flatpicking savant.
TubeStack
05-21-2010, 09:16 PM
... he was a total prick about the whole thing...

In what way?
hippiebob
05-21-2010, 09:30 PM
Thanks Mike and everyone else. I'll check these out.
Crowder
05-21-2010, 11:55 PM
In what way?

Just about every way you can imagine...

1. He was gruff and unfriendly (which I can handle from an ar-teest if that's the only issue they have)
2. He wouldn't answer direct questions pertinent to the lesson. What answers he did give were sort of meaningless or Zen-like, depending on how you might look at it. Example: Q: "I tend to get stuck in patterns and fall back on stock licks when the heat is on. Can you share a few tips on how to avoid that?" A: "Hmm. If the problem is that you find yourself playing the same thing over and over, then you want to just stop doing it. Play something else, you know?" That's either pure genius or pure bullshit, but his attitude had be leaning well into the bullshit side of the equation.
3. He basically just wanted to jam on fiddle tunes, and that was it. Maybe a lot of people would get something out of that, or brag about being able to sit and jam with a master. For my money, I guess I wanted to have more of a conversation about how to develop as a player, building repetoire and speed, tone and projection, etc.
4. He ran out of gas about 30 minutes into what was supposed to be an hour-long "private lesson," which I basically volunteered to cut short when it was clear that he wasn't in a mood to share any knowledge or information that could be helpful to me.
5. After the uncomfortable 30-35 minutes we spent together, he actually steered me over to his merch table and started telling me how good his instructional material was, and explaining how I should buy those and take them home to learn the answers to the questions I had. That seemed sort of ridiculous to me. I felt like I'd just experienced his teaching style, and it was for shit IMHO.
6. When I went to the small, one-man concert later that evening, I said hello to him and he basically looked right through me as if I was a total stranger to him. Maybe he was pissed that I didn't load up on his DVDs. :bong

The whole thing just felt like a money grab to me. If I knew then what I know now, I probably would have explained to him what I thought my money ought to by. I was younger then, and a little intimidated. I have nothing but respect for him as a musician, but he's not someone I'm looking to hang out with anytime soon.

By contrast, I've since attending small clinics and/or had lessons on guitar and mandolin from some of the true stars of bluegrass, and the vast majority of them are eager to share ideas and help players develop.
bigdaddy
05-22-2010, 10:19 AM
Check out Flatpicking Guitar Magazine at www.flatpick.com (http://www.flatpick.com)

They've got lots of great stuff. Have fun! :)

(You should check out some older Larry Sparks too, he's one of my faves. Norman Blake, as well.)

+1 for FGM. Dan is a good guy, to boot.

Learn fiddle tunes!

There are several great books as well as some good stuff on teh web. Here's a few names (of instructor's) to google:

Bryan Kimsey
Steve Kaufmann (flatpik.com - runs a legendary camp, author of the parking lot picker series and more.)
Orrin Starr (his book, Hot Licks for Bluegrass Guitar is awesome)
Dan Granger (assembled a comprehensive book of flatpicking/fiddle tunes)
Flatpick-L
doublee
05-22-2010, 10:55 AM
I have an article I did a while back with a bunch of runs and a couple of pieces of tunes that are focused around developing alternate picking...
http://johnmcniel.com/blog/alternate-picking-part-2/

I like your site thanks John...
Bob Maximus
05-22-2010, 11:02 AM
Great lessons JohnM :)
mojazzmo
05-22-2010, 11:35 AM
I like your site thanks John...


+1!!!!!!!!!!! Great site John. I think a big part, for me anyway, of what makes a musician great to my ears is not only their playing ability but also their willingness to share their knowledge and insight. Music and life are all about experiences and sharing them with the world. Keep up the great work!!!