Country and Western Solo

The "Country and Western Solo" lesson cover a vintage 1940s/1950s style country solo. This early era of country music has some of the hallmark sounds of today but it has a closer connection to Jazz and Blues, and as "country guitar" players as we often think of them were just developing. Studio musicians typically had a foundation in Jazz and Blues styles of the time.

Also the solid body electric guitar was not successfully marketed until 1948 by Leo Fender (The Broadcaster - later to become the Telecaster). Therefore, the tone is more akin to hollow body style electric guitars. Also, string bends were not very common at this time as most players were using heavier gauge strings - and even a wound 3rd string (G).

Techniques used in the lesson:

Chromatic Runs
Mixolydian Mode
Pentatonic Scales
Hammer-ons
Pull-offs
Double-stops
Synchopated rhythms

Key: E
Chords: E A B
BPM: 160
Gear: Ibanez AF75T>Vox AC15C1>Sennheiser e906>Presonus>Ableton Live

Scales and Modes:

E Major


E Mixolydian


E Pentatonic


A Major


B Major