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Learn to play blues guitar.

Jam Band Rhythm Guitar Lesson – Grateful Dead Style Rhythm – EP409

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn a Jerry Garcia / Grateful Dead inspired rhythm that is as fun to listen to as it is to play. You’ll be. playing chord shapes, triads, and harmonized 3rds to create this rhythm.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  4. Andy N says

    Hi Brian,

    Think soundslice has got the “Minus Guitar Part – Slow” Backing track assigned to it.

    But great lesson. Lots of useful ideas in this one, especially those thirds in part 2.

    Cheers
    Andy

  6. Ralph P. says

    Very “Infectious” groove Brian. Might have to call Dr. Fauci. Full of good rhythmic and chordal ideas. Any lead guitarist would love to improvise over this kind of vamping. Very fun and loose and funky.
    Ralph P.

    • Henry G says

      Well yes, BW could pocket a groove with the best of any group, but, uh,, Cornell Dupree, Grant Greene, Eddie Cochran, James Burton, R. Wood, K. Richards and numerous others? We’re not talking chicken salad with the others. I’d say BW, another great musician amongst many equally impressive artists ; music’s not a competition. Just my opinion and it might be wrong, but there it is.

  14. Ralph B says

    I have a question regarding the Soundslice notation. Soundslice shows the tune being in the Key of C, with the first chord played being the A chord, which is how Brian plays it in the video. However, Brian says the tune is in the Key of A. If I use the Soundslice Transposition to change the notation to the Key of A, then the first chord played is shown as F#. I don’t know why Soundslice isn’t showing the notation as being in the Key of A, with the first chord played being the I chord for the Key of A. Any help would be appreciated.

    • jgreen says

      Hi Ralph – Reading your question prompted me to look at the transposition function in Soundslice which I had not used before.

      I took a look back at different lessons in different keys and everyone, regardless of the actual key, shows the starting point on that transposition slider as C. As you note this song is in A. So wonder if something may not be working properly here?

      As you point out if you move the slider from C to A dropping it 3 semitones, because the song is actually in A, you are are seeing the first chord now as F# (three semitones down from A). Again, my best guess, maybe a problem with the program?

  21. Keith C says

    Great for me that you’ve chosen to do this lesson as I’ve currently been working on studying Bob Weir’s rhythm work (yeah I know – a lifetime job!) This and the previous lesson on Jerry type rhythm licks have been really fun and helpful for me. One thing – whenever you are playing a strat the first thing I’m doing is trying to look round the edge of the screen to see what switch position you’re on, perhaps on vids where you use a strat or tele you could just mention it at the beginning for all us fender players.

  25. Tremelow says

    Such a fun lesson. So much in there that I can use for both rhythm and lead playing, particularly the harmonzed 3rds and the chord-shape playing. And good to get used to the Greateful Dead/Jerry Garcia style that I never really paid much attention to (mea culpa).

  26. DertyHippieFeat says

    I love how simple, at times, their music is. Countless songs with the exact chord progressions with only a slight rhythmic change. Bobby playing all these inversions and sus chords. Jerry allowing Bobby to become Bobby. Gave him his space to come into his own. Neither one ever stepping on each others toes. Or fingers.

  28. Vincent K says

    Great, you took me back to your guitar lessons, after a while playing by myself, trying to find my own style. I might have hit a wall in terms of repetition 🙂 thanks! Loved it, And I also like the way you now tab the 3rd video, I went straight into this one.

  29. sunjamr says

    I can just see Bob Weir standing up on stage playing that in his short-shorts and sandals, and Jerry next to him noodling away while Bill K and Micky H work out the rhythm section.

  30. Robert K says

    Hi Folks Cool lesson Brian! People are so focused on Garcia’s solos that they miss the rhythm work he was doing most of the time he was out there, but let’s not forget Bobby’s contribution to the Dead’s rhythm. After all, for years, before people realized his worth, he was known as their rhythm guitar player. This lesson seems to concentrate on Jerry’s (huge), contribution. Bobby both did the “meat & potatoes” rhythm stuff but when he could, he was much more lyrical. To this day, many of my deadhead friends, (and I’m old…), are surprised to learn how many of the great Dead licks that they figure were played by Jerry were in fact Weir. Also, Brian loves chord inversions and Bobby was a true inversion-meister. There were a bunch toward the tail end of this piece but it seemed very Garcia oriented in tone and feel to me. Let’s get Bobby some love. He’s nobody’s lead/solo guitarist, (see Wolf Bros…), but he was a VERY good rhythm/2nd guitarist.

  31. Justin B says

    I had been through two different online guitar courses.. learned the theory as head knowledge but did not have any practical uses taking that knowledge from the white board and applying it to the fretboard. I love that each lesson involves theory application. You are apt to teach Brian, some people are just good at teaching and I’m glad I found your jam on youtube .

  32. Jeffro345 says

    Great lesson… about that fill, the Bm or 2 chord between the A’s…

    It’s more consistent with the previous revelation of the 4 chord’s availability if we think of that Bm bit as a D6…

  36. Bjen says

    Brian another great lesson, I have been a Premium member for about 5-6 years now. I have to say adding the tab at the bottom of the screen helps me to associate what I playing with what it looks like in Tab form and vice versa. Please continue to do this with the Slow Walkthrough and Part 2 in future lessons.

  37. Michael Lunny says

    Great lesson Brian, this is also awesome to harmonize with another guitar player so you don’t sound the same.
    You are right about the memebership with you, one gets a lot for so little!
    Be well and be safe!
    Michael

  40. jiffy says

    Hi Brian,
    A great lesson as always while being totally absorbed & watching your hands I couldn’t help noticing the 6th string on the Strat is very close to the edge of the fingerboard & not quite right over the pole pieces on the pickups? is the bridge a bit to one side or saddles pushed over?. still a lovely sound on the guitar though!.

  41. John H says

    Brian did it again. I like how you introduce a concept (eg E6 off of anchor A-shape and slide down for E6) in a lesson and revisit it a few times weeks later to cement the idea into my brain and eventually fingers. BTW, often I get to Part 2 days or even weeks after doing Part 1 so I wonder if you could on the video at the start of Part 2 call out the starting measure number. That will save me 10 seconds or so of reorienting and for 70+ yo future guitar heroes like me, those seconds add up!!

  42. Charles C says

    After starting to learn about 7 months ago I switched from some heavy strings (13-56) to much lighter. Suddenly I’m managing he bar-chords. I know everyone tells you to start on light chords but I can be obstinate… Anyway, now I can really get into this lesson. It is pulling me in. Thanks Brian.

  44. Josh P says

    Hey, Brian! Thanks for the lesson just wanted to give my input – this is just the type of lesson I need right now, I would love if you could continue doing Grateful Dead/Jerry Garcia style lessons! Perhaps you could do a lesson in the style of Jerry using the Dorian mode?

  51. Paul E says

    Excellent. Lots of nuggets of interesting rhythmic and chordal bits and bobs, would be possible to replicate with different harmonic progressions 1 ii V IV, ii V 1 etc.

  52. Steven M says

    Well it has been around two years since I starting watching videos that you make look so easy. I having finally reached the point in my guitar journey that I can actually follow along and play with you. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

  55. Michael K says

    I’ve revisited the circle of 5ths recently and decided to memorize it in such a way that I can recreate it very easily. It’s becoming easier for me to think things through in my head. It was always a mystery about chord numbers and how to use that circle, but I view it as a foundational skill or understanding that makes a lot of what we do so much easier to understand. In this lesson, we have the one, four, five yet again but utilizing the 4th of every chord. A D A, D G D, E A E. Then that higher octave ONE descending to the TWO and back to the original octave ONE (II, I, II), with the bounce back to Two briefly was a new rhythm idea for me. It’s sounds great if you get that same rhythm down. I had to do it very slowly at first to get used to the chord changes because they are quick when played up to speed. Then I discovered that using my ring finger (instead of forefinger) to catch that Bm chord made it a lot easier to transition to the A and bounce back to the Bm quickly. Try it, you will see what I mean.

    Once you get this particular rhythm down, try mixing it up and create your own rhythm’s using these chord fragments. Sliding that Bm triad down and into the open position A chord is a nice simple change. The sky’s the limit in possibilities.

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