Active Melody

Learn to play blues guitar.

Shady Grove for guitar – 2 Levels of Difficulty – EP448

Description

In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play the song “Shady Grove” by yourself on guitar (no jam track needed). This lesson includes 2 levels of difficulty. Level 1 is easier (all down strokes), Level 2 is a little more difficult with alternate picking and upstrokes for the right hand.

Part 1 - Free Guitar Lesson

Part 2 - For Premium Members

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Slow Walkthrough - Level 1

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Slow Walkthrough - Level 2

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Video Tablature Breakdown

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Comments

  1. JohnStrat says

    Hi Brian,
    I am sure this will be a great thing to get upsides with. Getting it to sound well will take a bit of practice. I think it will make for a great exercise too. A very useful lesson.
    JohnStrat

  7. Jim N says

    Your original compositions are wonderful. However, I appreciate seeing some lessons that add to recognizable pay list. You are the master at making great teaching moments with any tune you choose to play. I love the traditional folk tunes. Thanks Brian…keep it it going.

  8. jgreen says

    Brian – fun lesson!

    Curious about squeaking strings. Hear it when you’re moving from the 5th to 7th fret positions. Notice a lot of it when I move around the fretboard. Do you mind it? Know/try any thing to minimize it?

    Thanks,
    Jim

    • Ian D says

      Hi Jim
      You might want to try Elixir strings, they have a coating on them which gives them a long life and reduces squeak. I use them a lot
      They make playing a little easier too ( I am nothing to do with Elixir strings, by the way !)
      Cheers
      Ian

    • Paul H says

      D’Addario Flat tops get rid of the squeaking . I’ve used them for over 10 years. They’re easier on the fingers too.
      Kind of pricey, but deals can be found online. I only change strings once a year, not much of a problem & I play every day also

      Some people don’t like them, but we all have different likes/dislikes. Pretty much have to try strings to see if you like them.

      Paul

  9. Rich F says

    Brilliant lesson Brian! Can’t wait to get started on this! And I am with you on transposing it into A minor: I too love the darker sound of songs in A minor.

    I am blown away with how you consistently put out such varying styles of lesson week after week. As parsonblue says, you are so versatile.

    Interesting that blues46 mentioned Wayfaring Stranger… I am currently learning that song… but not this brilliant version by Ed Shheran! Would not know how to do this on guitar!

    https://youtu.be/buAzVkcH4YI

  11. Gsilvertone says

    Brian – excellent lesson! Thank you. I’m a big fan of Doc Watson and the bluegrass genre in general. Appreciate your ongoing efforts to keep the lessons interesting and varied. Now time to practice! Thanks again

  12. Daniel H says

    Brian, keep posting tab on the bottom of the video… it is super helpful. It is also great when you give us both an open string verse and transposable verse.
    Lessons like this both add to my vocabulary and help reinforce previous material. Thank you Brian!… another great lesson.

  14. Scott L says

    Thank you for this Brian! This is a great tune for us to learn for a lot of reasons. Its fun and it leaves lots of room for further improvisations or embellishments.
    It s also great with a side order of fiddle or mandolin.

    Scott

  15. old man says

    Hey Brian! Great lesso I have listened to Doc for years ,love his style of music .He would be very proud! Question what kind of pick do you use? maybe a short lesson on how you hold your

    pick and use it. Again thanks for all these great lessons! I have learned so much!!!

    Thanks Dan

  16. Bruce L says

    Great lesson, was listening and thought I know that tune but have never heard Shady Grove. Being from the UK I know it as the old folk song Matty Groves and worked out a version of it the other day, in Am and G… With this I should be able to add some things I didn’t think of and come up with something. Thank you.

  21. Robert G says

    Hi, Brian,
    Another great lesson using a traditional tune, arranged to be played unaccompanied on an accoustic.
    Excellent! We don’t see enough of this type of instruction in these times.
    Thanks, and keep up the great work!
    Robert

  23. Nick Ll says

    I love this piece – great arrangement Brian. The only problem I have is sounding the D on the third string under the fleshy part of my index finger when barring the G chord at the 7th fret. This always seems to cause me problems. does anyone have any tips to help me improve the quality of my fretting?

  25. David S says

    Brian, Really enjoying these bluegrass lessons along with all the other..Was always a rocker and country player but now enjoying all kinds thanks to you..Keep up all you are doing. Thanks
    Dave.

  33. Mike R says

    This is a great tune to play all the caged chords all the way up the neck. Love how you use just a couple of notes in each chord to draw out the chord. This is a good tune to show different ways to build a chord and make a melody at the same time. Thanks Brian, keep them coming.

  42. Mike S says

    Hey Brian!

    Great little traditional piece and nice rendition.

    Given it comes from the Appalachian country and the rhythm I would guess it has Celtic origins (Scot or Irish).

    My Celtic side is on my mother’s whose folks hail back to the the very early days in that “neck of the woods” (Virginia/West Virginia).

    Maybe it’s in the soul as that dark minor sound just feels right to me. 🙂

    Cheers!

    • Bruce L says

      Hi Mike, I’m from the UK and know it as Matty Groves made famous by Fairport Convention. There version is great have a listen if you don’t know it. I looked up the history of the song and most sources think it is Northern English around 1600 but maybe Scottish, and was first written down around 1680.

  43. eames28 says

    Great lesson Brian. I am trying to link singing this song and was wondering if anyone out there help me with when the verse and chorus start. Not being very musical I can’t figure it out. Never heard this song before but I really love it
    Thanks, Rob

  50. Thomas B says

    Hi Brian,

    Great lesson. Love playing / practicing it. Though repetitive it‘s just cool. Plus lots of takeaways! I have got the feeling level two version is even more intuitive than level one. Thanks a lot

    Cheers Tom

  55. Peter R says

    I’m a new member. Great site. I like being able to search the lessons.
    My one comment would be to add a “C” before the second “G”. There are normally 3 chords in
    Shady Grove. But it works either way. Thanks.

  58. Kevin S says

    Hi Brian,

    Been coming to your site pretty much daily for a couple of years, so I’m obviously hooked; your teaching style is terrific. Never been much of a “poster” but did want to give you some feedback from an old guy’s perspective. (At 71, I come from the ossified wing of the Active Melody school.) The brain loses its plasticity as we age so constantly learning new tunes can be a problem as any long-term memory cells I have remaining are in precious short supply, so it was really great having the basic melody already stashed. Really enjoyed the Shady Grove tutorial and I think that’s the reason why I liked it so much. I know folks my age aren’t your primary target audience, but I hope you come back to this format from time to time. Thanks

  61. Doug H says

    This is the best. I love the named tunes like this, Amazing Grace, and others that you can play when someone says “play something for me”. Be cool to see all the lessons named something other than EP###

  63. Craig M says

    Whilst getting this underhand my brain kept thinking “wouldn’t it be good if Brian did a similar beginner/intermediate version of Plastic Jesus”. That aside, this lesson has done wonders for my picking out single strings in rhythmic strokes. I’ve added more upstrokes than the lesson suggests based on the groove in my head. So much fun.

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