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Acoustic Tuesday | Guitar Routine Show

Learning Guitar from Banjo Legend Earl Scruggs ★ Acoustic Tuesday 228

Acoustic Tuesday | Guitar Routine Show

Tony Polecastro

Music

4.8842 Ratings

🗓️ 1 March 2022

⏱️ 31 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What can guitar players learn from one of the best banjo players of all time? In this episode, we'll take a closer look at Earl Scruggs, his banjo technique, and how guitar players can apply these techniques to expand their tonal horizons! I am a huge Earl Scruggs fan. His banjo playing definitely cements him in the hall of fame of banjo musicians. Earl Scruggs was filled with wisdom, which is why I wanted to dedicate a whole episode to the legend. Even though he mostly played banjo, I think there are so many life and technique lessons to learn from Earl Scruggs. One of the inspirations for this episode came from a video clip of Earl Scruggs. In the footage, he swaps his banjo for a guitar. Without hesitation, Scruggs was able to dive right into the role of rhythm guitar. Scruggs' flexibility and rhythmic prowess allowed for spontaneity and collaboration — something I think all of us could benefit from learning! As far as specific technique we can learn from Earl Scruggs' playing, I really want to emphasize alternate chord voicing. Additionally, his use of the Carter scratch and the "rolls" in the picking hand can open up a wide variety of tones and rhythms for you to explore. If you have any questions about Earl Scruggs, the techniques he used, or anything else, be sure to leave a comment on this episode! I always love to hear what you thought about this episode of the Acoustic Tuesday, and I look forward to reading your comments! Featured in this Episode… The Earl Scruggs Center Molly Tuttle YourGuitarSage

Transcript

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0:00.0

You cannot mention or hear the word banjo without thinking about Earl Scruggs.

0:10.0

He was a banjo pioneer, a trailblazer.

0:13.0

He created the modern bluegrass-style banjo as we know it, Scruggs-style banjo.

0:18.0

And on today's show, we're going to go ahead and ignore all of that, because you'll be

0:21.5

learning seven guitar lessons from this banjo great.

0:25.3

Hey, TAC family, welcome to episode 228 of the Acoustic Tuesday show. This show is designed to

0:31.8

inject your guitar journey with a weekly dose of fun, focus, progress, and inspiration.

0:36.4

On deck today are two questions from

0:38.2

TAC family members. One involves acoustic amplification, and the other involves a specific

0:43.6

technique while playing the blues. I'll answer those questions in just a little bit, and you're

0:48.2

going to see what guitar lick the TACFAM is working on. It's a boogie blues lick in the key of

0:53.1

A entitled Boogie Wougerton.

0:56.3

And of course your weekly dose of acoustic news awaits you, which includes a Canadian

1:01.4

guitar, a release date for a much anticipated album from a guitar hero of mine and much, much more.

1:08.2

But first, grab your guitar, not your banjo,

1:11.0

and let's learn from the late great Earl Scruggs.

1:14.5

I'm super excited for you to learn guitar from a banjo great.

1:19.1

Now, as we go through these lessons,

1:20.9

I'll be referencing some videos of Earl's playing.

1:23.7

If for whatever reason you don't see one of these videos,

1:26.8

it's simply because of copyright.

1:29.0

I'm going to do my best to make sure all the videos are included so you have the best experience.

...

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