Bluegrass - Basic Rhythm G Run

[Admin]

The G Run, perfected by Lester Flatt (Of Flatt and Scruggs) is the basic picking for bluegrass.

[dadfad]

I've used that a lot playing country-music. (I never really associated it with Lester Flatt in particular as it's been around forever and everybody has used it.) (Blind Blake even did very similar runs in the mid '20s.)

I often add a little more to it, like repeating the first five notes twice and then the complete eight note run. Or first using a G-run from the treble (1st-string/3rd-fret) down, and then the one shown above (6th-string/3rd-fret up).

Country G End-Tag

E)---------------------3----
B}---------------------3----
G)---------------------0----
D)-------------0h2p0---0----
A)------0h1h2----------2----
E)--3------------------3----


Or it can be "stuttered"......

E)--------------------------------------------------3---
B}--------------------------------------------------3---
G)--------------------------------------------------0---
D)------------0-------------0---------------0h2p0---0---
A)-----0h1h2---------0h1h2-----------0h1h2----------2---
E)--3-------------3---------------3-----------------3---


Or a treblier tag....

E)--3p0--------------------------3----
B}------3p0----------------------3----
G)----------2p0------------------0----
D)-----------------2p0-----------0----
A)-----------------------2---0---2----
E)-------------------------------3----


Or, you can even combine the two tags....

E)--3p0-------------------------------------------3---
B}------3p0---------------------------------------3---
G)----------2p0-----------------------------------0---
D)--------------2p0----------------------0h2p0----0---
A)------------------2--0----------0h1h2-----------2---
E)------------------------3----3------------------3---

....into a Country "Super-Tag"


[Admin]

Great lesson John.

Lester perfected it in conjunction with Earl.


"That little run you hear on the guitar, and hear so many people doing today – I used that for a time setter; we were playing so fast we had to have something to come back in on, and it fit perfectly."
"A Conversation with Lester Flatt," interview with Vernon, Bill in Muleskinner News, August, 1972

[Admin]

Maybe I got the cart before the horse by posting the G Run first.

If you're gonna play bluegrass, you'd better be purty good at rhythm. The guitar in bluegrass needs to be able to keep the rhythm going...and that means keeping the timing. You gotta emphasize the right beats - i.e. 2 and 4 in most bluegrass tunes.

The G run is icing on the cake...but the basic rhythm is the cake itself.

If you're serious about bluegrass, this might be a fair to middlin' place to begin:

www.bluegrassguitar.com/rhythm.html