Bluegrass songs to perform for people on solo guitar

[wavewizard]

After years, the Tommy Emmanuel high has settled down but now, the bluegrass bug has bit me hard. Please suggest some songs/breaks for me to play in front of friends/family/people. I don't sing and just play solo guitar hence my obsession with Tommy Emmanuel. So far I've learned:

Shady Grove - Peter Rowan and Tony Rice version
Tennessee Stud - Billy Strings Fretboard Journal version
Blue Railroad Train - Tony Rice
Thank you Mr. Martin - Norman Blake/Tony Rice
Salt Creek
Some Carl Miner demos from the North American Vintage Guitars YouTube channel


I really love Tony Rice and Billy Strings stuff. I'm thinking of learning some demos of Billy Strings playing for Carter Vintage Guitars. Anyways, what do you fellas suggest?

[Robin, Wales]

You could try Church Street Blues by Tony Rice. Although a "song" rather than a tune, the guitar part could work as a solo instrumental.

Have you thought about working on your singing? If you are playing guitar at the level of the pieces you list it would be great to expand them to the "full package" and sing them too. There's a whole bunch of us here on AGF who are not great singers and have had to work hard to get to "acceptable". But it is possible. Singing is as much about performance (fake it till you make it) as it is about the natural quality of your voice. It really just takes the same sort of work and attention to detail that you must be putting into your playing - the more I do the more I realise that singing is a skill first and foremost not simply a "talent". Sure there are folks who have beautiful voices, but there are many performers who don't but have found ways to be really effective with what they have.

[Silly Moustache]

Hi, one thought : "people" generally don't respond that well to fancy picking. It impresses (and angers) other pickers but ordinary humans prefer songs.

..... and that means singing. I'm not into religions but I find that there are a great many gospel songs that have great melodies that can be sung, while playing accompaniment and then soloing and improvising over the melody.

If you are about to tell me you can't sing - PM me!



and a far fatter and hairier version of me from eleven years ago :

[A Scot in Otley]

As my fellow Brits have both suggested, get singing. Anyone can - ask Mr Zimmerman It's the vocal that people listen to. Use your geetar skills for intros / breaks / outros. At open mics, I've seen many a talented guitarist being listened to for one or two songs, then the attention of others starts to drift. I'm speaking as a moderate guitarist, who learns what he needs to for a song, then gives it degree of controlled 'welly' vocally. It gets the audience attention - as long as you have a wee bit of variety in the songs. Good luck whatever you do.

[webe123]

I have never been into bluegrass or bluegrass playing all that much.....until I heard of a guy named Ricky Scaggs. That guy tears UP a song! My favorite one of his that he does an incredible guitar Solo on...is "Country boy at heart"! The level of playing on that I would liken to if Eddie Van Halen happened to like bluegrass instead of rock this is probably something he would do.

The musicianship from not just him.... but his whole band in this video is just astounding! If you want a solo bluegrass song this would be it for me! (Of course to pull it off, you would have to have some licks like Ricky Scaggs!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzImpR_HF7U

[wavewizard]

Wow you're right, maybe I do need to shake the fear off and start singing. I always thought I can't sing and don't have a great voice but if I could just get the bare minimum going it'd accompany the guitar quite well. Thanks to others who responded as well

[Ken Carr]

Saint Ann's Reel, The Gold Rush, Beaumont Rag are all good ones to learn for solo flatpicking.

[William2]

Well, if you're just playing for friends and family does it matter if you sing or just play instrumentals? It would be nice if some of these music publishers would publish transcriptions of bluegrass instrumentals. For me, if I'm going to a venue, I'm going to see something specific. If I'm going to see a guitarist, I don't need a singing guitarist. If I'm going to see a singer, I don't need a singing guitarist. They have backup and usually a decent voice.

[RTR]

You pretty well have to sing to be listened to, but don't despair, plenty of singer/pickers lack conventionally strong vocals. Norman Blake is the prime example, he has a very effective voice and of course can back it up with superb picking. By choosing songs, your choice is virtually unlimited. Plus you can use the melody to arrange your own breaks and leads; always more effective than simply copying someone. Use your capo to find a key suitable for your voice and arrange the picking there. After all that is what pro Bluegrass players tend to do. Good luck with your picking!

[SRL]

Singing lessons are the best money I've ever spent on guitar. Even a few lessons will massively improve most people's singing.

That said, most songs can be converted into instrumentals by playing a combination of the melody line and the chords. Basically, play the chord at the chord change (usually first beat of a bar) and then continue the melody line until the next chord change. For a little fancier approach, play the chords with a boom-chuck rhythm and fill in the gaps with the melody line.

You can find good tabs online and in bluegrass guitar books. There are good books for Norman Blake, Tony Rice, Doc Watson, Carter Family, and many others with compilations, e.g. if you search amazon for "bluegrass guitar book".

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by wavewizard

Wow you're right, maybe I do need to shake the fear off and start singing. I always thought I can't sing and don't have a great voice but if I could just get the bare minimum going it'd accompany the guitar quite well. Thanks to others who responded as well

I mainly teach acoustic guitar, but I've had success teaching guitarists to sing as well. One week a couple of months ago I had two clients who both (separately) advised me that most definitely could not EVER sing.

I had them both singing by the end of their hour long sessions.

I reckon its about 20% learning how we breathe, and 80% self confidence.

[rllink]

Wagon Wheel.
Red Buds.
Old Home Place.

[FrankHS]

You pretty well have to sing to be listened to, but don't despair, plenty of singer/pickers lack conventionally strong vocals. Norman Blake is the prime example, he has a very...

I can barely tolerate his voice quality, and I don't want to be like that--my singing tolerated thanks to redemption as instrumentatist. But in the 80s, I had 4 or 5 Norman Blake LPs, fascinated with his guitar style. Of course it's correct that a very good solo guitarist may also be "merely tolerated" by general public compared with a mediocre singer. But amateur musicians have the luxury to pursue excellence above audience size. On the other hand, you won't know how your singing might kick in with some training. I took a few private singing lessons. At the 4th lesson, I told the professor "I've improved and breathing more correctly now, but I just don't like the tone of my voice. It's nothing like (anyone's) voice I would want to hear in performance." So I quit. No regrets and my guitar improves all the time.

[RTR]

[QUOTE=FrankHS;7291162]I can barely tolerate his voice quality, and I don't want to be like that--my singing tolerated thanks to redemption as instrumentatist.

All subjective of course, when I mentioned effective I was thinking of the great songs he has written, Ginseng Sullivan or Crossing No 9. Hard to think of anyone doing them better. I try do do a few of Norman's songs and would give most anything to sing as well. As for the picking.... forget it!

[stopstop]

I'm with RTR, I very much enjoy Blake's laid back vocals. Similarly I wish there were more recordings of Clarence White singing lead. I think it's interesting and creates a connection when a singer is pushing their "limit" so to speak, but giving it 100%. I'm no great singer but I think doing it well is less about the cards you are dealt & more about how you play them (and fully committing). I would suggest Ralph Stanley did not have a (conventionally) "great voice" but how he used what he had is absolutely iconic.
To the OP's question, check out Clarence's solo instrumental CD if you have not for some inspiration.