{"id":124678,"date":"2021-07-28T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/?p=124678"},"modified":"2023-05-31T19:59:24","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T02:59:24","slug":"salt-creek-bluegrass-flatpicking-guitar-lesson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/salt-creek-bluegrass-flatpicking-guitar-lesson\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSalt Creek\u201d Bluegrass Flatpicking Guitar Lesson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A common question advancing flatpickers have is how and when to play up the neck. In genres like blues, rock, and jazz, the answers are somewhat intuitive because those styles primarily use closed shapes that feel natural to move around. But in acoustic flatpicking<\/a>, things are a bit more nuanced. The essence of flatpicking is rooted in the open position, so moving up the neck must be done in a way that doesn\u2019t betray that sound. I like to think of up-the-neck passages as brief departures that typically start and end in open position. The previous two Pickin\u2019 columns give nice examples of these types of passages. In this lesson, you\u2019ll look more deeply into another.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSalt Creek\u201d is an old favorite tune that can be heard at any bluegrass jam. The arrangement through bar 17 shows how this tune is commonly played on guitar. It utilizes open strings, slides, and slurs, and the B section requires a substantial fretting-hand stretch. This arrangement is mostly based out of open position, and as such it has that classic flatpicking sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve also included an alternate way to play the B section in a closed, up-the-neck position that avoids the fourth-finger stretch. This is nearly the exact same melody, but in a higher position it takes on a different quality. It has a warmer tone, and playing across three strings offers more connectedness between melody notes compared to mostly moving along the first string. The only difference is the added D at the end of the second and sixth bars, a drone note that can be sustained underneath the following passage and can\u2019t easily be done in the lower register. This alternate approach isn\u2019t necessarily better sounding or easier to play\u2014it offers its own set of advantages and challenges, and it\u2019s up to each player to decide which approach they prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"flatpicking<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Notice how the last measure uses the open second string to leave the closed position and drop back down the neck. This \u201cescape note\u201d is critical when moving along the neck so that there are not audible gaps when changing positions. One other point worth mentioning: when playing with a band, a guitarist usually needs to start playing rhythm immediately after their solo. Dropping back down to open position at the end of the passage helps create a seamless transition into accompaniment mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try both versions of the B section and see which one works best for you. Even if you end up choosing the first approach, learning the alternate can help with understanding the neck a little better. If you wish to explore the fretboard even more, try working out the A section\u2014or another fiddle tune you may know\u2014in a closed position. You\u2019ll probably find that playing a whole tune in that manner doesn\u2019t sound the best, but maybe a brief passage up the neck is the exact thing a piece needs in order to reach its full potential. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\""Salt<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\""Salt<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

<\/a>\n

This article originally appeared in the September\/October 2021<\/a> issue of Acoustic Guitar<\/em> magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A common question advancing flatpickers have is how and when to play up the guitar neck. The old favorite “Salt Creek” gives a good example of how to do it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":125086,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"In this bluegrass guitar lesson, let's explore a common question advancing flatpickers have: how and when to play up the guitar neck with the old favorite \"Salt Creek.\" ","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1655,1151],"tags":[1334],"ppma_author":[1589],"blocksy_meta":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/salt-creek-bluegrass-flatpicking-guitar-lesson.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","authors":[{"term_id":1589,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"alan-barnosky","display_name":"Alan Barnosky","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Alan-Barnosky.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Alan-Barnosky.jpg"},"user_url":"https:\/\/www.alanbarnosky.com\/","last_name":"Barnosky","first_name":"Alan","description":"Alan Barnosky is a guitarist based in Durham, NC. He performs solo as a songwriter as well as in bluegrass and folk bands."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124678"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124678"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136900,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124678\/revisions\/136900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124678"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acousticguitar.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=124678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}