Let's put this style into practice with a typical chord progression. In this week’s guitar lesson, you’ll learn how to play a Western Swing / jazz style lead over the chord changes. While playing for Bob Wills and The Texas Playboys, Wills asked Shamblin to play a rhythm style of guitar that featured "lots of runs". The MP3 jam track is available in multiple tempos. He is joined by steel guitar, and for all intents and purposes, this could have been released as a Western swing record. Once you’re comfortable shifting and sliding into the variety of chord shapes and inversions in these two examples, the next step is to apply this concept and approach to other keys, chord shapes, progressions and fretboard positions. I first became aware of this way of improvising through Charlie Christian's guitar solos. Out of this and Shamblin's Freddie Green styled chord gripping, Shamblin created his own unique approach to rhythm guitar playing that… 46 Chord Shapes You Must Know: The Ultimate Guide to Chord Substitutions There are many ways to vary almost any basic chord, but in order to do this spontaneously, you need a fully stocked folder in your brain’s filing cabinet, containing heaps of chord types that can be used as replacements for a basic progression’s “stock” chord. Swing Guitar For Folkies Or Jazz Guitar Rhythm 101 -- A first lesson Nothing too intense here – this lesson is designed for the folk or bluegrass guitar player who is accustomed to accompanying songs with first position chords – usually those which contain open strings – big ol’ cowboy chords. The more I transcribe solos and steal licks from my favorite swing guitarists, the more I realize how a majority of them based their lines off of chord shapes. Charlie created a way to navigate chord changes simply by visualizing the… The video series is comprised of 30 minute long lessons that provide insight into learning the most common chord shapes Western Swing guitarists work out of, how they address… This Guitarticle™ marks the start of a series of purchasable video lessons that revolve all around soloing out of chord shapes for Western Swing Lead Guitar. We'll use the rhythm technique we've just learned along with some of the major chord alternatives we learned earlier in the course. Reuss’ smooth, driving rhythm guitar flows like a river, and he takes an awe-inspiring chord solo on his unamplified Gibson L-5 Premier. I’ll explain where the notes come from so that you can understand how to improvise in this style. Eldon Shamblin is highly acknowledged as THE Western Swing guitarist.