Making Music with Marshall
Playing styles
Country
Posted: 21 July 2020
As one of the oldest genres to date, Country music was originally a blend of many other styles. We look into the roots of country music, and the tricks and techniques behind being a 'grand ole' country guitarist.
As well as being a prominent genre in guitar music, Country also spans into drumming. You can read more about that here.
Read time - 4 mins
History
Country music is one of the oldest genres to date in American popular music. Though it has many different variations and sub-genres, country music originally began as a mixture of African American blues, church music and folk music from the British Isles. It was initially played on acoustic instruments such as mandolin, acoustic guitar and banjo, and often still is today.
The more stereotypical ‘country music’ style filled with stories of cowboys, outlaws and western movies came about between 1930 and 1960 with the live country music radio show the ‘Grand Ole Opry’. Following this, many subgenres such as Western, Honky Tonk, Bluegrass and Rockabilly were developed.
Instrumentation
A wide array of instruments are used in country music, from double-bass and banjo to the fiddle and lap steel, but guitar has always taken centre stage. Though many country acts focus around acoustic guitar, many country hits would be nothing without that classic lead electric guitar lick. Take Luther Perkin’s famous lead line in Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues' for example: