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When we think about great songwriters, our first thoughts might be about their storytelling. Or, perhaps, you might imagine a catchy melody written by a songwriter. These are essential pieces of a song, but they aren’t the whole picture! How a song grooves is also monumentally important to how the song is received by the listener. A great groove’s job is to make the song “feel” good, and to elevate the other elements – like the hook or the vocals.

In his course, Acoustic Groove Collective, Gareth Pearson takes you through 15 acoustic groove studies to help you pull from the styles of some of music’s most prolific and masterful songwriters.

Here are six video acoustic groove guitar lessons from the course. For the full course, check out Gareth Pearson’s Acoustic Groove Collective on TrueFire!

Acoustic Groove Guitar Lesson – Taylor’s Ornaments: Overview


Download the tab & notation for this acoustic groove guitar lesson

James Taylor’s guitar playing and riffs that he creates and sublime. In this exercise, we’ll be focusing on the pull-offs and and hammer-ons incorporated by the left hand fingering.

We’re approaching this in the key of D, but by having the capo on the 5th fret, we are technically now in the key of G. For the guitar minded, we’re playing over the chords D, C, G, and A.

Acoustic Groove Guitar Lesson – Taylor’s Ornaments: Performance


Download the tab & notation for this acoustic groove guitar lesson

Now, I’ll perform this one up to tempo for you. This way, you can get a feel for how the groove sounds in context.

Acoustic Groove Guitar Lesson – Taylor’s Ornaments: Breakdown


Download the tab & notation for this acoustic groove guitar lesson

Let’s break this down so you can get a feel for the groove in your own playing.

Acoustic Groove Guitar Lesson – Big Yellow Joni Jam: Overview


Download the tab & notation for this acoustic groove guitar lesson

In this exercise, we’ll be studying strumming pattern in an open D tuning. Joni Mitchell often used this style and sequences in her playing, influencing a whole new generation of singer songwriters.

We’re approaching this in the key of D, but by having the capo on the 2nd fret, we are technically now in the key of E. For the guitar minded, we’re playing over the chords G, D and A.

Acoustic Groove Guitar Lesson – Big Yellow Joni Jam: Performance


Download the tab & notation for this acoustic groove guitar lesson

Again, I’ll perform this one at tempo so you can hear what it sounds like!

Acoustic Groove Guitar Lesson – Big Yellow Joni Jam: Breakdown


Download the tab & notation for this acoustic groove guitar lesson

Finally, let’s break this down slowly so you can get the hang of it.

Digging these free video acoustic groove guitar lessons? Check out Gareth Pearson’s Acoustic Groove Collective.