Log In My Account Join Upgrade Premium VIP Beta Tester Free Trial
Menu Search Join VIP Beta Tester Premium
 

Sierra Ferrell "In Dreams"-inspired riff

Lesson #278 • Jan 21, 2020

Video lesson

Instructional PDF 1 page

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF! It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

Thanks for being a Premium member of Song Notes! Your support makes these lessons possible.

Download PDF

Follow along with the print-friendly PDF!

It includes all of my notes for this lesson, allowing you to follow along at your own pace. You're free to download, print, and share the PDF across your devices.

To download the PDF, upgrade to premium or log in.

Editor’s notes

Hey friends! Today’s lesson is for a short 5-measure riff with an old-timey, jangly sound – using a guitar technique very much evocative of the “Carter Scratch” style of play, which combines rhythm and lead at the same time. There’s also heavy use of the stretched pinky finger to add flourish notes to a D-major chord, which is something I first taught in lesson #167.

The song this riff comes from is “In Dreams” by Sierra Ferrell, a young up-and-coming country/folk/Americana artist who I learned about through the excellent GemsOnVHS YouTube channel (which travels around, capturing live folk performances off-the-beaten-path). I can’t recommend that particular channel enough, and I look forward to Sierra Ferrell’s upcoming album.

Here’s timestamps for this lesson:

  • 0:00 Lesson overview
  • 1:50 Chord shapes needed
  • 2:16 Strumming basics
  • 3:51 Full tab, explained
  • 11:30 Farewell

Need help with the pinky stretch on the D?

Check out my video teaching that technique:

Sierra Ferrell’s “In Dreams”

Here’s the song that this riff is taken from – you can hear it in the intro, right off the bat.

Learn more about the Carter Scratch

Here’s a nice video that NPR Music put out, featuring artist Courtney Marie Andrews explaining & demonstrating the Carter Scratch technique. The production of this video, along with her explanation, are super helpful!

Unlock My Secret Stash!

Gain instant access to my library of 286 print-friendly cheat sheets! Also includes my extended video lessons, jam tracks, courses, and more.

Join Song Notes Premium

Have questions? Watch video tour »

Browse Related Lessons

Click any tag below to view other lessons I've made in that category:

Enjoy My Lessons? Show Your Support!

Most of the lessons on my website are 100% free. If you have the means, please show your support with a tip jar contribution. I put many hours into every lesson — but it only takes you a minute to make a donation. You have my thanks!

Donate

Looking for More Song Lessons?

Recently Added
Most Popular
Beginner-Friendly
Browse by Artist
Browse by Song Title
Browse by Song Year
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s

Featured Courses

Guitar for Beginners

A guide to getting started with guitar! Everything you need to know to begin your journey. Choosing a guitar, other gear you'll need, fretting notes & chords, learning your first songs, and more.

14 lessons

View

Beginner Chord Guide

A guide to the must-know chords you'll need when getting started with guitar! The quickest way to learn major chords, minor chords, the chords in each key, and more.

22 lessons

View

Reading Music for Guitarists

Learn to read tabs, chord charts, fretboard diagrams, strumming patterns, and more! This course explains how to understand all of these must-know notation styles.

6 lessons

View

Blues Starter Kit

A guide to must-know elements of beginner blues guitar! I'll walk you through the essential topics, showing you fun things to play along the way.

18 lessons

View
Strumming & Rhythm
Learning Lead Guitar
Fingerstyle & Travis Picking
Practical Music Theory
Major Keys
Minor Keys
Double Stops
Using a Capo
Walk Ups & Walk Downs
Practice Tips
CAGED Shapes
Barre Chords

Fun & Helpful Tools I've Made

Fret Monster

Interactive fretboard map! See the patterns behind every scale in any key.

View

Capo Captain

An easy way to calculate key & chord combinations, for any capo location!

View

Key Master

See and hear the notes, chords, scales used in each of the most common keys.

View

Blank Tabs

Free PDF templates to download, print, and write out your own guitar tabs!

View

Coming soon is Jambox – which shows all the video jam tracks I've made. It's note quite ready for the spotlight, but check it out if you like!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel

Be sure to never miss a lesson by subscribing on YouTube. I put out 2-3 new videos every week. These include full song lessons, as well as covers, practice tips, behind-the-scenes updates. Thanks!

Recent Lessons

Browse All Recent Lessons →

← back to homepage