Ricky Skaggs is clever

He really is, and here's why: he always manages to sound absolutely impressive with the minimum amount of effort. This is a talent that is well worth emulating. In this snippet, playing with Boone Creek in the early 70's, Ricky only has a half a break on Head Over Heels to make his statement, but he does it perfectly.

Even though, when you break it down, this is seemingly a rather ordinary selection of stock Monroe-style phrases, the slides, hammer-ons and syncopations somehow convince you that a virtuoso has just stepped up to the mic. Here it is:



Notice in the third bar how he's moved on to playing out of an A chop chord shape while still on the D chord (the A chord is in the next bar) - often a very effective move.



The song is on iTunes, and well worth a listen, as is the rest of the album, One Way Track, an absolute classic. You will also notice Ricky's tone, which is fabulous.