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com 05 Aug 2023

White Freightliner – Inspired by Molly Tuttle

Molly Tuttle is one of the most exciting bluegrass guitarists today. She is the first woman to win the
IBMA bluegrass guitar player of the year award., and was nominated for a Grammy for Best New
Artist in 2023. Her version of White Freightliner is an amazing display of her talent and skill.
I wanted to find a way to play this song that was similar to her style, but was also possible for the
average intermediate bluegrass guitar student to learn (although probably at a bit slower tempo). In this
lesson, you’ll learn the individual techniques first, so when you go to play the tune, you can already
handle the techniques.

Techniques used in this arrangement

• Alternating Down/Up Picking

• Cascading Roll

• Small Chords

• Hammer-Strumma

• Double-stops

• 3+3

• G-runs

Alternating Down/Up Picking

Most bluegrass guitarists use alternating picking to play fast runs. Rather than just alternating every
pick stroke, the motion of the pick is tied to the beat. In 4/4 time, this means that quarter notes are
played down, and eighth notes are played down/up.

Cascading Roll
This is not only a great crosspicking roll to learn, it’s also a terrific string-crossing exercise. Try the
following pattern while holding an Em chord. Practice the exercise slowly on several different chords
until you can play the technique smoothly and all the notes ring clearly.
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Em

In measure 1 of “White Freightliner,” hold an Fmaj 7 chord and play a cascading roll. You’ll use your
pinky to play the last note of the measure.

Small Chords
Small Chords are 3-note chords that are very useful in bluegrass and country music. The advantage of
these simple chords, is that they make it possible to play lead and rhythm at the same time, and they
make double-stops easier. In this song, we use a small C, a small F, and a small G chord.

Hammer-strumma
Make sure you are holding the small C chord before you start the figure. Practice slowly and
rhythmically over and over until you can play the technique smoothly and clearly.

C
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Double-stops
Double-stops are when two notes are played at the same time.

3+3
Repeating groups of 3 notes are very common in bluegrass music. It’s somewhat reminiscent of three-
finger banjo rolls. Here’s the same lick written differently, so you can see the repeating pattern. Each of
these would sound the same.

G-Runs
The most common lick in bluegrass music is a G-run. In this case, it’s really a “C-run,” played over a C
chord.

The song
I hope you enjoy learning this version of “White Freightliner.” Remember to be patient with yourself as
you are learning. When you come to a new technique, take time to learn it well, before trying it in the
song. Practice slowly at first, and don’t be afraid to practice the same section over and over. Good luck!

Andy Hatfield
espagnetnicolas@gmail.com 05 Aug 2023
espagnetnicolas@gmail.com 05 Aug 2023