GratefulHeads
Community-ranked Grateful Dead & JGB versions and showsGrateful Guitar, Jerry Style & Community Resources
Chasing Jerry's phrasing, Bobby's chord voicings, or envelope-filter tone while listening to top tapes? Start with the guitarist community on Reddit and trusted YouTube teachers below.
r/gratefulguitar on Reddit
The go-to subreddit for Deadhead guitar players: song-of-the-week breakdowns, Tiger / Wolf / Mutron / envelope-filter gear talk, Mixolydian and chord-tone soloing tips, and backing-track jams. If you play Dead or JGB music, join the hang at reddit.com/r/gratefulguitar ↗.
Jerry Garcia & Grateful Dead Guitar YouTube Channels
1. Jeff Williams Guitar
Essential stop for anyone learning Jerry Garcia's lead approach. Jeff breaks down how Jerry actually outlined chord changes, targeted 3rds and 7ths, and wove melodic motifs rather than just running shapes, alongside dedicated masterclasses, scale cheat sheets, and classic Dead song tutorials (Bertha, Eyes of the World, They Love Each Other).
2. Jake Burns Guitar
Guitarist for Bay Area tribute The Unbroken Chain and creator of GratefulHeads. Focuses on Mixolydian / Dorian modal thinking, intervallic phrasing, enclosure concepts, Jerry envelope-filter tone, and tune-by-tune Dead & JGB improv studies:
Jerry Theory, Modes & Tone
- The Mode That Defines the Grateful Dead Guitar Sound ↗ (Top Fire on the Mountain versions)
- Intervallic Guitar Playing like Jerry Garcia ↗
- Blues in the Jerry Garcia Style ↗
- The Grateful Dead's Psychedelic Minor Mode (Dorian): Playing in the Band ↗ (Top Playing in the Band versions)
- The Pentatonic Equator: The Mixolydian Hybrid Scale for Guitar ↗
- How to Get Jerry Garcia's Envelope Filter Tone ↗ (Top Shakedown Street versions)
- How to Solo Over Any Grateful Dead Song (Chord Tones & Changes) ↗
- Guitar Note Groupings in the Style of Dickey Betts and Jerry Garcia ↗
Dead & JGB Song Studies (Paired with Ranked Versions)
- Row Jimmy (Triads Over Changes) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Sugaree (Swing Feel & Solo Improv) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Althea (Full Song Breakdown) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Estimated Prophet (Improv Section) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Me and My Uncle (Playing Through Changes) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Eyes of the World (Intro Voicings) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Uncle John's Band (Improv) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Brown Eyed Women ↗ (Best live versions)
- Deal ↗ (Best live versions)
- Cumberland Blues ↗ (Best live versions)
- China Cat Sunflower ↗ (Best live versions)
- Peggy-O (Solo Breakdown) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Lay Down Sally (JGB Style) ↗ (Best live versions)
- That's What Love Will Make You Do (JGB) ↗ (Best live versions)
- Dear Prudence (JGB Style) ↗ (Best live versions)
- I Second That Emotion (JGB) ↗ (Best live versions)
3. StichMethod Guitar
Ian Stitch maps out the fretboard visualization behind Grateful Dead improvisation: CAGED chord targeting, Mixolydian transitions, and how Jerry's ear connects chord shapes up the neck.
4. Toby & Davvy
Clear acoustic and electric playthroughs covering Grateful Dead chords, Bobby rhythm fills, and JGB grooves in an approachable jam-along style.
Guitar Gear, Tabs & Lesson Chat