grubby,

The run you're asking about is universally known as the "Lester Flatt G run." I don't think he invented it, he just popularized it. It's quite possible that Bill taught it to him. Lester played rhythm guitar with a thumb pick so when he played the run, it didn't have any up strokes. It went like this: pick G on the E string, pick the open A string, hammer a Bb on the A string, hammer a B natural on the A string, pick the open D string, hammer an E on the D string, pull-off the D string to get another D, pick the open G string. The picking is angled down toward the guitar top so each time a string is plucked, the pick comes to rest on the next higher string.

I use a flat pick so I play the run with up and down strokes as well as the hammer-ons and pull-offs. Sometimes I pick every note and sometimes hammer and pull, it depends on the sound I'm trying to get; the hammers, properly executed, sound smoother but plucking each note can work better when flat picking fiddle tunes or coming out of certain lead passages.

If you're going to play bluegrass rhythm guitar there are a couple of tips I can share. One is to listen carefully to all the quality rhythm guitar you can find. You'll begin to see that they aren't just using the guitar as a drum. Also, you'll primarily be playing bass notes, not chords. It will look and feel like chords but you should really be playing notes. Also, when you do play the chord portion of a stroke, make the chord very light compared to the attack on the bass note. Finally, you must blend. If you notice the rhythm guitar in a bluegrass band, it's being played wrong or too loud. Of course you should definately notice its absence as well.

Listen to Bill Harrell's playing. Bill played for many years with Don Reno and then formed his own band. And remember those immortal words of the Father of Bluegrass Music: "There's no back beat in my music."

Good luck,

      - Mark