Playback Sessions Podcast

Playback Sessions

Weekly Interviews with the worlds best musicians chatting about their favorite recordings, techniques, and influences. Created by your friends at Sonora Guitar Intensive and Carter Vintage Guitars

Episodes

  1. Jul 6

    Billy Strings Shares His Practice Method for Progress

    In this episode, Billy Strings sits down with his longtime mentor Rob Cappelletto at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville to talk about breaking out of ruts, rethinking practice, and staying a student even at the top of your game. We cover Billy’s journey from instinctive, ear-based bluegrass to studying jazz, Bach, and fretboard fluency through Sonora. He breaks down how specific exercises shaped his new record, shares stories from the road (including playing with Ringo), and gets candid about nerves, self-doubt, and the grind of staying sharp as a performer. Chapters: 00:00 Intro – Playing Without Thinking 00:12 How Billy Found Sonora & Met Rob 01:59 Does Music Theory Kill Creativity? 03:28 Learning to Apply New Concepts on Stage 04:18 Billy’s Early Years: Playing by Ear 06:10 Hitting a Plateau & Seeking Growth 07:12 From Practice to Performance: The “Escanaba” Story 09:31 Chord Mastery & Playing the Changes 11:12 Robb and Chris Thile Story 12:15 Breaking Out of the Bluegrass Box 14:06 Balancing Jazz, Bach & Tony Rice 15:15 Real Progress: Chord Integration in Old Tunes 18:56 Early Influences: From Hendrix to Doc 21:11 Improvisation, Melody & Staying Connected on Stage 27:24 Playing with Intention & Audience Energy 34:57 Rob & Billy Jam + Practicing What Matters 37:31 Dealing with Success, Doubt & What Comes Next 📍 Filmed at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, TN. 🪕 Subscribe for weekly interviews with some of the world’s most inspiring guitar players. #BillyStrings #Guitar #Sonora #RobCappelletto #Bluegrass #GuitarPractice #Improvisation #FretboardFluency #HighwayHypnosis #CarterVintage

  2. Jul 2

    Andy Wood's One Secret to Playing FAST

    Andy Wood, a virtuoso guitarist with deep musical roots in bluegrass, rock, country, metal, and fusion, shares transformative insights on technique, tone, and practice strategies in this episode.  00:00 Introduction and Mindset Shift 01:08 Andy Wood's Practice Techniques 02:27 Exploring Slide Guitar Techniques 07:08 Community Announcement and Free Resources 10:34 Signal Chain and Gear Discussion 15:31 Speed and Practice Approaches 15:44 The Metronome Mistake 16:01 Learning vs. Practicing 16:39 The Bell Curve of Speed 18:17 The Bicycle Analogy 18:50 Practicing at Target Tempo 19:53 Precision Over Speed 20:48 The Importance of Clean Playing 25:28 Student Success Stories 27:24 Advice from the Front Porch 📍 Filmed live at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, Tennessee. 🎸 Follow us on IG:   @playbacksessions   🎥 Filmed at Carter Vintage Guitars Host: Spencer Handley Guest: Andy Wood Executive Producers: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Mitch Goudy

  3. Jun 29

    Billy Strings vs The Hardest Bluegrass Tune Ever Written

    Billy Strings sits down with his teacher Robb Cappelletto to break down one of the toughest bluegrass tunes ever written. In the process they break down the playing of Tony Rice.  From tone to touch, to the subtle moves that redefined acoustic guitar. If you’re a flatpicker, this is essential viewing. 📍 Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:45 - Winterhawk Recording 1990  7:56 - Theory Breakdown of Fishscale 11:57 - Billy and Robb Play Fishscale 16:55 - Tony's Technique Influence on Billy 30:17 - Billy and Robb Play Bye Bye Blues 📸 Filmed at Carter Vintage Guitars in Nashville, TN 🎙️ Follow @playbacksessions for more Guests: Billy Strings, Robb Cappelletto Executive Producers: Spencer Handley, Ben Montague Production Manager and Design: Aly Jordan Video: Richard Handley, Zane Dumont Audio Lead: Keith Cypert Editors: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins

  • 3 Episodes

About

Weekly Interviews with the worlds best musicians chatting about their favorite recordings, techniques, and influences. Created by your friends at Sonora Guitar Intensive and Carter Vintage Guitars

Information

  • Creator
    Playback Sessions
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Playback Sessions Podcast