“I have done some online courses, some one-on-one instruction and some camps. The course I just finished with you has been the most useful by a pretty large margin. Thanks for both the thought and effort that went into the design and material preparation and for the personal presence you bring to it.”—Steve F
“This was the best online learning experience I’ve ever had. And, for the time and money, the best music learning experience in any format: DVD, video, group, or individual live lessons.”—Christine R.
Register for any course by September 21st and save $50!
Blues and Rags for Mandolin Curriculum Registration
Norman Blake Mandolin Tunes and Songs Curriculum Registration
Mandolin for Beginners Curriculum Registration
The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program is pleased to offer three courses this fall focusing on some great American roots music, plus a course for beginners! These courses are intended to help students improve their technique and learn the fretboard while learning some great tunes. Blues and Rags for Mandolin,Norman Blake Mandolin Tunes and Songs and Mandolin for Beginners will start up October 6, 7 and 8.
Each course lasts eight weeks, with class sessions on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evenings (depending on which course it is) and follow-up practice/review sessions on Saturday mornings or afternoons to help you solidify the material while learning practice techniques and getting tips on practice routines.
Students DO NOT need to tune in to the live online sessions, as all class sessions and practice/review sessions are recorded and posted to the class website by the next day for viewing at the students’ convenience. Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions whenever possible, as they can ask questions during the session—plus we’ve found that many students are more likely to practice when they show up for the live sessions!
Blues and Rags for Mandolin (October 6-December 6): This course will explore a variety of blues styles and grooves on the mandolin. We’ll go deep into recordings from the 1920s and 30s, drawing from the playing of Carl Martin, Charlie McCoy, Yank Rachell, Johnny Young and Howard Armstrong, among others. Rhythm playing, lead playing and improvising will all be covered, with suggestions on chord forms, rhythmic patterns and licks across a variety of blues tunes in various keys and tempos.
Register by September 21st and save $50! Register here.
Norman Blake Tunes and Songs for Mandolin (October 7-December 6): This course will get in-depth into the music of the great Norman Blake. Tunes and songs from albums spanning Norman and Nancy Blake’s career will be given each week including handful of mandolin tunes from the classic “Natasha’s Waltz” (or the original LP, “Underground Music from the Mysterious South”). Students will also be given some picking exercises, double stop exercises, licks and other exercises to help with more difficult parts of the tunes and to help them learn the fretboard more thoroughly and help with their improvisation skills. We’ll explore various approaches to soloing each week and discuss which approaches tend to work best from tune to tune. We’ll also relate these concepts to other tunes and songs students may already know. The goal is to create more possibilities in our soloing and to have more fun playing music with other people—and, especially, to learn some great tunes and songs by one of the greatest American roots musicians ever! This course is intended for intermediate to advanced level students.
Register by September 21st and save $50! Register here.
Mandolin for Beginners (October 8-December 6): This eight-week online program is designed to give the beginning mandolin student a solid foundation in basic mandolin technique, and help students start playing actual songs and tunes from the start. Chords, picking exercises, fingering exercises, rhythm exercises as well as tunes and songs will be taught each week in a progressive curriculum to help students establish good habits and enable them to advance more quickly in their mandolin playing.
Register by September 21st and save $50! Register here.
SCHEDULE:
60-minute classes take place online every Monday (Blues and Rags for Mandolin), Tuesday (Norman Blake Tunes and Songs for Mandolin) or Wednesday (Mandolin for Beginners) evening from October 6, 7 or 8 to December 2, 3 or 4 at 9 pm eastern time, and 45-minute practice/review sessions take place every Saturday morning/afternoon from October 11 to December 6. The week of Thanksgiving will off; each course will have eight class sessions and eight practice sessions over the course of nine weeks.
ALSO: we’ve added Europe-friendly times for the Norman Blake Tunes and Songs for Mandolin course! Class sessions will take place on Tuesdays at 2 pm eastern time (7 or 8 pm in the UK and most of Europe) in addition to the 9 pm eastern time class time. Students are invited to attend either or both of the sessions (both will be essentially the same).
NOTE: It is helpful, but not essential, to be present for the live sessions. All class sessions are recorded and available to view on the class website by the following day.
WHAT STUDENTS GET FROM THE COURSE
All students will also have unlimited access to short recorded videos of all of the material played at a slow tempo, PDFs of all material in both standard notation and mandolin tablature, and mp3s of all of the tunes at slow and medium speeds that they can practice along with. Students can access all of this material at any time through the class website, and can also download all materials (videos and class session videos included) to keep them permanently. All class sessions and practice/review sessions are recorded and posted on the class website (usually by the following day) so that students who were unable to attend the live sessions may view them at their own convenience, and all students may review the class videos as often as they wish.
Students will also be given a Recommended Listening list each week for the material covered. A variety of versions of each tune will be provided in the hopes that students will listen to recordings and further explore the wide world of recorded old-time and bluegrass music.
HOW INTERACTIVE IS THE COURSE?
During the live sessions, students can ask questions and/or play examples via their microphone (built-in or external plug-in), or they can ask questions via a built-in chat window. The instructor responds to all questions immediately (or between teaching exercises, etc.) on the spot.
Students are also encouraged to submit mp3 recordings at any time during the course if they would like to, and the instructor will respond in an mp3 recording with constructive criticism. Students can submit these mp3s either privately via email or publicly via the class website, where all students can listen and respond if they choose to. Mp3 submissions are encouraged but not required, and there is no limit on how many mp3 submissions a student can send in.
There is also a class website where registered students can find all class materials (videos, PDFs, mp3s) anytime. The site also has a Forum section, where students can ask questions, bring up topics for discussion, etc., in an open forum where the instructor and other students can respond.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO PARTICIPATE:
1. A desktop or laptop Mac or PC computer, iPad or Internet-connected mobile device (such as iPhone) in order to view the sessions, plus a good internet connection.
2. An internal microphone and speakers on your laptop or desktop computer, or a phone to listen and speak (if desired) during the sessions. Instructions for participating by phone are included when you register for the course (long distance charges may apply).
3. During the course, you have the option of submitting recorded examples of your playing to the instructor (and to the group, if desired). In order to do this, you will need your computer’s built-in microphone or an external microphone plugged directly into your computer (via built-in ports or an external audio interface), in addition to basic audio recording software, such as Audacity or Garage Band, that will allow you to record yourself playing and save the recording in MP3 format.
4. A mandolin (actually maybe that should have been #1).
The course fee for each course is $225. Register for any course by September 21st and save $50! Just follow the registration link(s) and after registering, we’ll send you an invoice via PayPal for the course fee(s) ($175 per course).
If you have questions about any of the courses, email Matt at [email protected].
Register here:
Blues and Rags Mandolin with Matt Flinner (10/6-12/6)
Norman Blake Tunes and Songs for Mandolin with Matt Flinner (10/7-12/6)
Mandolin for Beginners with Matt Flinner (10/8-12/6)
View curricula for each course here:
Blues and Rags Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum (10/6-12/6)
Norman Blake Tunes and Songs for Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum (10/7-12/6)
Mandolin for Beginners with Matt Flinner Curriculum (10/8-12/6)
The View From Here
Walking on the Moon
Latitude
Music du jour
Copyright - Matt Flinner - All right Reserved
I’m interested in the Double Stops course but may not be able to participate in on-line sessions. What do you suggest?
Ed Schmid
Hi Ed,
All class sessions are recorded and uploaded to the class website by the following day, so you can view them any time after-the-fact. Several students seem to prefer this option, as they might have conflicts with work, different time zones, etc. Also, all class videos (including class sessions and practice sessions) are downloadable, so students can keep them and watch them offline any time.
I hope that helps! And hope to see you in class.
Thanks Ed!
Best,
Matt Flinner
Hi Matt,
You mentioned that the Double Stops II course was discounted for folks that took the DS I course. What would be my cost?
Ed Schmid
Hi Ed,
Students taking consecutive courses receive a $25 discount. I’ll have it set up shortly on the registration page so that you can just sign up and then you’ll receive an invoice which will reflect the discount.
Looking forward to having you in class again! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks,
Matt
Matt,
Would you recommend this class for a beginner mandolin player? Or should I take something different? I am an acoustic guitar player for the last 5 years. Thanks Mark
Hi Mark,
Knowing some basic chords and a handful of tunes is really helpful, but I imagine you’ll be able to get off to a pretty quick start with skills you can bring from the guitar. You can always try out the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 course for a week or two, and if it doesn’t work for you for any reason, you can withdraw for a full refund.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Hope to see you in class!
Thanks,
Matt
Matt,
I’m into my 2nd year on the mandolin. I know most the scales, arpeggios, and a good number of chords. I can’t do the closed position chops due to severe arthritis. What course would you recommend, the jam or is the bluegrass 101 still available?
Skip
Hi Skip,
Sorry for the delay! You’re welcome to try it out for a week and see what you think. If it just doesn’t work for you for any reason, you can bow out for a full refund. The Bluegrass 101 might be a better option, but I won’t be teaching it live until at least next winter. I will have an archived version available for purchase soon, though. I can add you to the email list if you’d like, so that you can get a notification when it’s available.
Thanks!
Matt