Matt Flinner

Advanced Fiddle Tunes and Improvisation with Matt Flinner Curriculum, 1/11-3/19

 

 

“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. 

 

 

 

“I’ve learned so much from your courses and have improved greatly due to learning some basic skills and music theory.”—Jamie J.

 

 

 

“Your courses have opened my musical mind, focused my practice and expanded my skill far beyond expectation.”—-Steve F

 

 

 

 

Register for the Advanced Fiddle Tunes and Improvisation for Mandolin with Matt Flinner course

 

See the Old-Time Mandolin 101: Old-Time Songs and the Carter Family with Matt Flinner curriculum

See the Old-Time Mandolin 102: Tunes and Techniques with Matt Flinner curriculum

 

This course is intended to help the intermediate to advanced mandolinist learn some new tunes while exploring various ways of learning the fretboard and improving their improvisational skills.  Fiddle tunes in various keys will be taught each week, and students will be given suggestions on how to improvise and/or create variations on these tunes.  Special attention will be given to more “modern” fiddle tunes by the likes of John Hartford, Darol Anger, Norman Blake, Vassar Clements and others.  Scale and arpeggio exercises, picking exercises and fingering exercises will also be given to help students increase their improvisation skills.

The course is intended for intermediate to advanced level students.  

Class sessions will take place on Tuesday afternoons at 2 pm (for those in the UK and Europe!) as well as 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 11 am eastern time.  The weeks of  February 8th and March 8th will be off due to Matt’s touring schedule and some family events.  There will be eight class sessions (or 16, if you count the extra afternoon sessions) and eight practice sessions over the course of 10 weeks.  

 

 

WEEK 1 (1/11)

Octave changes

Moving between octaves

A few positions in common keys

Old Daingerfield

Blake’s March (Norman Blake)

 

WEEK 2 (1/18)

Improv with chord tones

Arpeggio Exercise I

Changing octaves with chord tones

Grey Owl

Tennessee Politics (John Hartford)

 

WEEK 3 (1/25)

Double stops in improv

A and D double stops

Moving between positions using double stops

Chord tones in improvisation

Georgia Home (Norman Blake)

Homer the Roamer (John Hartford)

 

WEEK 4 (2/1)

Minor keys

Improv lines in minor keys

Adding minor double stops

Some blues ideas

Crossing the Catskills (Vassar Clements)

The Legend (Bela Fleck)

 

WEEK 5 (2/15)

Texas style tunes

A few licks in A

Getting up the neck

More chord tones in improv

Position shifts

Billy Wilson

Miller’s Reel

 

WEEK 6 (2/22)

Double Stops II

Open style double stop exercise I

Creating variations with moving double stops

Moving from chord to chord with a mixture of double stops

Washington County

Cincinnati Rag

 

WEEK 7 (3/1)

Playing over unusual chord progressions

Chord tones II

Arpeggio exercise II

Using double stops to navigate chord progressions

Pig on the Engine (Norman Blake)

Kissimmee Kid (Vassar Clements)

 

WEEK 8 (3/15)

Tying it all together

Chord tones, octave changes, double stops and the blues

Ride the Wild Turkey (Darol Anger)

Down in the Swamp (Bela Fleck)

 

The course fee is $225.