Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II Curriculum (8/19-9/21)

“After buying six mandolins and umpteen books…I am convinced your course is best $100 I
have invested in my mandolin journey to date. Finally, I’m getting the discpline I need with your
exercises to learn scales, arpeggios, double stops, fingering techniques, learn the fretboard (the
essential tools I need)…and most importantly to learn how those things fit into playing tunes.”—
Rick D., Bluegrass Mandolin 101 student

“I have to say that making everything available online is a great convenience for me. Being able
to stop and return to a more challenging exercise or a newer phrase is a great for learning. I
also really appreciate your availability to answer questions offline. This is a great course, and I
feel as though I’m improving daily because of it.”—Joe C., Bluegrass Mandolin 101 student

See the Mandolin Tune Studies II Curriculum (August 20-September 21)
See the Mandolin Chord & Rhythm Intensive Curriculum (August 21-September 21)

This course is intended to help the aspiring mandolinist build up repertoire and find ways of creating new solos over commonly played standards; it’s also designed in the hope that it will encourage students to get out and jam with other players!

Each week, we’ll look at four bluegrass standard tunes. Students will be given lead sheets (in standard notation and tablature) for each song, as well as a few exercises to help them learn more about the fretboard and start incorporating new ideas into their solos. Concepts and tunes will be taught during the class session, and all tunes will be revisited during Saturday practice sessions in a “jam session” format, where each song is played several times though, and students have the opportunity to try out some of the week’s concepts on the tunes (with guidance from Matt).

Classes meet every Monday from August 19 to September 16 at 9 pm eastern time, with the week of August 26 being off due to Matt’s tour schedule. There will also be 45-minute review sessions every Saturday at 10 am eastern time. This course is a continuation of the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming I course which concludes on July 13, but students do not to have taken that course in order to take the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II course.

The course fee is $125.

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (August 19)
Starting off in the keys of A and D
Open position and positions up the neck
Double stops in A
Wild Bill Jones
I’ll Stay Around
Dig A Hole in the Meadow
Summer Wages

WEEK 2 (September 2)
Keys of E and F
Adding the blues in E and F
Moving double stop exercises
The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake
Memories of Mother and Dad
The Last Thing on My Mind
Why You Been Gone So Long

WEEK 3 (September 9)
Keys of B and Bb
More moving double stops
Some Monroe-style ideas
White House Blues
Roving Gambler
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Old Home Place

WEEK 4 (September 16)
Some “modern” classics
More difficult chord progressions
Finding chord tones and double stops
Combining double stops and licks
Redwood Hill
Old Train
Nellie Kane
Wait a Minute

The course fee is $125.