Matt Flinner

Mandolin for Beginners Curriculum (10/8-12/6)

 

 

 

“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 really enjoy your courses and your teaching style. It works for me nicely.  You obviously put a great deal of effort and thought in to the classes.”—Mike B.

 

 

 

Register by 9/14 and save $75!

 

See the Blues and Rags for Mandolin curriculum (10/6-12/6)

See the Norman Blake Tunes for Mandolin curriculum (10/7-12/6)

 

Mandolin for Beginners is an eight-week online program 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 9/14 and save $75!

Register for Mandolin for Beginners with Matt Flinner

 

 

The eight-week course begins on March 30th and runs until May 30th.  Class sessions will take place every Monday evening from 9-9:45 pm eastern time, and follow-up practice sessions will take place every Saturday morning from 10-10:45 am eastern time (Matt will be taking off the weeks of May 11 for the Ghost Ranch Bluegrass Camp) there will be eight class sessions and eight practice sessions over a nine-week period.  All class sessions and practice sessions will be recorded so that students can revisit the lessons as often as they’d like to, and students who are unable to attend any of the live sessions can view the lessons at their own convenience.

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.

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.

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.

Class sessions will take place on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time from October 8 through December 3 (with the week of November 26 off due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.), and practice/review sessions will take place on Saturdays at 12:30 pm eastern time from October 11 through December 6 (again, with Thanksgiving weekend off).  Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions if possible, but if they miss sessions they can view them after-the-fact  at their leisure on the class website.  

 

 

The fee for the course is $225.  Register by 9/14 for just $150!

If you have questions about the course, email Matt at [email protected].

 

Register for Mandolin for Beginners with Matt Flinner

 

 

MANDOLIN FOR BEGINNERS CURRICULUM

 

WEEK 1 (10/8/25)

Getting familiar with the mandolin

How to choose a pick, mandolin set-up and tuning

A Few Chords

A Few Picking Patterns

Fingering Position

Playing chords on Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Bonus material: This Land is Your Land

 

WEEK 2 (10/15)

Playing melodies

Picking Pattern 2

Chords in A

A Major scale

Bile Them Cabbage Down

Bonus material: Woody’s Rag

 

WEEK 3 (10/22)

Picking pattern 3

Fingering Exercise I

D major scale

Angeline the Baker

Bonus material: Wildwood Flower

 

WEEK 4 (10/29)

Picking pattern 4

A few minor chords

Rhythm patterns

G major scale

Old Joe Clark

Bonus material: Shady Grove

 

WEEK 5 (11/6)

Adding ornaments, Slides and Hammer-ons

Fingering Exercise II

Playing rhythm in Waltz time

Rhythm on Goodnight Irene

Muddy Roads

Bonus material: Eighth of January

 

WEEK 6 (11/13)

Getting to know the neck a little better

Closed position A major scale

Three Closed position chords

Red Haired Boy

Bonus material: Over the Waterfall

 

WEEK 7 (11/20)

Intro to position playing

A few double stops

Bluegrass “Chop Chords”

Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Bonus material: I’ll Fly Away

 

WEEK 8 (12/4)

Transitions between lead and rhythm

Trying other keys (with tunes from week 7)

Soldier’s Joy

Bonus material: Blackberry Blossom

 

The course fee is $225.  Register by September 14th for just $150!

 

Register for Mandolin for Beginners with Matt Flinner