Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming Curriculum (8/24-9/19)

“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 Practice Techniques II curriculum (8/25-9/19)

See the Morning Mandolin Meditations curriculum (8/24-9/19)

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 evening from June 10 to July 8 (the week of July 1 is off due to Matt’s touring schedule) at 9 pm eastern time. There will also be 45-minute practice/review sessions every Saturday at 10 am eastern time.

The course fee is $150. Register by 8/9 and save $75!

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (8/24)

Some easier bluegrass standards in G

Warmup Picking Exercise

Positions in G

A few licks

Don’t This Road Look Rough and Rocky

Columbus Stockade Blues

Long Gone

Before I Met You

WEEK 2 (8/31)