Morning Mandolin Meditations with Matt Flinner Curriculum, 10/6-11/3

“Thanks for the terrific class! I had my mandolin lurking in the corner for 9 months before I took this class. I played with it now and then but felt out of my depth, having only played piano in the past. A few weeks into your class, I couldn’t put down my mandolin, practicing far more than my kids want me to. In addition to the wonderful tunes we learned in class, I started to pick out other melodies like Christmas carols, simple gifts, harry potter, star wars; anything I hear I want to find it on the mandolin.”—Randy R.

“Your classes are the best and most successful learning approach for me, Thank you.”—-Eric B.

This course is intended to help students practice along with Matt in a daily routine that will include tunes, picking exercises, double stop exercises and a handful of other exercises as they come up. Time will be spent warming up with a couple of exercises, then we’ll play a tune with the metronome for an extended period of time, starting slow and gradually speeding up to performance tempo. Fundamentals of picking and general technique will be addressed as we go along to help students feel more confident and to be able to play along at faster tempos (as one would in a jam session). At the end, we’ll play a tune several times through at a moderate tempo to get into “the zone” for a little while. It’s a great way to start the day!
Live sessions meet Monday-Saturday mornings at 11 am eastern time, and an informal “jam” meets on Sunday evenings at 7 pm eastern time. Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions (via Zoom), but all sessions are recorded and streamable afterwards so that students can review them any time if they are unable to attend the sessions.

NOTE: We’ll start up on TUESDAY, August 25th, as Matt is traveling on the 24th. Sessions will happen as often as possible, but are subject to change depending on Matt’s tour schedule.

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (10/6)

Picking Exercise I

Double Stop Exercise I

Arpeggio Exercise I

Train on the Island

Sunday Jam: 10 bluegrass/fiddle tune standards TBA

WEEK 2 (10/12)

Picking Exercise II

Double Stop Exercise II

Arpeggio Exercise II

Hawks and Eagles