Matt Flinner

“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. 

“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. 

The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 online lessons program continues this summer with three four-week long intensive courses designed to help you improve your technique, learn some tunes and help you have more fun playing the mandolin!

Bluegrass Jamming with Matt Flinner                         Curriculum         Registration 

Scale and Arpeggio Intensive with Matt Flinner        Curriculum         Registration

Double Stops Intensive with Matt Flinner                   Curriculum         Registration

The Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner course (June 10-July 13) is intended to help students play bluegrass music with other people.  Each week, students will receive four new tunes (from beginner to advanced level) along with ways of playing rhythm, approaches to creating variations on the tune, and some exercises to help with fundamental technique.  The goal is to help students learn more tunes, learn practical approaches to playing those tunes, and get out and play with other people!  Register here. 

The Scales and Arpeggios Intensive Course (June 11-July 13) will help students learn the fundamental building blocks of melody, harmony and improvisation.  The course is intended for students at an intermediate to advanced level, and will use swing and well as bluegrass material as examples in conjunction with exercises in scales and patterns, modes and arpeggios.  Students will get a lot of material to help them learn the fretboard, and will learn one song per week with some suggestions on how to incorporate that week’s exercises and concepts into creating new solos and improvising over chord progressions.  Register here.  

The Mandolin Double Stops Intensive Course (June 12-July 13) is intended to help students with the fundamentals of tone and picking technique while learning the fretboard.  Double stops in various keys will be looked at, along with picking exercises (which will sometimes incorporate those double stops) to help improve efficiency and speed.  And we’ll focus quite a bit on improving our tone and getting the most sound out of our instruments that we can.  Each week, we’ll also learn a tune (sometimes bluegrass or folk, sometimes Beatles, sometimes Bob Dylan) and look at various ways of using double stops either as part of the melody or as a way of varying the melody.  The course is intended for players of all levels who want to go deeper into the fundamentals of playing the mandolin, especially tone, picking ability and, of course, double stops.  Register here. 

Register for Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner

Register for the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive with Matt Flinner

Register for the Double Stops Intensive with Matt Flinner

The Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming course takes place on Monday afternoons and evenings at 2 and 8 pm eastern time.  We’ll also have practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time.  NOTE: Monday afternoon sessions take place at 2 pm eastern time—a more convenient time for our friends in the UK and Europe!  2 pm eastern time translates to 7 or 8 pm in the UK and most of Europe.   Students are welcome to join in on either or both of the Monday sessions each week (they will be essentially identical to one another in content).  Monday class sessions will take place June 10, 17, 24 and July 8, and Saturday follow-up practice sessions will take place June 15, 22, 29 and July 13.  The week of July 1 is off due to Matt’s tour schedule.  All live sessions are recorded and uploaded to a class website, where they are viewable generally by the following day (in the case of Saturday practice sessions, they’re usually available to view later that day). Register here.

The Scales and Arpeggios Intensive Course (June 11-July 13) meets on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturday mornings at 11 am eastern time.  The week of July 2 is off sue to Matt’s tour schedule; students will have four Tuesday class sessions (June 11, 18, 25 and July 9) and four Saturday follow-up practice sessions (June 15, 22, 29 and July 13).  All live sessions are recorded and uploaded to a class website, where they are viewable generally by the following day (in the case of Saturday practice sessions, they’re usually available to view later that day). Register here.

The Double Stops Intensive Course (June 12-July 13) meets on Wednesday evenings at 8 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturdays at 12:15 pm eastern time.  The week of July 3 is off sue to Matt’s tour schedule; students will have four Wednesday class sessions (June 12, 19, 26 and July 10) and four Saturday follow-up practice sessions (June 15, 22, 29 and July 13).  All live sessions are recorded and uploaded to a class website, where they are viewable generally by the following day (in the case of Saturday practice sessions, they’re usually available to view later that day). Register here.

ALL class materials (PDFs, practice mp3s, short practice videos and class session videos) are available for students to download and keep for future use.  

The course fee for each course is $125.  Sign up for two courses by May 13th and save $50!  Just sign up for the courses you want to take, and we’ll send you a confirmation along with an invoice for the course fees ($200 for both courses).  You’ll be all set!

All students access to the live sessions as well as all materials (PDFs, mp3s, practice videos and class session videos), which they can download for future use.  

Here’s a little more info about the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 online experience that I hope will give you a good idea of how the program works.

BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN 101 

Matt Flinner started the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program in the fall of 2013.  Along the way, the program has helped hundreds of students improve their mandolin playing in a wide variety of styles.  The program offers a unique approach to online mandolin lessons that gives students the best of both live lessons as well as recorded mandolin instructional videos, audio recordings and written materials.  The courses focus on helping mandolin students get to the next level in their playing and broaden their understanding of a variety of American musical traditions. 

A UNIQUE APPROACH: LIVE INSTRUCTION AND INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS

Part of what makes the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program unique is the fact that students follow a step-by-step program of live lessons over a four or eight week course.  The courses follow a carefully planned curriculum in the given style or area of technique, and the live lessons get a little more challenging each week as the course progresses.  Classes meet twice per week: on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evening, depending on the course, and on Saturday morning/afternoon, when students can join a follow-up practice session to review that week’s material.  Students can view the live lessons via their computer, iPad or smart phone.  Students are encouraged to ask questions during the class sessions via a chat window and/or their external or built-in microphone (this microphone is muted unless the student requests to use it).  And students do not need a webcam.  

All live sessions are also recorded so that students can review them any time if they are unable to make it to the live sessions; this also gives students the added convenience of going through the material as many times as they want to.  Students are given access to a private class website where they can find these recorded sessions and they can also view and download all PDFs of the materials and several practice mp3s of that week’s song(s) recorded at various tempos.  Students will also be given download links for all class videos so that they can view them offline at their convenience on into the future.  In essence, all materials from the course are for the students to keep.  

One aspect of the live class schedule that makes the program so effective is that students are generally more encouraged to practice in order to keep up with the schedule.  Students are given a list of suggested priorities each week, depending on their ability level and amount of practice time, and all material is then reviewed in the Saturday practice session so that students get another chance to run through it with the instructor.  Just by showing up, students will run through the material twice each week—for many of us, that’s already an improvement!  

HOW INTERACTIVE ARE THE COURSES?

All live sessions are interactive; students can ask questions and/or demonstrate tunes or exercises via live microphone or telephone, or via a chat window (most students opt for this approach).  The instructor is able to immediately respond and demonstrate the answers for the whole class.  Another form of interaction comes via mp3 recordings; students can record mp3s on their own time of themselves playing the material (or anything else they want to send in) and send it to the instructor for feedback, which is also recorded in mp3 form and sent back to the student.  Students can post their mp3s on the class site (and likely get encouraging feedback from other students in addition to the instructor) or email them privately to the instructor.

HOW MUCH DO I NEED TO PRACTICE?

That is completely up to the student.  While, say, 30 minutes per day might be a good recommendation for practice time, students can make whatever they choose of this course based on their own schedule and aspirations.  Practicing week to week (again, say 30 minutes per day) will help students keep up with the week’s lessons and concepts, but the instructor knows that people have busy lives!  This is why all instructional material is archived and available for download so that students can learn on their own time after the course has finished as well as during the eight weeks of classes.  However, one advantage to the four-week scheduled course is that by practicing at least somewhat regularly, students are more able to be prepared for the following week’s lessons and therefore take full advantage of the live and recorded mix of lesson material.

Students can decide whether to practice along with the class session or with the shorter individual videos (or both), depending on what they want to focus on for that week.  Material is given each week that is targeted toward various ability levels; a song is given which is playable for beginning to intermediate players (or intermediate to advanced, depending on the course), and various concepts relating to that song are also given to educate and challenge players at beginning, intermediate and even advanced levels.  The student essentially decides how much they want to take on for the week (and the course) based on their ability level and how much practice time they have.  Any material they were unable to get to during the week and want to revisit later will be available in the archived videos and PDFs.  The instructor will also give students a recommended list of priorities each week to help students take the best advantage of their practice time.

THE CLASS WEBPAGE

This is the virtual gathering place for the courses, where students can view the instructional videos, view and/or download all written materials, listen to mp3s of Matt playing the tunes, get listening recommendations, ask questions, submit their own mp3s for feedback and generate forum discussions.  It’s a great place to drop by any time and explore, learn and discuss.  

REGISTRATION FEE

Fees for the 4-week summer courses are $125 each.  

Here are a few quotes from some past students about their experiences in the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program:

“I’ve participated in many online learning programs, but so far, your format is the best I’ve ever seen. I am so pleased I happened upon your courses.”—Gina M.

“I’ve practiced more in two weeks than I have in months!  Really enjoying how it’s going.”—Donna O.

“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 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.

“The level was perfect. Mentally I understand many things that have opened up the fingerboard a lot; now I need some quality time to get it under my hands. I found things challenging without feeling out of reach.”—Stan M.

“I’m really enjoying the course. The first time I’ve actually practiced an instrument in my 60 years!”—Skip H.

To visit the registration pages, click one of these links:

Register for Bluegrass Jamming with Matt Flinner

Register for the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive with Matt Flinner

Register for the Double Stops Intensive with Matt Flinner

You can always ask questions about the courses via email ([email protected]), and I’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.  I hope to see you this summer!

All the best,

Matt

“I’ve participated in many online learning programs, but so far, your format is the best I’ve ever seen. I am so pleased I happened upon your courses.”—Gina M.

“All your courses are really good, very well designed, and you have a great teaching style and a relaxed, open, while also serious, approach – which really comes across with the live lessons – thank you for being so encouraging always!”—Penny J. 

“I’m loving the instruction and all the materials, it’s got me playing my mandolin constantly!”—James M. 

Register for the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive with Matt Flinner

See the Bluegrass Jamming curriculum (June 10-July 13)

See the Double Stops Intensive curriculum (June 12-July 13)

The Scale and Arpeggio Intensive course is intended to give students a more solid understanding of the fretbaord while getting ideas of the “tools” used in soloing and improvisation.  Each week, students will be given a handful of exercises using various types of scales and arpeggios in various keys, along with a tune from either the bluegrass or swing/jazz repertoire as a vehicle for using ideas from that week’s exercises in creating solos.  The goal is to help students gain a better understanding of how music works, and to get ideas to help them advance more quickly and have more fun playing with others.  The course is intended for students at an intermediate to advanced level.  

Classes meet every Tuesday from June 11 to July 9 (with the week of July 2 off due to Matt’s tour schedule) at 8 pm eastern time, with practice/review sessions every Saturday from June  15 to July 13 at 11 am eastern time.  Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions, but will be able to view the sessions afterwards on the class website in the event they cannot attend live.  

WEEK 1 (June 11)

The Circle of Fifths

Major Scales in All Keys

Major Scale and Pattern in Thirds I

Major Arpeggio Exercise I

Major Arpeggio Exercise II

Leather Britches as Improv Landscape

WEEK 2 (June 18)

Mixolydian Scales in All Keys

Mixolydian Scale Exercise I

Major Scales in Thirds II

Dominant 7 Arpeggio Exercise I

Dominant 7 Arpeggios from the 3rd

Sweet Georgia Brown as Improv Landscape

WEEK 3 (June 25)

The Modes

Dorian Scales in All Keys

Dorian Scale Pattern I

Minor 7 Arpeggio Exercise I

Using Alternate Chord Tones

The Kitchen Girl

WEEK 4 (July 9)

The ii-V-I

Dorian, Mixolydian and Major Scales in a Chord Progression

ii-V-I Arpeggio Exercises

Some More Scale Patterns

Chord Tones as Target Notes in ii-V-Is

Whisperin’

The course fee is $125.  

Register for the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive course 

Questions?  Email Matt Flinner at [email protected]

“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.  

Register for the Double Stops Intensive course with Matt Flinner

See the Bluegrass Jamming Curriculum (June 10-July 13)

See the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive Curriculum (June 11-July 13)

This course is intended to help students with fundamentals while learning the fretboard.  Double stops in various keys will be looked at, along with picking exercises (which will sometimes incorporate those double stops) to help improve efficiency and speed.  And we’ll focus quite a bit on improving our tone and getting the most sound out of our instruments that we can.  Each week, we’ll also learn a tune (sometimes bluegrass or folk, sometimes Beatles, sometimes Bob Dylan) and look at various ways of using double stops either as part of the melody or as a way of varying the melody.  

The course is intended for players of all levels who want to go deeper into the fundamentals of playing the mandolin, especially tone, picking ability and, of course, double stops.  

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (June 12)

Picking Exercise I

Double Stop Exercise in G

Double Stop Exercise in A

Moving Smoothly Between Double Stops

Chord Forms in G and A

You Ain’t Going Nowhere

WEEK 2 (June 19)

Picking Exercise II

Moving Between Double Stops on a Chord Progression

Double Stop Exercise in C

Chord Forms in C and D

I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow

WEEK 3 (June 26)

Picking Exercise III

Tremolo and Double Stops

Diatonic Double Stops in G

Double Stop Exercise in D

Three Chord Inversions 

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

WEEK 4 (July 10)

Picking Exercise IV

More with Tremolo

Open Style Double Stops

Using the b7 in Double Stops

7th Chord Inversions

Dig a Hole in the Meadow

The course fee is $125.  

Register for the Double Stops Intensive course with Matt Flinner

“I started playing the mandolin a little over two years ago. I played the piano as a child, but having never played a stringed instrument before, my intention was to study as much as I could about technique, theory, improvisation and the various genres of music for the mandolin.

To that end, I have taken nearly every course Matt has offered, even three at a time! Matt is a brilliant teacher. Every course is deep and rich with information. The material is thoughtfully explained, allowing a student to slowly transform the class material into music. I can’t imagine this journey without Matt Flinner.  His courses are a true life changing musical experience!”—Lisa S.

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

Register for Bluegrass Jamming with Matt Flinner

See the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive Curriculum

See the Mandolin Double Stops Intensive Curriculum

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 (including one waltz) in a particular key.  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 and suggestions from Matt).  

Register here

Here is the curriculum: 

WEEK 1 (June 10)

Key of G

Warmup Picking Exercise

Positions in G

G Scale Exercises

My Long Journey Home

Who Will Sing for Me?

My Little Girl in Tennessee

A Good Woman’s Love

WEEK 2 (June 17)

Key of D

Moving Between Positions in D

D Scale and Patterns

Changing Octaves in a Tune

Gotta Travel On

Deep Elem Blues

Paradise

Tear My Stillhouse Down

WEEK 3 (June 24)

Some Minor Key Tunes

A Variety of Minor Chords

E Minor Scales and Patterns

Throwing in Some Minor Double Stops

Shady Grove

Wayfaring Stranger

With a Vamp in the Middle

Jerusalem Ridge

WEEK 4 (July 8)

Key of A

Some Positions in A

Using Open Strings

A Major Scale and Patterns

Mixing in Licks and Double Stops

I’ll Go Stepping Too

Walk Softly on This Heart of Mine

Don’t Give Your Heart to a Rambler

Stone Walls and Steel Bars

Live class sessions take place Mondays at 2 pm eastern and 8 pm eastern time from June 10 to July 8 (the week of July 1 is off due to Matt’s tour schedule).  Both class sessions are the same, and are offered at two different times to accomodate students in other time zones (including Europe, the UK, Australia etc.).  Follow-up practice sessions occur on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time.   All of the live sessions are recorded so that students who are unable to attend a live session (or two, or all!) can view them later on the class website.  

The course fee is $125.  

Register for Bluegrass Jamming with Matt Flinner

“I have done some online courses, some one-on-one instruction and some camps.  The course I just finished with you has been the most useful by a pretty large margin.  Thanks for both the thought and effort that went into the design and material preparation and for the personal presence you bring to it.”—Steve F

“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.

Swing Mandolin 101                      Curriculum               Registration

Mandolin Chord Melody                 Curriculum               Registration

Western Swing Mandolin               Curriculum               Registration

New online courses for spring of 2019 are coming April 1-3!  Swing Mandolin 101 (Mondays), Mandolin Chord Melody (Tuesdays) and Western Swing Mandolin (Wednesdays) will delve into various aspects of swing and jazz at various levels.  

Swing Mandolin 101 is an introduction to swing and jazz on the mandolin which will give students the basics on how to solo and play chord progressions on several jazz standards.  Scales, arpeggios and chord inversions will be explored in-depth to give students the vocabulary they need to play melodies, improvise, play rhythm and, in general, have more fun playing the mandolin at swing jam sessions.  This course is recommended for students at an advanced beginner to intermediate level.  

The Swing Mandolin 101 course takes place on Mondays at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time.  

See the Swing Mandolin 101 curriculum

Register for Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner

The Mandolin Chord Melody course goes more in-depth with chords.  Chord inversions will be explored around the fretboard in various keys, and students will learn how to play melodies using those chord inversions as melodic and harmonic foundations.  Students will also be given tips on using these chords to accompany other soloists, as well as ways of using chord inversions and chord melody technique in improvisation.   It’s a great way to become not only a better solo mandolinist, but a much better accompanist as well!   This course is intended for students at an intermediate to advanced level.  

The Mandolin Chord Melody course takes place on Tuesdays at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions on Saturdays at 11 am eastern time.  

See the Mandolin Chord Melody curriculum

Register for Mandolin Chord Melody with Matt Flinner

Western Swing Mandolin (April 3-June 8) will explore the music of Texas dance halls in the 1930s and 40s.  Drawing mostly from the music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, but also the likes of Milton Brown, Hank Thompson and Spade Cooley, the course will introduce students to the unique combination of early country music and jazz that became Western Swing.  Besides learning standard songs, students will be given exercises to help them play lead and backup as well as transcribed solos by some of the masters of the style.  This course is intended for intermediate-level students, though students at all levels who are intersted in Western Swing may find it helpful.  A minimum rudimentary knowledge of chords and some fiddle tune melodies is recommended.  

The Western Swing Mandolin course takes place on Wednesdays at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions on Saturdays at 12:15 pm eastern time.  

See the Western Swing Mandolin curriculum 

Register for Western Swing Mandolin with Matt Flinner

The registration fee for each course is $225.  

Questions?  Email Matt at [email protected]

“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

Register for Mandolin Chord Melody with Matt Flinner

See the Swing Mandolin 101 curriculum

See the Western Swing Mandolin curriculum

This course is all about chords!  Chord inversions will be explored around the fretboard in various keys, and students will learn how to play melodies using those chord inversions as melodic and harmonic foundations.  Each week, two solo arrangements of swing/jazz standard tunes will be given in which the melody is played as the top note (or often passing notes) of the chord; as the melody moves, the chord inversions move accordingly, creating a full, rich sounding solo arrangement on, of all things, the mandolin.  Students will also be given tips on using these chords to accompany other soloists, as well as ways of using chord inversions and chord melody technique in improvisation.   It’s a great way to become not only a better solo mandolinist, but a much better accompanist as well!  

This course is intended for students at an intermediate/advanced level.  

Mandolin Chord Melody Curriculum (April 2-June 8)

WEEK 1 (April 2)

Intro to Chord Melody

Starting with the Blues

Dominant 7 Chord Inversions

Scales over dominant 7 chords

Route 66

Things Ain’t What They Used to Be

WEEK 2 (April 16)

Major 7 chord inversions 

Scales over major 7 chords

All of Me

Sweet Lorraine

WEEK 3 (April 23)

Minor 7 chord inversions

Scales over minor 7 chords

Moving from minor 7 to dominant 7 chords

Blue Skies

Georgia on My Mind

WEEK 4 (April 30)

A Couple of Waltzes

More moving chord inversions

Someday My Prince Will Come

Ugly Beauty

WEEK 5 (May 7)

Putting it together

Some 4-note Chords

They Can’t Take That Away from Me

Someone to Watch Over Me

WEEK 6 (May 21)

Common tones in chords

Diminished Chords

Diminshed chords as substitutions

Scales over diminished chords

Moonglow

Stompin’ at the Savoy

WEEK 7 (May 28)

Moving double stops 

Double stop exercises in various keys

Adding some augmented chords

If I Had You

Do Nothing ‘Til You Hear from Me

WEEK 8 (June 4)

Starting to improvise chord melody

Further use of chord inversions

ii-V-I inversions

Adding melodic lines between chords

Sweet Georgia Brown

Night and Day

The course fee is $225.  

Register here for Mandolin Chord Melody with Matt Flinner 

“I started playing the mandolin a little over two years ago. I played the piano as a child, but having never played a stringed instrument before, my intention was to study as much as I could about technique, theory, improvisation and the various genres of music for the mandolin.

To that end, I have taken nearly every course Matt has offered, even three at a time! Matt is a brilliant teacher. Every course is deep and rich with information. The material is thoughtfully explained, allowing a student to slowly transform the class material into music. I can’t imagine this journey without Matt Flinner.  His courses are a true life changing musical experience!”—Lisa S.

“Your classes are moving me forward so very much. Thank you.” —Jean C.

Register for Western Swing Mandolin with Matt Flinner

See the Swing Mandolin 101 curriculum

See the Mandolin Chord Melody curriculum

New this spring, Western Swing Mandolin with Matt Flinner will take students on a journey through the music of Texas dance halls in the 1930s and 40s.  Drawing mostly from the music of Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys, but also the likes of Milton Brown and Hank Thompson, the course will introduce students to the unique combination of early country music and jazz that became Western Swing.  Students will learn one (or two if they choose) standard song per week, and will be given exercises to help them play lead as well as backup, all with the intent of getting more familiar with the harmonically rich vocabulary of Western Swing Music.  We’ll also look at at least one solo per week by one of the greats (Johnny Gimble, Tiny Moore, Leon McAuliffe, etc.) in this style.  

This course is intended for intermediate-level students, though students at all levels who are intersted in Western Swing may find it helpful.  A minimum rudimentary knowledge of chords and some fiddle tune melodies is recommended.  

Here is the curriclum: 

WEEK 1 (April 3)

Simple chord progressions

Looking at chord tones

A few melodic lines

Melodic Pattern 1

Yearning

Take Me Back to Tulsa

WEEK 2 (April 17)

Extensions: 9 and 13 chords

Melodic Pattern 2

Sugar Moon

Corrine, Corrina

Miss Molly

WEEK 3 (April 24)

Using arpeggios

Major, Dominant and Minor arpeggio exercises

Melodic Pattern 3

Steel Guitar Rag

Taking Off

WEEK 4 (May 1)

More with chord tones

Some more melodic lines

Melodic Pattern 4

Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette

Driving Nails in My Coffin

WEEK 5 (May 8)

I-VI-II-V Progressions

Lines over the I-VI-II-V progression

I Hear You Talking’

Roly Poly

WEEK 6 (May 22)

A bit of twin fiddle harmony

Creating harmonies based on chord tones

Faded Love

San Antonio Rose

WEEK 7 (May 29) 

Diatonic arpeggio lines

Fat Boy Rag

Three Guitar Special

WEEK 8 (June 5)

Tying it all together

Arpeggios, melodic lines, chord tones, extensions

Yellow Rose of Texas

Remington Ride

The course fee is $225.  

Register here for Western Swing Mandolin with Matt Flinner

“All your courses are really good, very well designed, and you have a great teaching style and a relaxed, open, while also serious, approach – which really comes across with the live lessons – thank you for being so encouraging always!”—Penny J.

“I got a lot out of it! Everyday I have a practice routine based on the summer intensive. You have helped me by leaps and bounds.”—Sandy N.

Register for Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner

See the Mandolin Chord Melody curriculum

See the Western Swing Mandolin curriculum

Explore the wonderful world of swing mandolin with Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner.  Learn a new swing tune (or two) each week and get pointers on how to play chords and backup as well as approaches to improvising.  This course will be very much into chord voicings, scales, arpeggios and how they all relate to one another.  It’s a great way to expand your playing and musicianship (and learn some great tunes)! 

The course takes place on Monday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time.  The course is recommended for advanced beginner to intermediate students, and assumes some knowledge of chords and the ability to play some melodies.  Rudimentary knowledge of scales and arpeggios is also helpful. 

SWING AND JAZZ MANDOLIN 101 CURRICULUM:

Week 1 (April 1): The Blues

Dominant 7 Chords

Blues Scales

C Jam Blues

Bonus Tune: Route 66

Week 2 (April 15): The ii-V-I progression

Major Scales and patterns in a few keys

Two ways of playing ii-V-Is

Major 7 Arpeggios in all keys

Sweet Sue

Bonus tune: How High the Moon

Week 3 (April 22): The Blues II (adding the ii-V-I)

Dominant 7 chord inversions

Dominant 7 arpeggios

Mixolydian Scales and patterns

Blues Walk

Bonus tune: Cool Blues

Week 4 (April 29): Some more ii-V-Is

A couple of ii-V-I licks

Two more ii-V-I inversions

Minor 7 arpeggios

Dorian scales and patterns

Honeysuckle Rose

Bonus tune: Ain’t Misbehavin’

Week 5 (May 6): Going Around the Circle of 5ths

Patterns around the circle

Arpeggiating through chord progressions

Seven Come Eleven

Bonus tune: Sweet Georgia Brown

Week 6 (May 20): Target notes

Some more ii-V-I licks and patterns

Using target notes over chord changes

Scale exercises and ii-V-Is

All of Me

Bonus tune: Back Home Again in Indiana

Week 7 (May 27): The I-VI-ii-V-I progression

Two ways of playing the I-VI-ii-V-I progression

Finding smooth chord tones from chord to chord

Blue Moon

Bonus tune: Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off

Week 8 (June 3): Rhythm changes

Tying it all together: inversions, chord tones, arpeggios and scales

I Got Rhythm

Bonus tune: Oleo

The course fee is $225.  

Register here for Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner

We ring in the New Year with music to help bring us together, not just as Americans but as citizens of the world.  I’m always amazed at how bluegrass music crosses so many boundaries—economic, religious, racial and international—and how people from these disparate corners can find common ground in something they love and can all relate to.  So I’m hoping the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program can perhaps help bring us together next year, at least in some small way!  

Many folks in the UK and various parts of Europe have taken part in the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program, but often the class times are inconvenient for them, to say the least.  Two courses coming this winter will be offered at more Euro-convenient times—the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 course and the American Roots Mandolin course.  Class sessions for the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 will take place live online on Mondays at 2 pm eastern time in the U.S., which is 7 pm in the U.K. and 8 pm in most of Europe, and sessions for the American Roots Mandolin course will take place on Wednesdays at the same time (and we’re not forgetting about you Aussies—it’s 6 am there, but we know you’re hardy folks who’ve probably already accomplished more than the rest of us will all day!).  Students in any time zone are welcome to join these sessions as well as the 9 pm eastern time sessions on Mondays (for the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 course) or Wednesdays (for the American Roots Mandolin course).  Both class sessions will essentially be the same, but some students enjoy attending both in order to get a couple of run-throughs for that week’s material.  One of the sessions will be posted to the class website by the following day, so if you can’t make either one, not to worry: you can view it any time at your convenience (and even download it).   

We will also have practice/review sessions for each course on Saturdays.  For the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 course, this will take place Saturdays at 10 am eastern time (3 or 4 pm in the U.K. and Europe) and for the American Roots Mandolin course, this will take place at 12:15 pm eastern time (5:15 or 6:15 pm in the U.K. and Europe).  

Click on these links to get some more information:

The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 curriculum

The American Roots Mandolin curriculum

The Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin curriculum (sadly, this only takes place at 9 pm eastern time on Tuesdays, but the practice review sessions are at 11 am eastern time on Saturdays—which is 4-5 pm in the U.K. and Europe)

You can register for the courses here:

Bluegrass Mandolin 101 registration

American Roots Mandolin registration

Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin registration

Course fees are US $225.  

Email [email protected] with any questions.  And Happy New Year!

“All your courses are really good, very well designed, and you have a great teaching style and a relaxed, open, while also serious, approach – which really comes across with the live lessons – thank you for being so encouraging always!”–-Penny J.

“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.

Note: due to unexpected travel, Weeks 3 and 4 are taking place a week later than originally planned.  You can still get two weeks of classes in!

Register here for Week 3 (January 28-February 1)

Register here for Week 4 (February 4-February 8)

Join Matt Flinner for a series of 5-day courses this winter which are geared toward helping the aspiring mandolin student practice more efficiently and improve their playing skills more quickly.  Every day for five days, students will run through a series of exercises and one tune, with Matt guiding them in a live 30-minute online practice session.  Students who are unable to make the live sessions can view them later that day or evening on the class website, as all sessions will be recorded.  

NOTE: It is not necessary to have taken the Week 1 course to register for Week 2 and subsequent weeks.  All material from week to week will be unique and will challenge students in different ways!

Students will be given exercises in the following areas: picking exercises, arpeggios, scales, fingering exercises, double stops, and a tune for the week.  Students will receive the materials in PDF form four weeks ahead of time (or whenever they sign up) so that they have a chance to learn them before the course begins.  Matt will then guide them through daily practice sessions for five straight days, giving them tips on how to improve and how to practice more effectively.  

All class sessions take place from 10-10:30 am eastern time.

The four weeks’ courses are different from one another, with different materials and a different tune being given for each week.  Students can take any single course on its own or take any combination of courses to establish a routine and build on knowledge from one course to the next.  

The registration fee for each course is $40.  

Students can view all materials (videos and PDFs) on a class website any time, and they can also download and keep all PDFs and videos (including recordings of the class sessions) to practice with on their own time if they wish to.  

Register here for Week 3 (January 28-February 1)

Register here for Week 4 (February 4-February 8)

WEEK 3 Curriculum (1/28-2-1)

Picking Exercise III

Fingering Exercise III

Double Stop Exercise III in A

Scales and Patterns in A

Minor 7 Arpeggio Exercise

Lick #3 in All Keys 

Tune: Ida Red

Register here for Week 3

WEEK 4 Curriculum (2/4-2/8)

Picking Exercise IV

Fingering Exercise IV

Double Stop Exercise IV in C

Scales and Patterns in C

I-IV-V Arpeggio Exercise

Lick #4 in All Keys 

Tune: Fun’s All Over

Register here for Week 4