Bluegrass Mandolin 101, Advanced Bluegrass Soloing & Folk & Bluegrass Rhythm Start 1/4, 1/9-10
By Theme Admin on November 14th, 2022 at 3:45 AM
“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 winter with courses intended to help students improve their skills in bluegrass mandolin playing and perhaps branch out into some other related styles. Bluegrass Mandolin 101, Advanced Bluegrass Soloing and Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm will help students improve their fundamentals, learn the fretboard, improve their rhythm playing as well as soloing—all while learning a couple of new tunes each week. And all with the goal of having more fun playing the mandolin!
Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner (1/9-3/11) Curriculum Registration
Advanced Bluegrass Soloing with Matt Flinner (1/9-3/11) Curriculum Registration
Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner (1/4-3/5) Curriculum Registration
The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 course (January 9-March 11): this course will introduce students to the use of double stops and various positions on the neck, as well as various picking and fingerboard exercises to help develop good mandolin technique and knowledge of the fretboard. Each week, students are given two standard bluegrass tunes (and encouraged to learn at least one of them); that week’s exercises are correlated to the tunes during the week’s practice session so that students find practical ways of using the exercises in their playing.
The course is intended for players at a beginning to intermediate ability level (though absolute beginners will have a difficult time keeping up—knowledge of basic chords and rhythm playing will help!). Register here.
The Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing course (January 10-March 11): in this course, we’ll examine the mandolin styles of many of the bluegrass masters: Bill Monroe, Jesse McReynolds, Tim O’Brien, Adam Steffey and many others, and we’ll try incorporating and expanding on various aspects of their playing on a couple of bluegrass standard songs (or sometimes not-so-standard, but great tunes!). Each week, students will look at two recorded solos by one of the greats, along with some related exercises to help both improve technique and find ways of using melodic ideas in other solos.
The course is recommended for intermediate to advanced players. Register here.
The Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm course (January4-March 5): this course will help students learn ways of playing rhythm in bluegrass and folk music, with a bit of blues and “newgrass” mixed in. Basic chord forms will be given, and the course will gradually build on these into chord inversions, double stops and melodic “fills.” Songs will be taught in several keys to help students get more comfortable with the fretboard and gain more confidence to be able to play more effectively in jam sessions. Each week, students will be given chord exercises and rhythm exercises along with two or more songs to practice. Some of those exercises will be more basic, and as we go through the class session, the exercises will get more advanced. Each week, students will be encouraged to focus on the exercises that best suit their ability level. The goal will be to help students become more adept at playing rhythm in various keys and styles and develop a more solid sense of timing.
The course is intended for players at a beginning to intermediate ability level (though absolute beginners will have a difficult time keeping up—knowledge of basic chords and rhythm playing will help!), or for players at any level who are looking to improve their chord vocabulary and rhythm playing.
Register for Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner
The course fee for any winter course is $225.
Register for Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner
Register for Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner
Register for Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner
The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 course (January 9-March 11) takes place on Monday evenings at 9 pm eastern time. We’ll also have practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time. Monday class sessions will take place from January 9-March 6, and Saturday follow-up practice sessions will take place from January 14-March 11. The week of February 20 will be off, so students will have a little extra time to review! 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 Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing course (January 10-March 11) meets on Tuesdays at 2 pm and 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturday mornings at 11 am eastern time. Students will have eight Tuesday class sessions (January 10-March 7) and eight Saturday follow-up practice sessions (January 14-March 11). The week of February 21 will be off, so students will have a little extra time to review! 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 Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm course (January 4-March 5) meets on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturdays at 12:30 pm eastern time. Students will have eight Wednesday class sessions (January 4-March 1) and eight Saturday follow-up practice sessions (January 7-March 5). 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 often 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.
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
The course fee for any winter course is $225.
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 Mandoin 101 with Matt Flinner
Register for Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner
Register for Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner
Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner Curriculum, 1/10-3/11
By Theme Admin on November 14th, 2022 at 3:10 AM
“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.
“Your classes are moving me forward so very much. Thank you.” —Jean C.
“It was nice there were various assignments which pushed my ability. Never felt I had “mastered” ALL the homework so never got bored. Always something to work on or do next.”—Joe S.
Register for Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner
See the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner curriculum (1/9-3/11)
See the Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner curriculum (1/4-3/5)
Join Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner for a look into the mandolin styles of many of the bluegrass masters: Bill Monroe, Jesse McReynolds, Herschel Sizemore, Adam Steffey and many others. Each week, students will look at two recorded solos by one of the greats, along with some related exercises to help both improve technique and find ways of using melodic ideas in other solos.
Class sessions take place on Tuesdays at 2 pm and 9 pm eastern time (they’re the same—we’ve added the 2 pm time for the convenience of students in the UK and Europe, but anyone who finds the time convenient is welcome to join! And students can attend both sessions if they want to). Practice/review sessions will take place on Saturdays at 12:30 pm eastern time. The week of February 21 will be off.
The course is recommended for intermediate to advanced players.
Week 1 (1/10)
Bill Monroe
Melodic Exercise I
Chord Tone Exercise in a Few Keys
Rhythms using down-strokes
Picking Exercise I
Y’All Come
Columbus Stockade Blues
Week 2 (1/17)
Bobby Osborne
Picking Exercise II
Double Stops and Positions in D
Some syncopated licks
Reuben
Sledd Ridin’
Week 3 (1/24)
Dempsey Young
Triplet Patterns
Playing up the neck in D
Some chromatic patterns
Dempsey’s Run
Virginia That’s My Home
Week 4 (1/31)
Butch Baldassari
Various positions in E
Moving between positions
Double stops in E
The Jackrabbit Trail
Old Town
Week 5 (2/7)
Herschel Sizemore
Picking Exercise III
Melodic Exercise II
A few up the neck licks
Cincinnati Rag
Durham’s Bull
Week 6 (2/14)
Jesse McReynolds
Crosspicking Exercises I and II
Double stops up the neck in various keys
How to create crosspicking solos
Salty Dog Blues
I Wish You Knew
Week 7 (2/28)
Tim O’Brien
Picking Exercise IV
A few jazz-influenced licks
Open strings in B
Some more position shifts
Look Down that Lonesome Road
Country Boy Rock & Roll
Week 8 (3/7)
Adam Steffey
Picking Exercise V
A few bluesy chromatic runs
More position shifts
Another Night
East Tennessee Blues
The course fee is $225.
Register for Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner
Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner Curriculum (1/9-3/11)
By Theme Admin on November 14th, 2022 at 2:51 AM
“This is the best learning format ever and I like your approach very much.”—Marty C.
“I’ve learned so much from your courses and have improved greatly due to learning some basic skills and music theory.”—Jamie J.
“Your method, approach, pace and materials are the best I’ve seen in my years of perpetual learning.”—Jim H.
Register for Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner
See the Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner curriculum (1/10-3/11)
See the Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner curriculum (1/4-3/5)
Bluegrass Mandolin 101 returns! This course will start at a beginning/intermediate level and progress to a solidly intermediate level. This course will introduce students to the use of double stops and various positions on the neck, as well as various picking and fingerboard exercises to help develop good mandolin technique and knowledge of the fretboard. Each week, students are given two standard bluegrass tunes (and encouraged to learn at least one of them); that week’s exercises are correlated to the tunes during the week’s practice session so that students find practical ways of using the exercises in their playing.
Classes take place Monday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, and review sessions take place on Saturday mornings at 10 am eastern time (note: the week of February 2oth is off).
Register for Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner
Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner curriculum:
Week 1 (1/9)
Three warmup exercises
Intro to position playing
Intro to double stops
Will the Circle Be Unbroken
Bonus Material: Amazing Grace
WEEK 2 (1/16)
Moving to the key of A
Some tag licks to add to your solos
Backup playing and fills
My Long Journey Home
Bonus Material: Little Cabin Home on the Hill
WEEK 3 (1/23)
Small position shifts
Adding some more licks to your solos
Double stop exercises in D
Blue Ridge Cabin Home
Bonus material: I Am a Pilgrim
WEEK 4 (1/30)
Position playing II
Three different kickoffs
Chord tones in position playing
Man of Constant Sorrow
Bonus Material: Great High Mountain
WEEK 5 (2/6)
Shifting from Position I to Position II
Transposing to other keys
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Bonus Material: I’ll Stay Around
WEEK 6 (2/13)
More position shifts
Turnarounds: I-V-I progressions
Double stop exercises in C
Things in Life
Bonus material: I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow
WEEK 7 (2/27)
Moving double stops around to create melody
An approach to improvising
Pike County Breakdown
Bonus material: Arkansas Traveler
Week 8 (3/6)
Tying it all together
Adding some licks and improvising
Combining double stops and licks
Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms
Bonus tune: Little Maggie
The course fee is $225.
Folk & Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm Curriculum, 1/4-3/5
By Theme Admin on November 14th, 2022 at 2:51 AM
“Your courses have opened my musical mind, focused my practice and expanded my skill far beyond expectation.”-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.
Register for Folk and Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner
See the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner curriculum (1/9-3/11)
See the Advanced Bluegrass Mandolin Soloing with Matt Flinner curriculum (1/10-3/11)
This course will focus solely on playing rhythm—something we do probably 90% of the time when we’re playing with other people in a jam session or other group settings! So why not learn some new approaches? This course will help students learn ways of playing rhythm in bluegrass and folk music, with a bit of blues and “newgrass” mixed in. Basic chord forms will be given, and the course will gradually build on these into chord inversions, double stops and melodic “fills.” Songs will be taught in several keys to help students get more comfortable with the fretboard and gain more confidence to be able to play more effectively in jam sessions. Each week, students will be given chord exercises and rhythm exercises along with two or more songs to practice. Some of those exercises will be more basic, and as we go through the class session, the exercises will get more advanced. Each week, students will be encouraged to focus on the exercises that best suit their ability level. The goal will be to help students become more adept at playing rhythm in various keys and styles and develop a more solid sense of timing.
The course is intended for beginning to intermediate-level students (though absolute beginners may find it too advanced as we’ll be moving through chord styles fairly quickly in the first few weeks), or to any students wanting to improve their backup playing.
The course is also designed to challenge students who took the Rhythm Mandolin course in winter 2020; each week, exercises ranging from fairly easy to advanced will be given for students at various levels of experience.
Classes meet every Wednesday at 9 pm eastern time, with practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 12:30 pm eastern time. The week of February 22 is off, so there will be eight weeks of classes in nine weeks time.
Here is the curriculum:
WEEK 1 (1/4)
Reviewing open style rhythm
Open chords
Basslines between chords
Adding dynamics between phrases
Keep on the Sunny Side of Life
If I Needed You
WEEK 2 (1/11)
Barre style chords
Minor chords in a couple of styles
Bass notes as target notes
Red Rocking Chair
Kentucky Waltz
WEEK 3 (1/18)
Bluegrass Chop chords in various keys
Using fills
More dynamics in rhythm playing
Moving between chord inversions
I’m on My Way Back to the Old Home
John Hardy
WEEK 4 (1/25)
3-note chords
Moving between inversions
Adding 7th chords
Nine Pound Hammer
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
WEEK 5 (2/1)
A bit of blues rhythm
7th chords
Some double stops
Adding some more fills to your backup
See See Rider
How Long Blues
WEEK 6 (2/8)
Newgrass rhythms
Syncopated rhythms
More double stops in backup
Going between chords and double stops
One More Love Song
White Freightliner
WEEK 7 (2/15)
More advanced chord progressions
Getting smooth transitions between chords
Mixing in different chord styles
Tricky progressions in various positions
Salty Dog Blues
Beaumont Rag
WEEK 8 (3/1)
Putting it all together
Trying various rhythm styles: folk, bluegrass, blues and rock
Adding fills and double stops in various styles
Transposing to various keys
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Trouble in Mind
The course fee is $225.
Register for Folk and Bluegrass Rhythm Mandolin with Matt Flinner
"The View from Here" Mandolin Tablature Book is Here!
By Theme Admin on October 6th, 2022 at 5:54 PM
When Matt Flinner released “The View From Here” CD 25 years ago, it became an instant classic mandolin album. Listening today, it’s still as fresh and exciting as it was when it first came out.
To celebrate the 25 year anniversary of “The View From Here”, Matt Flinner has released a book of transcriptions of the melodies and the solos he played on the recording.
Matt also designed exercises for each of the tunes to help mandolin players with the tricky parts of the tunes. If you’ve ever taken a Matt Flinner class online, you know that he designs amazing exercises to help his students with the tunes he is teaching. The book features an exercise for each tune, honing in on the skills a player needs to play the tune.
The book is 60 pages long plus the covers. It’s spiral bound to lay flat on your music stand or desk. The inside pages will be on nice quality uncoated paper for easy reading. Besides the transcriptions and exercises, the book includes a nice selection of photos of the groups Matt has played with along with a few of his legendary Gilchrist F5.
Presales of the book will start now with the books being mailed out in late October or early November so you can get them before Christmas. Visit https://www.mattflinner.com to pre-order your books today. The preorder price will be $25 including shipping (except international orders—email [email protected] to work out shipping outside the U.S.). The deadline for preorders is October 31. After October 31, the price will be $25 plus actual shipping costs.
Pre-order your copy of “The View from Here” Mandolin Book by Matt Flinner:
American Roots Mandolin Curriculum (10/5-12/3)
By Theme Admin on August 28th, 2022 at 1:20 PM
“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 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.
Register for American Roots Mandolin with Matt Flinner
See the Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner curriculum (10/3-12/3)
See the Bebop Mandolin with Matt Flinner curriculum (10/4-12/3)
The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program is excited to offer a new course exploring the many sounds of early 20th Century mandolin styles from (mostly) rural America. Blues, ragtime, Dixieland, old-time and early swing will be explored in this course, and we’ll look at the common threads between these styles as well as the differences. Two tunes will be given each week for students to choose from, along with exercises to help students improve their technique, learn the fretboard and gain tools for playing lead and rhythm in the various styles.
The course is intended for intermediate students, or for students simply interested in expanding their musical horizons!
Classes meet online on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions on Saturdays at 12:30 pm eastern time. The week of November 23 will be off due to the Thanksgiving holiday. Eight class sessions and eight practice sessions will be held over the course of nine weeks.
Here is the curriculum:
WEEK 1 (10/5)
Blues
Picking exercise I
Blues rhythm patterns
Seventh chords
Blue notes and licks
Stack-o-Lee
Cypress Grove Blues
WEEK 2 (10/12)
Blues and the Carter Family
Picking Exercise II
Double stops I
Mixing lead and rhythm
Coal Miner’s Blues
It’s a Long Road to Travel Alone
WEEK 3 (10/19)
Jimmie Rodgers
Some more complex chord progressions
Chord inversions
Hitting important notes in solos
Miss the Mississippi and You
Train Whistle Blues
WEEK 4 (10/26)
Blues with a bit more
Double stops II
Some more blues licks
Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues
Goin’ Down the Road Feelin’ Bad
WEEK 5 (11/2)
Some rag progressions
Picking exercise III
Rhythm exercise I
More melodic lines
Skeedie Lou Doo Blues
Travelin’ Man
WEEK 6 (11/9)
String band blues
Double stops in rhythm playing
Mixing lead and rhythm II
Sittin’ on Top of the World
Blues in a Bottle
WEEK 7 (11/16)
Dixieland & early swing
Picking Exercise IV
A few melodic runs
Chromatic melody exercise
West End Blues
Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans
WEEK 8 (11/30)
Bringing various styles together
Soloing in blues, swing and Appalachian styles
Comparing rhythm in blues, swing and Appalachian styles
My Creole Belle
Some of These Days
The course fee is $225.
Bebop Mandolin Curriculum (10/4-12/3)
By Theme Admin on August 28th, 2022 at 1:16 PM
“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.
Register for Bebop Mandolin with Matt Flinner
See the Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner curriculum (10/3-12/3)
See the American Roots Mandolin with Matt Flinner curriculum (10/5-12/3)
This course is intended to help students learn some more advanced jazz concepts and the “bebop” musical language. We’ll learn two bebop standards each week, and look at the harmonic flow and phrasing of bebop melodies, learn ways of navigating chord progressions including blues progressions and ii-V-Is, and look at some solos and licks by several of the bebop masters of the 40s and 50s. Tunes by Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk, Horace Silver, Miles Davis and others will be taught each week, and bits of melody will be transposed to various keys to help students be able to better hear and understand bebop melodies and how they relate to keys and chords. Students will also be given supplementary exercises to help them learn more of the fretboard and apply various musical concepts on other tunes they may already play or encounter in the future. The course is intended for intermediate to advanced level students.
Class sessions take place on Tuesdays at 2 pm and 9 pm eastern time (both sessions will be the same, and students are welcome to join either or both sessions), and practice/review sessions will take place on Saturdays at 11 am eastern time.
Here is the curriculum:
WEEK 1 (10/4)
Blues
A couple of licks
Neighbor tone exercises
Now’s the Time
Blue Monk
WEEK 2 (10/11)
Some ii-V-Is
ii-V-I licks transposed
Changing ii-V-I licks to different target notes
Scrapple from the Apple
Groovin’ High
WEEK 3 (10/18)
Using some blues licks and ii-V-Is
Melodic Exercise I
Chord tones in melodic phrasing
In Walked Bud
Blues for Alice
WEEK 4 (10/25)
Modulations
Using ii-V-Is in modulating
Some more ii-V-I licks
Move
Stablemates
WEEK 5 (11/1)
Funky bebop
Melodic Exercise II
A few double stops
Sidewinder
Song for My Father
WEEK 6 (11/8)
More advanced blues
Chord tones in melodic lines
More target notes
Sandu
Opus de Funk
WEEK 7 (11/15)
Some more advanced modulations
Using substitutions
Lydian dominant ideas
Good Bait
Yeah
WEEK 8 (11/29)
Putting it all together
Blues, licks, ii-V-Is and chord tones in soloing
Melodic Exercise III
Donna Lee
A Night in Tunisia
The course fee is $225.
Swing Mandolin 101 Curriculum (10/3-12/3)
By Theme Admin on August 28th, 2022 at 1:01 PM
“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 Bebop Mandolin with Matt Flinner curriculum (10/4-12/3)
See the American Roots Mandolin with Matt Flinner curriculum (10/5-12/3)
Explore the 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 (10/3)
The Blues
Dominant 7 Chords
Blues Scales
C Jam Blues
Bonus Tune: Route 66
Week 2 (10/10)
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
Bye Bye Blackbird
Bonus tune: Confessin’
Week 3 (10/17)
Adding blues to non-blues tunes
Some more blues licks
Dominant 7 arpeggios
Mixolydian Scales and patterns
It’s Only a Paper Moon
Bonus tune: Undecided
Week 4 (10/24)
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
Ain’t Misbehavin’
Bonus tune: I Saw Stars
Week 5 (10/31)
Going Around the Circle of 5ths
Patterns around the circle
Arpeggiating through chord progressions
It Had to Be You
Bonus tune: Up a Lazy River
Week 6 (11/7)
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: I Can’t Give You Anything but Love
Week 7 (11/14)
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
Stormy Weather
Bonus tune: Blue Moon
Week 8 (11/28)
Tying it all together: inversions, chord tones, arpeggios and scales
Satin Doll
Bonus tune: Pennies from Heaven
The course fee is $225.
Swing Mandolin 101, Bebop Mandolin and American Roots Mandolin Start 10/3-5!
By Theme Admin on August 25th, 2022 at 10:01 PM
“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 with Matt Flinner Curriculum Registration
Bebop Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum Registration
American Roots Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum Registration
The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program is pleased to offer three courses this fall focusing on swing/jazz and roots music! Courses are offered for a variety of ability levels and interests, and are intended to help students improve their technique and learn the fretboard while learning some great tunes. Swing Mandolin 101, Bebop Mandolin and American Roots Mandolin will start up October 3, 4 and 5.
Each course lasts eight weeks, with class sessions on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evenings (depending on which course it is) and follow-up practice/review sessions on Saturday mornings or afternoons to help you solidify the material while learning practice techniques and getting tips on practice routines.
Students DO NOT need to tune in to the live online sessions, as all class sessions and practice/review sessions are recorded and posted to the class website by the next day for viewing at the students’ convenience. Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions whenever possible, as they can ask questions during the session—plus we’ve found that many students are more likely to practice when they show up for the live sessions!
Swing Mandolin 101 (October 3-December 3): this course 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. Melodic ideas, 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 confidence and fun playing the mandolin with other and in swing jam sessions. The course is intended for advanced beginner to intermediate students, or for any students who want to familiarize themselves with the fundamentals of swing mandolin.
Bebop Mandolin (October 4-December 3): This course is intended to help students learn some more advanced jazz concepts and the “bebop” musical language. We’ll learn two bebop standards each week, and look at the harmonic flow and phrasing of bebop melodies, learn ways of navigating chord progressions including blues progressions and ii-V-Is, and look at some solos and licks by several of the bebop masters of the 40s and 50s. Students will also be given supplementary exercises to help them learn more of the fretboard and apply various musical concepts on other tunes they may already play or encounter in the future. This course is intended for intermediate to advanced level students.
American Roots Mandolin (October 5-December 3): This course will focus on mandolin music from the early part of the 20th century, when the mandolin was commonly heard played in string bands as well as ragtime bands, jug bands and by blues artists. Each week, students will receive two tunes to choose from along with several related exercises and suggestions for playing rhythm in various styles including blues, Dixieland, ragtime, old-time, stomps and early swing. The course is recommended for students at an advanced beginner to intermediate level, or for any students interested in learning various early American under-explored mandolin styles!
SCHEDULE:
60-minute classes take place online every Monday (Swing Mandolin 101), Tuesday (Bebop Mandolin) or Wednesday (American Roots Mandolin) evening from October 3, 4 or 5 to November 28, 29 or 30 at 9 pm eastern time, and 45-minute practice/review sessions take place every Saturday morning/afternoon from October 8 to December 3. There will be two weeks off due to Matt’s tour schedule and the Thanksgiving holiday; each course will have eight class sessions (except the Bebop Mandolin course, which will have eight class sessions which will each occur twice for a total of 16 class sessions—see below) and eight practice sessions over the course of 10 weeks.
ALSO: we’ve added Europe-friendly times for the Bebop Mandolin course! Class sessions will take place on Tuesdays at 2 pm eastern time (7 or 8 pm in the UK and most of Europe) in addition to the 9 pm eastern time class time. Students are invited to attend either or both of the sessions (both will be essentially the same).
NOTE: It is helpful, but not essential, to be present for the live sessions. All class sessions are recorded and available to view on the class website by the following day.
WHAT STUDENTS GET FROM THE COURSE
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. All class sessions and practice/review sessions are recorded and posted on the class website (usually by the following day) so that students who were unable to attend the live sessions may view them at their own convenience, and all students may review the class videos as often as they wish.
Students will also be given a Recommended Listening list each week for the material covered. A variety of versions of each tune will be provided in the hopes that students will listen to recordings and further explore the wide world of recorded old-time and bluegrass music.
HOW INTERACTIVE IS THE COURSE?
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. The instructor responds to all questions immediately (or between teaching exercises, etc.) on the spot.
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.
There is also a class website where registered students can find all class materials (videos, PDFs, mp3s) anytime. The site also has a Forum section, where students can ask questions, bring up topics for discussion, etc., in an open forum where the instructor and other students can respond.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO PARTICIPATE:
1. A desktop or laptop Mac or PC computer, iPad or Internet-connected mobile device (such as iPhone) in order to view the sessions, plus a good internet connection.
2. An internal microphone and speakers on your laptop or desktop computer, or a phone to listen and speak (if desired) during the sessions. Instructions for participating by phone are included when you register for the course (long distance charges may apply).
3. During the course, you have the option of submitting recorded examples of your playing to the instructor (and to the group, if desired). In order to do this, you will need your computer’s built-in microphone or an external microphone plugged directly into your computer (via built-in ports or an external audio interface), in addition to basic audio recording software, such as Audacity or Garage Band, that will allow you to record yourself playing and save the recording in MP3 format.
4. A mandolin (actually maybe that should have been #1).
Course fees are $225 per course.
If you have questions about any of the courses, email Matt at [email protected]
Register here:
Register for Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner
Register for Bebop Mandolin with Matt Flinner
Register for American Roots Mandolin with Matt Flinner
View curricula for each course here:
Swing Mandolin 101 with Matt Flinner Curriculum
Mandolin Tune Studies II Curriculum (8/15-9/10)
By Theme Admin on July 2nd, 2022 at 11:52 PM
“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.
Register for Mandolin Tune Studies II with Matt Flinner
See the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming Curriculum (August 16-September 10)
See the Everything Mandolin Jamming II Curriculum (August 17-September 10)
This course will get in-depth in helping students create variations and improvise on fiddle tunes and bluegrass songs—though the concepts will apply to any style of music. Upon registering, students will receive PDFs in tablature and standard notation for two tunes: Cotton Eyed Joe and the Road to Columbus, along with mp3s of each tune and links to videos of the tunes played slowly. During the four-week course, we’ll look at various ways of playing the melodies to both tunes as well as various ways of getting outside the melodies using double stops, positions up the neck, blues ideas and different rhythms and licks. Each week, we’ll explore a different approach to soloing and talk about how to use these approaches on our two tunes and relate these concepts to other tunes and songs students may already know. The goal is to create more possibilities in our soloing and to have more fun playing music with other people—and to learn two tunes REALLY well!
The course is intended for students at an intermediate to advanced level. Exercises at a variety of levels will be given each week; students will be encouraged to focus on the exercise(s) that they feel best suits their ability level and/or interest.
Class sessions will take place on Monday evenings at 9 pm eastern time from August 15 to September 5, and practice/review sessions will take place on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time from August 20 to September 10. Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions, but they can also review the recordings of any and all sessions at their convenience.
This course is a continuation of the Mandolin Tune Studies I course which concludes on July 16, but students do not to have taken that course in order to take the Everything Mandolin Jamming II course.
The course fee is $125. Register here.
TUNE STUDIES CURRICULUM
Tunes (sent in advance):
Cotton Eyed Joe
Road to Columbus
WEEK 1 (August 15)
Octave Variations
Picking Exercise II
Finding scale tones
Melodic patterns
Throwing in some added licks
WEEK 2 (August 22)
Double stops
Double Stop Exercise I (in A)
Double Stop Exercise II (in A)
WEEK 3 (August 29)
Positions on the neck in A
Licks in various positions
Shifting between positions
WEEK 4 (September 6)
Adding some blues
Mixing blues and double stops
Combining blues, double stops, licks, patterns and rhythms
The View From Here
Walking on the Moon
Latitude
Music du jour
Copyright - Matt Flinner - All right Reserved
