Matt Flinner

“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 Music Theory for Mandolin Players 

See the Folk and Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm curriculum

See the Swing Mandolin Rhythm curriculum

Welcome to the Music Theory for Mandolin Players online course!  This course is intended to help students learn more about the mandolin fretboard and learn some music theory along they way as they progress through a series of exercises week by week.  Students will be given a mix of scale, arpeggio, chord, transposition and ear training exercises each week to help them find their way around the fretboard in various keys.  We’ll also do a bit of musical analysis on some familiar melodies and chord progressions from folk and rock/pop music (leaning heavily toward the Beatles).  Students at all levels are encouraged to participate, though the course will likely be most beneficial to students at an upper beginner to higher intermediate level. 

Class sessions meet every Wednesday evening from September 30th to November 18th at 9 pm eastern time, and practice/review sessions meet every Saturday from October 3rd to November 21st at 12:30 pm eastern time.  

Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions to be able to interact more directly with the instructor, but live attendance is NOT required.  Students will be able to view the recordings of all of the sessions any time afterward as often as they want through the class website.

Students are encouraged to prioritize certain exercises according to their ability level, and are given the option of adding to many of the exercises in order to further challenge themselves if they wish to.  Part of the intent of the course is to challenge students at a variety of levels, and to help students advance their playing, learn new musical ideas and have more fun playing the mandolin regardless of their ability level.

Register for Music Theory for Mandolin Players

WEEK 1 (9/30)

Major Scales

Numbering notes in the scale

Transposing melodies

Chord study #1 

I-IV-V Progressions 

Melodic exercise I: You Are My Sunshine

WEEK 2 (10/7)

Minor Scales

Chord study #2

Ear training exercise #1

Scale exercise I

Melodic Exercise II: Shady Grove

WEEK 3 (10/14)

Modes

Diatonic chord exercise

Closed position scales

Scale Exercise II

Chord study #3

Melodic Exercise III: Eleanor Rigby

WEEK 4 (10/21)

Chord Inversions

Chord tones as melodic devices

Chord tones as improv devices

Arpeggio Exercise I

Melodic Exercise IV and analysis: The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down

WEEK 5 (10/28)

Interval studies

Double stops as chord tones

Ear training exercise #2

Scale Exercise III

Arpeggio Exercise II

Melodic Exercise V: Layla (outro)

WEEK 6 (11/4)

Dominant 7 chords

Types of cadences

Voice leading in cadences

Secondary dominants

Ear training exercise #3

Melodic Exercise VI: Something 

WEEK 7 (11/11)

Modulation

Common tones in chords

Chord exercise #3 (using common tones to find chords)

Scale Exercise III

Arpeggio Exercise III

Melodic Exercise VII: Penny Lane

WEEK 8 (11/18)

Chromaticism

More with modulation

Scale and arpeggio review

Ear Training Exercise #4

Melodic Exercise VIII: Yesterday

The course fee is $175.  

Register here.

“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 here

See the Folk and Bluegrass Mandolin Rhythm Curriculum

See the Music Theory for Mandolin Players Curriculum

New this fall is a course focusing solely on playing rhythm in swing and jazz—something we do probably 90% of the time when we’re playing with other people in a swing jam session or other group setting!   This course will help students learn how to play backup on 16 swing/jazz standards, using various chord forms in various keys to get a handle on how to play rhythm smoothly and learn more of the fretboard along the way.  Basic chord forms will be given, and the course will gradually build on these into chord inversions, extensions, typical movement within common progressions and, eventually, even a bit of chord melody playing  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.  The goal will be to help students become more adept at playing rhythm, develop a more solid sense of timing, and to be able to add chords into melodic soloing.  

The course is intended in general for intermediate-level students, or to any students wanting to explore various styles of backup playing. 

Classes meet every Tuesday at 9 pm eastern time, with practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 11 am eastern time.  The weeks of November 3 and 24 are off, so there will be a total of eight class sessions and eight practice/review sessions over the course of 10 weeks.  

Register for Swing Mandolin Rhythm with Matt Flinner

WEEK 1 (9/29)

Basic swing rhythm

Major chord inversions

Dominant 7 inversions

Moving between inversions in your backup playing

The Sheik of Araby

Sweet Georgia Brown

WEEK 2 (10/6)

Minor chords

Minor chord inversions

Major 6 and Major 7 chords

St. James Infirmary

St. Louis Blues

WEEK 3 (10/13)

ii-V-Is

ii-V-Is in a couple of positions

Minor 7 chord inversion exercise

Lady Be Good

Broadway

WEEK 4 (10/20)

Adding some diminished passing chords

Continued work on ii-V-Is in various keys

Moving ii-V-I inversions

Honeysuckle Rose

Night and Day

WEEK 5 (10/27)

Diatonic chord movement

Adding extensions on Dominant 7 chords

ii-V-Is using extensions

Pennies from Heaven

This Can’t Be Love

WEEK 6 (11/10)

Minor ii-V-is

Adding extensions continued

Half-Diminished chord inversions

Autumn Leaves

How High the Moon

WEEK 7 (11/17)

I-VI-ii-Vs-Is

Various inversions in I-VI patterns

Variations and chord substitutions

Stormy Weather

Just You,  Just Me

WEEK 8 (12/1)

Working toward chord melody

Using inversions to create melody

Improvising with chord inversions

Satin Doll

Rose Room

The course fee is $225.  

Register here.

“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 Swing Mandolin Rhythm curriculum

See the Music Theory for Mandolin Players curriculum

This fall we’re offering courses focusing 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 setting!  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 Monday at 2 pm and 9 pm eastern time (both classes are the same—the 2 pm class time is there for folks across the Atlantic and anyone else who might prefer an earlier class time!), with practice/review sessions on Saturdays at 10 am eastern time.  The weeks of November 2 and 23 are off, so there will be eight weeks of classes in 10 weeks time.  

Register here 

Here is the curriculum: 

WEEK 1 (9/28)

Reviewing open style rhythm

Open chords

Basslines between chords

Adding dynamics between phrases

Hard Times

You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away

WEEK 2 (10/5)

Barre style chords

Minor chords in a couple of styles

Bass notes as target notes

Fall on My Knees

Tennessee Waltz

WEEK 3 (10/12)

Bluegrass Chop chords in various keys

Using fills

More dynamics in rhythm playing

Moving between chord inversions

Blue Ridge Cabin Home

Way Downtown

WEEK 4 (10/19)

3-note chords 

Moving between inversions

Adding 7th chords

Freight Train

Blues Stay Away from Me

WEEK 5 (10/26)

A bit of blues rhythm

7th chords

Some double stops

Adding some more fills to your backup

Stormy Monday

Bring It on Home

WEEK 6 (11/9)

Newgrass rhythms

Syncopated rhythms 

More double stops in backup

Going between chords and double stops

White Freightliner Blues

Watermelon Man

WEEK 7 (11/16)

More advanced chord progressions

Getting smooth transitions between chords

Mixing in different chord styles

Tricky progressions in various positions

Just Because

Please Don’t Talk About Me When I’m Gone

WEEK 8 (11/30)

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

Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor

Trouble in Mind

The course fee is $225.

Register for Folk and Bluegrass Rhythm Mandolin with Matt Flinner

Hi everyone,

Tunes are up for our weekly Drink Up and Stay Home Virtual Bluegrass Jam which happens FRIDAY, August 28th.

Click here to download the zip file of PDFs for this week: Facebook Jam 21

Each week, in addition to several bluegrass standards, we’ll play one Norman Blake song, one John Hartford song, one song from the psychedelic rock era, and one song from the repertoire and/or pen of Curly Ray Cline (the great fiddler and longtime member of Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys).  

The jam will take place on Facebook Live at 8 pm eastern time.  Feel free to bring a mandolin, or guitar, or banjo, or accordion, spoons, autoharp.  Or just hang out and listen.  

Here’s where you can find the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/767491030751697

We’ll play for about an hour.  Bring a beverage and comfy chair and we’ll try to ease our sense of isolation at least for a bit.  

And donations are welcome!  

Paypal: [email protected]  or  

Venmo: @Matt-Flinner-Mando 

Hope to see you on Friday!

Thanks,
Matt

Need more mandolin?  Fall courses in rhythm playing and music theory for mandolin players are $50-75 off through August 31st!   Click here for more info.

“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 more 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!  All courses are continuations of courses running through July, but students do not need to have taken the previous courses in order to take the late summer courses. 

Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner                           Curriculum         Registration 

Swing Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner                                Curriculum         Registration

Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II with Matt Flinner               Curriculum         Registration

The Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II course (August 17-September 12) 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!  The course is a continuation of the Bluegrass Jamming I course, which runs through July, but students do not need to have taken that course in order to take the Bluegrass Jamming II course.  Register here. 

The Swing Mandolin Jamming II course (August 18-September 12) is intended to help students get practical tools for improvising and playing rhythm on swing tunes.  Each week, students will receive four new tunes, along with suggestions on how to solo on those tunes and ways of playing the chords.  Exercises will also be given to help students learn various scales and arpeggios, and those exercises will be incorporated into suggestions on how to improvise on that week’s tunes.  The course is a continuation of the Swing Jamming I course, which runs through July, but students do not need to have taken that course in order to take the Swing Jamming II course.  Register here.  

The Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II course (August 19-September 12) is intended to help students with the fundamentals of tone and picking technique while learning the fretboard.  Various picking exercises will be looked at, along with double stop exercises (which will incorporate concepts from the picking exercises) 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 and focus on the various aspects of picking technique we’ve been looking at as applied to that tune.  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 double stops.  The course is a continuation of the Picking Intensive I course, which runs through July, but students do not need to have taken that course in order to take the Picking Intensive II course.  Register here. 

The course fee for each course is $125.  

Register for Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

Register for Swing Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

Register for the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II with Matt Flinner

The Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II course takes place on Monday afternoons and evenings at 2 and 9 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 from August 17-September 7, and Saturday follow-up practice sessions will take place from August 22 to September 12.  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 Swing Mandolin Jamming II course (August 18-September 12) meets on Tuesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturday mornings at 11 am eastern time.  Students will have four Tuesday class sessions (August 18-September 8) and four Saturday follow-up practice sessions (August 22-September 12).  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 Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II course (August 19-September 12) meets on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturdays at 12:30 pm eastern time.  Students will have four Wednesday class sessions (August 19-September 9) and four Saturday follow-up practice sessions (August 22-September 12).  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.  

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 Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

Register for Swing Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

Register for the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II with Matt Flinner

“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 Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II course with Matt Flinner

See the Bluegrass Jamming II Curriculum (August 17-September 12)

See the Swing Jamming II Curriculum (August 18-September 12)

This course is intended to help students with the fundamentals of tone and picking technique while learning the fretboard.  Various picking exercises will be looked at, along with double stop exercises (which will incorporate concepts from the picking exercises) to help improve efficiency and speed, and exercises for playing  jigs and crosspicking as well.  We’ll also focus quite a bit on improving our tone and getting the most sound out of our instruments that we can.  In addition, each week we’ll learn a tune and focus on the various aspects of picking technique we’ve been looking at as applied to that tune.  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 double stops.  

This course is a continuation of the Mandolin Picking Intensive I course which just finished up, but students do not need to have taken that course in order to take the Mandolin Picking Intensive II course.  

Register by August 2nd and save $25!

Register for the Mandolin Picking Intensive II Course  

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (8/19)

Picking Exercise IV on single strings

Picking Exercise IV on double strings

Double Stop Exercise III in G

Double Stop Exercise I in E minor

Drowsy Maggie

WEEK 2 (8/26) 

6/8 Picking Exercise I

6/8 Picking Exercise II

Double Stop Exercise III in A

Alternate ways of playing 6/8 and 9/8

Morrison’s Jig

WEEK 3 (9/2)

Picking Exercise I on Three Strings

Picking Exercise I on Four Strings

Double Stop Exercise I in E

When You and I Were Young, Maggie

WEEK 4 (9/9)

Crosspicking Exercise I

Crosspicking Exercise II 

Speed exercise II

Double Stop Exercise III in D

Goodnight, Irene

The course fee is $125.  

Register for the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II course with Matt Flinner

“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 Swing Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

This course is intended to help the aspiring mandolinist build up repertoire and find ways of creating new solos over swing tunes; it’s also designed in the hope that it will encourage students to get out and jam with other players (once we can do that again)!

Each week, we’ll look at four  swing standard tunes with a particular concept in mind—Dominant 7 chords, minor ii/V/Is, etc..  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).  Ways of playing the chord progressions will also be suggested, so students will have a guide for playing backup as well as lead and improv on all four tunes.  

This course is a continuation of the Swing Mandolin Jamming I course which just finished up, but students do not to have taken that course in order to take the Swing Mandolin Jamming II course. 

Classes meet Tuesday evenings from August 18 to September 9 at 9 pm eastern time.  There will also be 45-minute review sessions every Saturday morning from August 22 to September 12 at 11 am eastern time.

Register by August 9th and save $25!

Register for Swing Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

See the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II curriculum

See the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II curriculum

SWING MANDOLIN JAMMING II CURRICULUM:

WEEK 1 (8/18)

7th Chords revisited

Alternative options for playing over 7th chords

Chord tone exercises

Caravan

Back Home Again in Indiana

I’m Getting Sentimental Over You

Confessin’

WEEK 2 (8/25) 

Minor ii-V-I Progressions

A couple of minor ii-V-I lines

Chord inversions on minor ii-V-Is

Autumn Leaves

Bye Bye Blackbird

Softly, As a Morning Sunrise

Fly Me to the Moon

WEEK 3 (9/1) 

Diminished chords

Diminished arpeggios

Using diminished as a substitution

Pennies from Heaven

As Time Goes By

It’s Only a Paper Moon

They Can’t Take That Away from Me

WEEK 4 (9/8) 

I-VI-II-V progressions

Soloing options on I-VI-II-Vs

More melodic patterns

Stormy Weather

Undecided

Swing 42

Cottontail

The course fee is $125.   

Register here.

See the Bluegrass Jamming II (August 17-September 12) curriculum 

See the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II (August 19-September 12) curriculum

Questions?  Email [email protected]

“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 Mandolin Jamming II with Matt Flinner

See the Swing Mandolin Jamming II Curriculum

See the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive II 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 in a particular key (or in Week 2, different keys but using minor chords).  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).  

This course is a continuation of the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming I course which just finished up, but students do not need to have taken that course in order to take the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II course.  

Register here

Here is the curriculum: 

WEEK 1 (8/17)

Tunes in the Key of E

A few positions in E

Using double stops

Down to the River to Pray

Blue Railroad Train

In the Pines

Last Thing on My Mind

WEEK 2 (8/24)

Tunes using minor chords

Minor double stops 

Relating minor chords to the key

Lonesome Pine

Foggy Mountain Breakdown

Steel Rails

Lost

WEEK 3 (8/31) 

Tunes in F

Three positions in F

Chord tones and Double Stops in F

I Wouldn’t Change You if I Could

Cowboy Jack

Baby Blue Eyes

Cash on the Barrelhead

WEEK 4 (9/7) 

The key of B

Using open strings in B

Two positions in B

B double stops

In the Gravel Yard

Little Bessie

I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome

Little Maggie

Live class sessions take place Mondays at 2 pm eastern and 9 pm eastern time from August 17 to September 7.  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 from August 22 to September 12.   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 II with 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 Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner                           Curriculum         Registration 

Swing Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner                                Curriculum         Registration

Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive with Matt Flinner               Curriculum         Registration

The Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming course (July 6-August 1) 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 Swing Mandolin Jamming course (July 7-August 1) 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 Picking Technique Intensive course (July 8-August 1) is intended to help students with the fundamentals of tone and picking technique while learning the fretboard.  Various picking exercises will be looked at, along with double stop exercises (which will incorporate concepts from the picking exercises) 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 and focus on the various aspects of picking technique we’ve been looking at as applied to that tune.  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 double stops.  Register here. 

Register for Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner

Register for Swing Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner

Register for the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive with Matt Flinner

The Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming course takes place on Monday afternoons and evenings at 2 and 9 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 July 6, 13 20 and 27, and Saturday follow-up practice sessions will take place July 11, 18, 25 and August 1.  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 Swing Mandolin Jamming course (July 7-August 1) meets on Tuesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturday mornings at 11 am eastern time.  Students will have four Tuesday class sessions (July 7, 14, 21 and 28) and four Saturday follow-up practice sessions (July 11, 18, 25 and August 1).  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 Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive course (July 8-August 1) meets on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, with follow-up practice sessions Saturdays at 12:15 pm eastern time.  Students will have four Wednesday class sessions (July 8, 15, 22 and 29) and four Saturday follow-up practice sessions (July 11, 18, 25 and August 1).  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.  

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 Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner

Register for Swing Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner

Register for the Mandolin Picking Technique Intensive 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 Mandolin Jamming with Matt Flinner

See the Swing Mandolin Jamming Curriculum

See the Mandolin Picking Technique 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 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 (7/6)

Tunes in the Key of G

A few positions in G

Using double stops

Basic backup pattern I

Keep on the Sunny Side

Can’t You Hear Me Calling

Before I Met You

Big Sciota

WEEK 2 (7/13)

Tunes in A

A few positions in A

Connecting positions with double stops

Backup pattern II

Are You Tired of Me, My Darling?

How Mountain Girls Can Love

Cripple Creek 

Beautiful Beautiful Brown Eyes

WEEK 3 (7/20) 

Tunes in D

Three positions in D 

Using chord tones

East Virginia Blues

Cora Is Gone

Childish Love

Bluegrass Stomp

WEEK 4 (7/27) 

The key of C

Using open strings

Two positions in C

Dark Hollow

Jimmy Brown, the Newsboy

A Beautiful Life

Back Up and Push

Live class sessions take place Mondays at 2 pm eastern and 9 pm eastern time from July 6 to July 27.  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 from July 11 to August 1.   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