Scale and Arpeggio Intensive II Curriculum (8/10-9/4)

“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 is the best learning format ever and I like your approach very much.”—Marty C.

See the Bluegrass Mandolin Jamming II curriculum

See the Mandolin Chord and Rhythm Intensive II curriculum

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

The course is a continuation of the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive I course, which concludes in July, but students are not required to have taken the first course in order to enroll in (and benefit from) the Scale and Arpeggio Intensive II course.

Classes meet every Tuesday from August 10th to 31st at 9 pm eastern time, with practice/review sessions every Saturday from August 14 to September 4 at 11 am eastern time. Students are encouraged to attend the live sessions, but will be able to view the sessions afterwards on the class website in the event they cannot attend live.

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (8/10)

Major Scales in Seven Positions

Major Scale Patterns in 3rds II

Major 7 Arpeggios from the 3rd, 5th and 7th

Major Arpeggio Exercise I

Leather Britches as Improv Landscape

WEEK 2 (8/17)

Natural Minor (Aeolian) Scales in All Keys

Aeolian Scale Pattern I

Diminished Scales

Diminished Scales and Arpeggios as Substitutions