Matt Flinner

Fiddle Tune Harmony for Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum

By Theme Admin on November 2nd, 2016 at 5:12 AM

Register for Fiddle Tune Harmony for Mandolin.

Get more info on other courses offered in Winter 2017.

This course will teach students how to create the happiest sound in the world—two mandolins playing in harmony! Each week, students will learn two standard fiddle tunes, along with ways of constructing harmony parts to those tunes. Exercises will be given each week to help students learn more about the fretboard, get more adept at playing scales and double stops in the common keys of G, D, A and C, and find chord tones more easily in all keys. Besides being able to create harmony parts, students will come away from the course with a stronger understanding of how melodies are created and how they relate to chords and chord tones. The goal of the course is to give students a broader understanding of music theory and help them learn melodies more quickly (as well as create the happiest sound in the world…).

The course is intended for students at an intermediate to advanced level. The course will start out fairly easy (lower intermediate?), and will gradually progress to a more advanced level.

The course runs from January 10-March 18. Classes take place online on Tuesday evenings from 9-10 pm eastern time, and practice/review sessions take place on Saturday mornings from 10-10:45 am eastern time.

The course fee is $200.

“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.

THE CURRICULUM:

Week 1

Some vocal songs

Twin mandolins as lead and tenor harmony

Harmonizing Major Scales

Using 3rds and 4ths to create harmony

Wildwood Flower

House of Gold

Week 2

Harmony in G

G Major Scales

Chord Tones in G

Finding 3rds and 4ths

Golden Slippers

When You And I Were Young, Maggie

Week 3

Harmony in D

D Major Scales

Chord Tones in D

Harmony on the I Versus the V Chord

Mississippi Sawyer

Old Spinning Wheel

Week 4

Harmony in A

A Major and Mixolydian Scales

Chord Tones in A

Positions up the Neck

Tallahassee

Big Mon

Week 5

Minor Keys

Minor chord tones and arpeggios

Minor chord inversions

Lonesome Moonlight Waltz

Lonesome Fiddle Blues

Week 6

Fast Moving Chord Progressions

Identifying chord tones on down beats

Arpeggio Inversions

Bill Cheatem

Fisher’s Hornpipe

Week 7

Harmony in C

More Positions up the Neck

Double Stop Harmony

Billy in the Lowground

Panhandle Country

Week 8

Three Part Harmony

Creating Baritone parts

Chord Tone Exercise in All Keys

Tall Timber

Wheel Hoss

Register here.

Get more info on other Winter 2017 online courses.

Waltzes for Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum

By Theme Admin on November 2nd, 2016 at 3:35 AM

Register for Waltzes for Mandolin.

Get more info on other courses offered in Winter 2017.

Join Matt Flinner for an 8-week online course focusing on waltzes for the mandolin. Students will be taught tunes that are quickly accessible to players of all ability levels, and they’ll also get exercises to help with fundamentals of picking, tremolo, double stops, chord positions, and various positions around the neck.

The course runs from January 9 to March 18; class sessions take place on Monday evenings from 9-10 pm eastern time, and follow-up practice sessions take place on Saturdays from 9-9:45 am eastern time.

The course is intended for students at a beginner to intermediate level.

The course fee is $200.

“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.

THE CURRICULUM:

Week 1

Getting started with melody and chords

Open style chords

Picking Exercise I

Rhythm Exercise I

The Greenwood Tree

Planxty Irwin

Week 2

Using down-up technique in 3/4

Minor open style chords

Picking Exercise II

Legato playing

The Ash Grove

Down Home Waltz

Week 3

Tremolo

Tremolo Exercises

Rhythm Exercise II

Sheebeg and Sheemore

Westphalia Waltz

Week 4

Using some double stops

Double Stop Exercise in D

Using Bluegrass “Chop” Chords

Ashoken Farewell

Ookpik Waltz

Week 5

Waltzing with chords

Chord Inversions

Star of the County Down

Greensleeves

Week 6

Moving double stops

Double Stop Exercise in A

Double Stop Tremolo Exercise

Midnight on the Water

Margaret’s Waltz

Week 7

Positions up the neck

G and D Positions

Grand Valley Waltz

Valse de Pastouriaux

Week 8

Tying it all together

Moving Double Stops, Positions, and Chords

Kentucky Waltz

I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry

Register here.

Get more info on other courses offered in Winter 2017.

October Tour Features Dave Douglas! NYC Show 10/19.

By Theme Admin on October 2nd, 2016 at 4:37 PM

Composer and trumpeter Dave Douglas joins the Matt Flinner Trio for a special night of “Music du Jour” in New York City on October 19th. Douglas, a 13-time Downbeat poll winner (Trumpet Player of the Year), is a leading composer in modern jazz, with over 40 albums to his credit as a leader of a wide variety of ensembles. From his Sounds Prints quintet (co-led by Joe Lovano) to his shape note explorations with Uri Caine to his explorations of brass music traditions with Brass Ecstasy Quintet to his electronic forays with the High Risk Ensemble, Douglas is always exploring new terrain and bringing his own virtuosity and compositional concept to create something new.

The Matt Flinner Trio (Matt Flinner, mandolin, Ross Martin, guitar and Eric Thorin, bass) has been forging its own path in modern American string band music for the past 10 years. The group is more than a bluegrass/newgrass ensemble: Mandolinist Matt Flinner, guitarist Ross Martin and bassist Eric Thorin have taken a unique approach to performance by writing new music the day of almost every show. Their ongoing “Music du Jour” project has produced three acclaimed albums on Compass Records, including their 2016 release, “Traveling Roots.” Says American Songwriter Magazine: “Stunning, often jaw-dropping musicianship that never feels showy even when it is…it’s clear that the Flinner trio have few contemporary peers.” In 2016, the group expanded the “du Jour” project, writing new music for special guests at the forefront of modern bluegrass and jazz, including Sam Bush, Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, Frank Vignola, Ron Miles, Alison Brown and many others. This off-the-cuff approach to their music, coupled with their deep roots in traditional bluegrass as well as jazz, makes for a sound all its own in today’s acoustic music landscape. The trio is excited to welcome Dave Douglas for an unpredictable night of music at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC on October 19th at 8:30 pm.

More information is at http://www.rockwoodmusichall.com

Newgrass, Celtic and Mandolin for Beginners: What You Need to Know

By Theme Admin on September 9th, 2016 at 1:33 AM

These courses have concluded. To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.

“Your course was exactly what I have been looking for. It was well structured with a ton of good material. I like that fact that we were given tunes to learn but also tools that allows me expand the lessons beyond the course tunes to others that I already know.”—Todd M.

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

Welcome to mattflinner.com. And welcome to the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 online lessons program!

This fall, beginning the week of September 26th, the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program continues with mandolin courses for students of all ability levels: Newgrass Mandolin, Celtic Mandolin and Mandolin for Beginners.

Return to the fall courses info page.

Here’s a description of the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 online experience that I hope will give you a good idea of what this exciting style of mandolin lessons is all about.

THE BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN 101 ONLINE LESSONS PROGRAM

The Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program is a unique approach to online mandolin lessons that gives students the best of both worlds: access to live lessons as well as recorded mandolin instructional videos. These courses focus on helping mandolin students get to the next level in their playing and broaden their understanding of the bluegrass, old-time and fiddle tune traditions.

A UNIQUE APPROACH: LIVE INSTRUCTION PLUS INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS

Part of what makes Bluegrass Mandolin 101 unique is the fact that students follow a step-by-step program of live lessons over an eight-week course. The live lessons get a little more challenging each week, and students are encouraged to practice during the week in order to get comfortable with that week’s concepts and be prepared for the next week’s class session. Students also have unlimited access to several short instructional videos each week (usually about 6 to 8) but are also following a regular schedule which encourages them to actually practice the material regularly during the eight week period. The archive of short instructional videos plus the video recordings of each class session and practice session give the student plenty of material to work with during the course and on into their future mandolin endeavors!

THE SCHEDULE

The live lessons for the Mandolin for Beginners course take place every Monday night from 8-9 pm Central time from September 26th to December 5th, and for the Newgrass Mandolin course every Tuesday from 8-9 pm Central time from September 27th to December 6th. The Celtic Mandolin course will take place every Wednesday night from 8-9 pm central time from September 28th to December 7th. All three courses will also have Saturday practice/review sessions; Mandolin for Beginners will be from 9-9:45 am central time, Newgrass Mandolin will be from 10-10:45 am central time and the Celtic Mandolin practice sessions will be from 11:15 am-12 pm central time each Saturday from October 1st through December 10th. Classes will be off on a couple of weeks due to Matt’s tour schedule; see the class’s specific curriculum for details. There will still be eight class sessions and eight practice sessions in each course.

It is NOT imperative that students be able to attend the live mandolin bluegrass sessions. All sessions will be recorded, so students can revisit the recorded sessions during the week to catch up on that week’s material at their own leisure. Students attending the live lessons will be able to ask questions on the spot (and get immediate answers and interaction), while those watching the recorded sessions will be able to ask questions via email or on the class forum page.

VIDEOS, WRITTEN MATERIALS AND RECOMMENDED LISTENING

Students have access to video recordings of all of the class sessions and practice sessions as well (generally by the following morning, or, in the case of the Saturday practice sessions, later that afternoon). In addition, shorter practice videos of the material are immediately available for viewing after each class session, along with PDFs of the all of the material in standard notation and tablature. All of these videos (about eight or so per week) are available to view as many times as the student would like. Students can also download all materials (including videos and PDFs) to keep as long as they wish.

Students will also be given a list of recommended recordings for each week’s tunes. A variety of mp3 recordings will be suggested in the hope that students will broaden their musical horizons and get a better idea of how the tunes are played by the masters!

HOW INTERACTIVE IS THE COURSE?

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 (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 eight-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 in the 102 class), 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 Mandolin for Beginners, Newgrass Mandolin and Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner courses. Here, 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 fee for the eight-week Newgrass and Celtic courses is $200, and the fee for the Mandolin for Beginners course is $175. This gives you access to all live online lessons and practice sessions as well as access to all recorded videos, written materials and mp3s (which are yours to keep).

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

“I’ve taken music and instrument classes over the years, and I’ve never received such a comprehensive and successful approach as this format. Live video, downloaded charts and diagrams, recorded sessions, at the most affordable price. Nothing I’ve participated in compares to this. Best value for the dollar. Highly recommended.”—Jim H.

“I was amazed at the time, feedback, and focus you gave us on chat questions, emails, and mp3s. I was very impressed and feel better about my confidence level, how I play and focus now. The course just worked for me and got me over a hump in terms of my motivation and focus.”—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.

“You thoroughly answered the email questions and the recorded .mp3 feedback to the sample I posted was SUPER helpful. Very detailed and specific to what you heard on my recording. Very helpful to hear you play examples of what your were talking about and get recommendations of specific exercises to do.”—Barb N.

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

Mandolin for Beginners

Newgrass Mandolin

Celtic Mandolin

Fall Online Courses Include Newgrass, Celtic Mandolin and Mandolin for Beginners

By Theme Admin on August 15th, 2016 at 3:48 PM

These courses have concluded. To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.

Welcome to the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 online lessons program! Established in the fall of 2013 by Grammy-nominated mandolinist Matt Flinner, the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 program has become one of the premier mandolin learning methods in the world, whether online or offline. This program presents a variety of online mandolin courses from bluegrass to old-time to swing and jazz to rock and roll and more. Hundreds of students have improved their playing and broadened their horizons through this unique mix of live lessons and recorded materials.

For this fall, we’re offering three courses: Newgrass Mandolin, Celtic Mandolin and Mandolin for Beginners.

Mandolin for Beginners. September 26-December 10. This course is intended for beginning level players, and is designed to give the beginning mandolin student a solid foundation in basic mandolin technique, and help students start playing actual songs and tunes from the start. Chords, picking exercises, fingering exercises, rhythm exercises as well as tunes and songs will be taught each week in a progressive curriculum to help students establish good habits and enable them to advance more quickly in their mandolin playing. Live class sessions take place on Monday evenings, and practice/review follow-up sessions take place on Saturday mornings. The curriculum for the course can be viewed here. Register for Mandolin for Beginners here.

Newgrass Mandolin with Matt Flinner. September 27-December 10. This is intended for students at an intermediate to advanced level who want to broaden their musical horizons into modern “newgrass.” Students will learn to incorporate some ideas from rock & roll, blues and jazz as well as fiddle tunes to get a broader spectrum of sounds into their playing. Styles of Sam Bush and David Grisman will be discussed, along with some other modern players. Live class sessions take place on Tuesday evenings, and practice/review sessions take place on Saturday mornings. The curriculum for this course can be viewed here. Register here.

Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner. September 28-December 10. This course is recommended for players at an advanced beginner to intermediate level, and is intended to familiarize students with traditional Irish music on the mandolin. The course will explore techniques for playing lead and rhythm in traditional Irish fiddle tunes. Rhythm playing and picking technique on reels and jigs will be explored, as well as picking technique for triplets and various ways of playing ornamentations. Live class sessions take place on Wednesday evenings (except for a couple on Monday evenings), and practice/review sessions take place on Saturday mornings/afternoons (depending on your time zone). The curriculum can be viewed here. Register here.

Course fees are $200 for Newgrass Mandolin or Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner and $175 for Mandolin for Beginners.

Mandolin for Beginners Curriculum Register for Mandolin for Beginners

Newgrass Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum Register for Newgrass Mandolin

Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum Register for Celtic Mandolin

Questions? Email Matt at [email protected]

Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum

By Theme Admin on August 15th, 2016 at 3:25 PM

This course has concluded. To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.

Register for Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner

See other courses offered this fall

New this fall is a course in Celtic Mandolin playing! This course will explore techniques for playing lead and rhythm in traditional Irish fiddle tunes. Each week, students can choose between three reels, jigs or hornpipes to learn, along with several exercises to help with various aspects of technique (during the class sessions, Matt will focus on one of the tunes each week, but students are given the option of learning one or two more if they have time, or focusing on one of the other tunes if they so choose). Rhythm playing and picking technique on reels and jigs will be explored, as well as picking technique for triplets and various ways of playing ornamentations. The course is recommended for players at an advanced beginner to intermediate level.

The live sessions occur online on Wednesday evenings at 9 pm eastern, though week 3 (Oct 17) and week 6 (Nov 21) will occur on Monday evenings at 9 pm eastern. The weeks of October 12 and November 2nd will be off due to Matt’s tour schedule (giving students more time to practice!). There will also be practice/review sessions on Saturdays from 12:15-1 pm eastern time (with the weeks of October 15 and November 5 off, again, due to Matt’s tour schedule).

Students are NOT required to attend all (or any) of the live sessions; all sessions are recorded and uploaded to the class website where they can be viewed after-the-fact at the student’s leisure. Students also have the option of downloading all class videos and practice videos, as well as all PDFs and practice mp3s for the course, so that they can revisit the materials any time.

Register here.

Register for Celtic Mandolin with Matt Flinner

Here is the curriculum:

WEEK 1 (9/28)

Picking Exercise I

Playing basic rhythm on reels

Rhythm Exercise I

A few scales

Off to California

Rights of Man Hornpipe

The Lobster

WEEK 2 (10/5)

Picking Exercise II

Adding some hammer-on and pull-off ornaments

Varying the octave

Rhythm Exercise II

My Love is in America

The Maids of Mitchelstown

Jim Coleman’s

WEEK 3 (10/17)

Jigs

Picking Exercise IV

Emphasizing the beat in 6/8 time

Playing rhythm on jigs

Rhythm Exercise III

Tripping Up the Stairs

Merrily Kiss the Quaker

Kesh Jig

WEEK 4 (10/26)

Using chord inversions in your rhythm playing

Picking Exercise III

Pull-off ornaments

Julia Delaney

Music for a Found Harmonium

The Maid Behind the Bar

WEEK 5 (11/9)

Adding trills to your playing

Picking Exercise V

Cooley’s Reel

Tarbolton Reel

Jenny’s Wedding

WEEK 6 (11/21)

Jigs II

Further rhythmic ideas on jigs

Rhythm Exercise IV

Octave variations

Banish Misfortune

Morrison’s Jig

The Mist Covered Mountain

WEEK 7 (11/30)

Slip Jigs

Picking Exercise V

Rhythm Exercise V

Patterns in 9/8

The Kid on the Mountain

The Butterfly

WEEK 8 (12/7)

A few more reels

Tying it together: moving chords, ornaments and trills

The Star of Munster

The Fisherman’s Lilt

The Musical Priest

Salamanca Reel

The course fee is $200.

Newgrass Mandolin with Matt Flinner Curriculum

By Theme Admin on August 14th, 2016 at 8:42 PM

This course has concluded. To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.

Register for Newgrass Mandolin with Matt Flinner.

See other online courses offered this fall.

Newgrass Mandolin with Matt Flinner returns! This course leads students from the world of modern bluegrass mandolin into some other “newgrass” styles, giving them a broad variety of approaches to soloing and playing backup. Following the lead of players like Sam Bush and David Grisman, the course will explore ways of adding new elements to the students’ playing, from bluegrass to some Rock & Roll influence to a bit of jazz and more. Expand your horizons, and learn some new tunes along the way!

The course runs from September 26-December 10, and is intended for intermediate to advanced players. Classes take place Tuesday evenings at 9 pm eastern time, and review sessions take place on Saturday mornings at 11 am eastern time (note: the weeks of October 18th and November 2nd are off due to Matt’s tour schedule). The registration fee is $200.

Register here.

NEWGRASS MANDOLIN WITH MATT FLINNER CURRICULUM:

Week 1 (9/27)

Bluegrass just outside the box

Double stops

A few licks in G

One Way Track

Bonus tune: This Heart of Mine

Week 2 (10/4)

Adding some more advanced chords

Some position playing, some scale-style playing

Playing over minor chords

More licks in G, and transposing

Steam Powered Aeroplane

Bonus tune: Gentle on My Mind

Week 3 (10/11)

Rock & Roll grooves

The Rock & Roll chop feel

Adding ornaments in backup playing

A few rock & roll-friendly licks

Lonesome and a Long Way from Home

Bonus tune: Four Days of Rain

Week 4 (10/25)

Adding the blues to your playing

Blues scales and licks in various keys

Moving chord inversions

7th chords

White Freight Liner

Bonus tune: Blue Railroad Train

Week 5 (11/8)

More advanced instrumental harmony

Shifting Positions I

More chord movement

Manzanita

Bonus tune: Kissimmee Kid

Week 6 (11/22)

Minor keys

Playing over minor progressions

Using chord tones in solos

Land of the Navajo

Bonus tune: Jackaroo

Week 7 (11/29)

Some more advanced progressions and grooves

Adding licks in various modes to your solos

With Care from Someone

Bonus tune: When You Come Back Down

Week 8 (12/5)

Tying it all together

Varying grooves on the same tune

Approaches to improv: double stops, positions, scales and arpeggios

The Likes of Me

Bonus tune: Thirsty in the Rain

Register for Newgrass Mandolin with Matt Flinner.

Mandolin for Beginners Curriculum

By Theme Admin on August 13th, 2016 at 11:30 PM

This course has concluded. To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.

Mandolin for Beginners is an eight-week online program designed to give the beginning mandolin student a solid foundation in basic mandolin technique, and help students start playing actual songs and tunes from the start. Chords, picking exercises, fingering exercises, rhythm exercises as well as tunes and songs will be taught each week in a progressive curriculum to help students establish good habits and enable them to advance more quickly in their mandolin playing.

Register for Mandolin for Beginners

The eight-week course begins on September 26th and runs until December 10th. Class sessions will take place every Monday evening from 8-8:45 pm central time, and follow-up practice sessions will take place every Saturday morning from 9-9:45 am central time (Matt will be taking off the weeks of October 27 and November 24 off due to his tour schedule and the Thanksgiving holiday; there will be eight class sessions and eight practice sessions over a ten-week period). All class sessions and practice sessions will be recorded so that students can revisit the lessons as often as they’d like to, and students who are unable to attend any of the live sessions can view the lessons at their own convenience.

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.

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.

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.

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 bluegrass and old-time music.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO PARTICIPATE:

1. A desktop or laptop Mac or PC computer, iPad or Internet-connected mobile device in order to view the sessions, plus a good internet connection. If you’re on a Mac, you’ll need to be using OS 10.8 or later in order to see Matt’s webcam (which is central to the lessons). It’s also a good idea to update your browser to the most recent version in order for the live lessons to run smoothly.

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).

The fee for the course is $175.

If you have questions about the course, email Matt at [email protected].

Register for Mandolin for Beginners here.

Register for Mandolin for Beginners

MANDOLIN FOR BEGINNERS CURRICULUM

WEEK 1 (9/26)

Getting familiar with the mandolin

How to choose a pick, mandolin set-up and tuning

A Few Chords

A Few Picking Patterns

Fingering Position

Playing chords on Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Bonus material: This Land is Your Land

WEEK 2 (10/3)

Playing melodies

Picking Pattern 2

Chords in A

A Major scale

Bile Them Cabbage Down

Bonus material: Woody’s Rag

WEEK 3 (10/10)

Picking pattern 3

Fingering Exercise I

D major scale

Angeline the Baker

Bonus material: Wildwood Flower

WEEK 4 (10/24)

Picking pattern 4

A few minor chords

Rhythm patterns

G major scale

Old Joe Clark

Bonus material: Shady Grove

WEEK 5 (11/7)

Adding ornaments, Slides and Hammer-ons

Fingering Exercise II

Playing rhythm in Waltz time

Rhythm on Goodnight Irene

Muddy Roads

Bonus material: Eighth of January

WEEK 6 (11/14)

Getting to know the neck a little better

Closed position A major scale

Three Closed position chords

Red Haired Boy

Bonus material: Over the Waterfall

WEEK 7 (11/28)

Intro to position playing

A few double stops

Bluegrass “Chop Chords”

Will the Circle Be Unbroken

Bonus material: I’ll Fly Away

WEEK 8 (12/5)

Transitions between lead and rhythm

Trying other keys (with tunes from week 7)

Soldier’s Joy

Bonus material: Blackberry Blossom

See other online courses offered this fall.

Questions? Email Matt: [email protected].