Matt Flinner

Winter 2015 Appalachian Mandolin Tunes and Technique Curriculum

By Theme Admin on November 29th, 2014 at 5:31 PM

This course has concluded.  To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.   APPALACHIAN MANDOLIN TUNES AND TECHNIQUE WITH MATT FLINNER Register here. This course will focus on getting students more familiar with Appalachian fiddle music and old-time songs, and help them improve their mandolin tone and technique.  Students will get pointers on how to maximize their tone, various approaches to rhythm playing and chords, making use of open strings, bits of variations as well as learning a new tune (or two) each week.  The eight online lessons will take place every Wednesday evening from January 7th to March 5th (the last lesson will be on a Thursday evening), with February 4th off due to Matt's touring schedule.  Eight follow-up practice sessions will be held every Saturday morning from January 10th to March 7th, with February 7th being a week off. 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. 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 andsave the recording in MP3 format. 4. A mandolin (actually maybe that should have been #1).   The fee for the course is $200.  If you have questions about the course, email Matt at [email protected].   Register for Appalachian Mandolin Tunes and Technique with Matt Flinner here. To view other mandolin courses offered this winter, click here.   CURRICULUM WEEK 1: Getting the groove Rhythm playing Using Open Chords Maximizing Your Tone Picking Exercise I Adding Open Strings in D Chilly Winds Bonus Tune: Bonaparte’s Retreat   WEEK 2: Making the most of open strings in A Picking Exercise II Adding Some Notes in Backup Playing Tater Patch Bonus Tune: The Falls of Richmond   WEEK 3: Some Double Stops Rhythm playing using double stops Incorporating Double Stops into Your Solos Double Stop Exercise in G Roustabout Bonus Tune: Double File   WEEK 4: Waltz Time Tremolo Exercises Double Stops in A Drunkard’s Hiccups Bonus Tune: All the Good Times Are Past and Gone   WEEK 5: Using open strings in G Picking Exercise III A Few Licks Thrown In Adding Some Runs and Licks to Backup Playing Fly Around My Pretty Little MIss Bonus Tune: Elk River Blues   WEEK 6: Early Monroe Style More Double Stops “Open Style” Double Stop Exercise My Long Journey Home Bonus Tune: New River Train   WEEK 7: A Little Norman Blake Adding Extra Notes to Open Chords Minor chords and Double Stops Walnut River Bonus Tune: Peezlewister   WEEK 8: Tying it all together: Octaves, Double Stops, Licks and Backup Hell Among the Yearlings Bonus Tunes: Half Past Four Hangman’s Reel Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine   Questions?  Email [email protected].  

Winter Online Courses: Swing and Jazz Mandolin and Appalachian Mandolin Tunes and Technique

By Theme Admin on November 14th, 2014 at 6:22 PM

These courses have concluded.  To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.   We'll be adding some exciting new things to the Bluegrass Mandolin 101 online lessons program as 2015 gets rolling.  Beginning January 5th and 6th, Swing and Jazz Mandolin with Matt Flinner starts up!  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 eight online lessons will take place every Monday or Tuesday night (your choice) from January 5th or 6th until March 3rd (with February 3rd off due to Matt's touring schedule) and eight follow-up practice sessions will take place on Saturday mornings from January 10th to March 7th (again, with a week off on February 7th). Tunes for the Swing and Jazz Mandolin course will include: Charleston, Georgia on My Mind, Stormy Weather, Route 66, Dark Eyes, Swanee River, Caravan and How High the Moon (among others!). To register for the Swing & Jazz Mandolin with Matt Flinner course on Mondays, visit the registration page. To register for the Swing & Jazz Mandolin with Matt Flinner course on Tuesdays, visit the registration page. View the curriculum for the course (Monday or Tuesday classes) here.   Another new course, Appalachian Mandolin Tunes and Technique with Matt Flinner, is also being added to the program.  This course will focus on getting deep into Appalachian fiddle music and deep into mandolin tone and technique.  Students will get pointers on how to maximize their tone, various approaches to rhythm playing and chords, making use of open strings, bits of variations as well as learning a new tune (or two) each week.  The eight online lessons will take place every Wednesday evening from January 7th to March 5th (the last lesson will be on a Thursday evening), with February 4th off due to Matt's touring schedule.  Eight follow-up practice sessions will be held every Saturday morning from January 10th to March 7th, with February 7th being a week off. Tunes for the Appalachian Mandolin course will include Chilly Winds, Wolves a-Howlin', Bonaparte Crossing the Rhine, Drunkard's Hiccups, Elk River Blues, Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss, All the Good Times Are Past and Gone and Tater Patch (among others!). To register for the Appalachian Mandolin Tunes and Technique with Matt Flinner course, visit the registration page. View the curriculum here.    

Bluegrass Mandolin 101 Turns One Year Old!

By Theme Admin on October 6th, 2014 at 11:29 PM

Bluegrass Mandolin 101 turns one year old this week!  It's been a wonderful year, with eight courses covering a wide spectrum of the wonderful world of mandolin playing.  Thanks to all the students who've been part of it and have helped it grow and improve.  Here's a little video that got a little more violent than I had hoped, but I hope you enjoy it. [video width="960" height="540" m4v="https://www.mattflinner.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Happy-Birthday-Bluegrass-Mandolin-101.m4v"][/video] Three new courses are starting up this week, including a new course for beginners starting up tonight.  For more info on that, visit the Beginning Mandolin page. Bluegrass Mandolin 101: Tunes, Technique and Improvisation I starts up Tuesday, and Bluegrass Mandolin 102: Tunes, Technique and Improvisation II starts up on Wednesday.  Hope to see you in class!

Bluegrass Mandolin 101 and 102 Fall Classes Are Here

By Theme Admin on September 16th, 2014 at 3:05 AM

These courses have concluded.  To view the current list of courses offered, visit the Winter Online Course page.   Bluegrass Mandolin 101 and 102 are back!  Registration is now open for the Fall 2014 101 and 102 courses. Join Matt Flinner for online mandolin lessons each week from the convenience of your own home.  The next Bluegrass Mandolin 101 and 102 courses, “Tunes, Technique and Improvisation,” begin October 7th and 8th and run through December 13, 2014.  Each week, Matt will demonstrate new concepts and exercises along with a new tune (plus a bonus tune for the more ambitious student) to help you improve your mandolin technique, make better use of practice time, get more familiar with bluegrass and old-time music and have more fun playing music on your own and with others. Both of the fall courses are fiddle tune-based, and will use various fiddle tunes as vehicles for improving technique, learning the fretboard and working toward creating variations and improvising. The 101 level course is designed to help the mandolinist at a beginning to intermediate level improve the fundamentals of his or her playing and his or her ability to improvise, while expanding repertoire along the way.  Register for 101 here. The 102 level course is designed for mandolinists at an intermediate to advanced level to help them expand on improvisational concepts, learn more about the fretboard and push their playing to the next level.  Register for 102 here. Both courses will focus on a few main areas: 1. Improving picking technique to improve tone, rhythm, volume and speed. 2. Improving knowledge of the fingerboard through scales, arpeggios, licks, double stops, modes and exercises. 3. Creating variations on common tunes through various methods: using different octaves & registers, using chord tones and “target” notes, using various ornaments, incorporating double stops, and listening to recorded examples. 4. Working toward improvisation using all of the above tools. 5. Expanding your repertoire of bluegrass and fiddle tunes. 101 level classes will meet every Tuesday from 8-9 pm CST, and practice sessions will be held every Saturday from 10-10:45 am central time. 102 level classes will meet every Wednesday from 8-9 pm CST, and practice sessions will be held every Saturday from 11:15-noon central time. All sessions (class and practice) will be video recorded, so that students may revisit the sessions as often as they would like, and students who were unable to attend the live sessions will be able to view them at their own convenience.  (NOTE: Matt will be taking off the weeks of Oct 27 and Nov 24 due to his touring schedule and the Thanksgiving holiday.  Lessons will resume each of the following weeks; in total, there will be eight class sessions and eight practice sessions over a period of ten weeks.) 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. Students are also encouraged to submit mp3 recordings at any time during the course, 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. 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 andsave the recording in MP3 format. 4. A mandolin (actually maybe that should have been #1). The fee for each course is $200.  Students taking both courses simultaneously receive a 10% discount ($40 off total) and suggestions on where to obtain strong doses of caffeine and/or psychological counseling.  If you are interested in taking both courses, email [email protected] to make sure you get the discount.  Questions about the courses can also be emailed to [email protected].       FALL 2014 CURRICULA: BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN 101: TUNES, TECHNIQUE AND IMPROVISATION I Register here.   WEEK 1 (Oct 7): Picking and rhythm Picking Exercises I Fingering Exercises I Scales: D Major and G Major Open style chords Eighth of January Bonus material: The Speed of the Plow   WEEK 2 (Oct 14): Getting a fuller sound using open strings Picking Exercises II Fingering Exercises II Open style backup in G Arkansas Traveler Bonus material: Cotton Eyed Joe   WEEK 3 (Oct 21): Octave variations Picking Exercises III (three and four string exercises) Fingering Exercises III Scale Patterns: thirds in D and G Open style backup in D Whiskey Before Breakfast Bonus material: Leather Britches   WEEK 4 (Nov 4): Transitions between octaves Learning Chord Tones Major Arpeggios 3 Chord Inversions Playing backup using basslines and moving chords Liberty Bonus material: June Apple   WEEK 5 (Nov 11): Throwing in some licks Scales: A Major and A Mixolydian; D Major and D Mixolydian Open style chords in A and C Dominant Arpeggios Salt Creek Bonus Material: Weave and Way   WEEK 6 (Nov 18): Creating variations using target notes Minor Arpeggios Using Bluegrass "Chop" Chords Cuckoo's Nest Bonus Material: Flowers of Edinburgh   WEEK 7 (Dec 2): Incorporating Double Stops into Your Solos Double Stop Exercise in A Scales: A Dorian, D Dorian Pike County Breakdown Bonus material: Shove the Pig's Foot a Little Closer to the Fire   WEEK 8 (Dec 9): Various approaches to improvising Pulling it all together: octave changes, chord tones, licks and double stops as part of your solos Bonaparte's Retreat Bonus material: Liza Jane       FALL 2014 CURRICULA BLUEGRASS MANDOLIN 102: TUNES, TECHNIQUE AND IMPROVISATION II Register here.   WEEK 1 (Oct 8): Creating octave variations & transitions between octaves Warmup exercises Adding some ornaments (hammer-ons, pull-offs, etc.) Ear training exercise I East Tennessee Blues Bonus material: Cripple Creek variations   WEEK 2 (Oct 15): Adding some runs to your solos Some V to I Licks Ear Training Exercise II Cherokee Shuffle Bonus material: Stoney Creek   WEEK 3 (Oct 22): Using Some Bluesy licks Blues scales in D and A Blues licks in two positions I to IV Licks Elzic's Farewell Bonus Material: Old Daingerfield   WEEK 4 (Nov 5): Key of E E Major Scale & Pattern E Mixolydian Scale & Pattern Ear training exercise III Glory at the Meeting House Bonus material: Crosseyed Fiddler   WEEK 5 (Nov 12): Adding Some Double Stops to Your Playing D Double Stops (I, IV and V chords) D minor Double Stops (I, IV and V chords) Lonesome Fiddle Blues Bonus material: Down Yonder   WEEK 6 (Nov 19): Playing Up the Neck Diatonic patterns up the neck Pentatonic patterns up the neck Sally Gooden Bonus tune: Road to Columbus   WEEK 7 (Dec 3): Playing rags Circle of fifths exercises 7th Chord Inversions & Diminished Chords Complex Chord Patterns---how to smooth them out Some More V-I Licks Beaumont Rag Bonus material: I Don't Love Nobody   WEEK 8 (Dec 10): Tying it all together: using octaves, licks, patterns, target notes and double stops to create variations Exercises for speed Exercises for the fingering hand The Gold Rush Bonus material: Paddy on the Turnpike