Category Archives: Beginner Mandolin

101 Beginner Mandolin Crash Course

Welcome to the Pickin’ Lessons Beginner’s Crash Course in Mandolin!

This crash course is for the complete beginner wanting to learn to play the mandolin. Focusing on traditional styles, the course will get you pickin’ some of your favourite melodies and learn how to accompany others, all while developing good technique and practice habits.

Go to lesson...

Beginner’s Mandolin Songbook, The

12 Popular Songs Arranged for Easy Mandolin: Bluegrass, Old Time & Celtic Favourites!


beginner mando songbook album cover

This collection of songs for the beginner mandolin player has been arranged by Heath Joyce, in a graded sequence in their standard keys. Please Note: This is not a beginner method, only a songbook, so some prior knowledge is required, eg. Go to lesson...

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine: Mandolin

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine is a traditional tune in the key of D Major. There are 2 variations within this arrangement. Firstly, the basic melodyperfect for a beginner picker, but also a great variation for any level, as knowing the basic melody really helps develop your knowledge of the tune, plus sometimes less is more! The Go to lesson...

Childgrove: Mandolin Lesson (Advanced Beginner Benchmark)

Childgrove is a traditional English country dance, played in the key of Am. There are 2 variations in the arrangement, and is a great benchmark for the advanced beginner. If you’re comfortable with the rhythm, left-hand position, articulation and variation’s within the tune, I would consider you to be an advanced beginner, and well on your way to an intermediate player. Go to lesson...

Fretboard Freedom 101: The Musical Alphabet

Fretboard Freedom: The Musical Alphabet is the first lesson in a course that will help you unlock the fretboard, enabling you to find any note, double stop, chord, scale, arpeggio in any position. It will give you the freedom to find your way in any key and have the ability to transpose/reposition breaks, melodies & chord progressions and improve your ability to improvise. Go to lesson...

Fretboard Freedom 102: The Mandolin Octave Pattern

Using the mandolin octave pattern to gain fretboard freedom is a crucial and quick step to locate a note anywhere on the fretboard. By using the mandolin octave pattern and your knowledge of the notes on one or two strings (see Fretboard Freedom 101: The Musical Alphabet) it becomes quite simple to locate any note on any string, then play a chord, scale, arpeggio, etc. Go to lesson...

Fretboard Freedom 103: Major & Minor 3rd’s (Mandolin)

Using the major & minor 3rd interval patterns to gain fretboard freedom is a crucial and quick step to build arpeggios, double stops & develop your improvising anywhere on the fretboard. By using the interval patterns and your knowledge of the notes on the fretboard (see Fretboard Freedom 101: The Musical Alphabet) it becomes quite simple to unlock any chord, arpeggio, double stop, etc. Go to lesson...

Mountain Dew (Build A Break): Mandolin Lesson

G’day! In this Build A Break mandolin lesson for ‘Mountain Dew’, we’ll take a look at 3 variations, starting out with the basic melody (beginner), adding double stops to the melody (intermediate) and finishing with melody, double stops & added passing notes (advanced).

The arrangement is in the key of Bb, and is a movable break. Go to lesson...

Movable Major Pentatonic Scale: Mandolin Lesson

Learn to play the first pattern from the ‘Mandolin Pentatonic Scales’ worksheet in this video lesson! Knowing how to play movable patterns on the mandolin is crucial in any style of music. In these videos you will learn how to play the first and second scales and also how to move them to different keys all over the fretboard. Go to lesson...

Over The Waterfall: Mandolin Lesson

Over The Waterfall is a popular traditional tune, with a 2 part form, in the key of D and this arrangement contains two variations. The first variation is a basic version of the melody, well suited to the advancing beginner, while the second variation includes a typical embellished back & forth around the melody that you’ll here in many fiddle tunes by more seasoned pickers. In Go to lesson...

Scales & Technical Practice | Mandolin | Level 1

A course focusing on mandolin technique including scales, arpeggios, chords, rhythm, improvisation, speed development, general technique exercises & sight-reading.

Scales & Technical Work should form an important, structured part of your practice routine. It will improve your general technique, practical theory knowledge, improvisation, understanding of melody & harmony, rhythm, tone, and so on. Go to lesson...

Scales & Technical Practice | Overview

Scales & Technical Work should form an important, structured part of your practice routine. It will improve your general technique, practical theory knowledge, improvisation, understanding of melody & harmony, rhythm, tone, and so on.

Check out the Pickin’ Lessons structured, 2 part, scales & technical practice below. Give it a shot & I’m positive you’ll find yourself moving forward in no time! Go to lesson...

Southwind: Chord Melody Mandolin Lesson

Southwind is a traditional Irish waltz, played in the key of G. It has a very beautiful melody that we’ll first learn in its basic form, then spice it up with a chord melody arrangement that also features a little crosspicking. While the basic melody is very simple, I’d suggest the more advanced variation of the tune is suited to the intermediate picker. Go to lesson...

Star of Munster: Mandolin Lesson

G’day! In this Star of Munster: Mandolin Lesson, we’ll take a look at an arrangement of this traditional Celtic reel for the advancing beginner/intermediate picker. The tune is played in  the key of Am (dorian mode).

A feature of this tune is the consistent 8th note rhythm structure, which makes for a great picking study, but also gives the tune a real drive. Go to lesson...

We Three Kings of Orient Are: Christmas Mandolin

‘We Three Kings of Orient Are’ is a beautiful Christmas carol and in this lesson we’ll learn two verse variations, perfect for an introduction or solo. In the key of Am, we’ll cover a pretty tremolo version of the basic verse melody for the advanced beginner, then, moving in to a great chord melody verse variation suited to the advanced intermediate picker. Go to lesson...

Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Mandolin Lesson

G’day! In this Will The Circle Be Unbroken: Mandolin Lesson we’ll take a look at the basic melody, played in the open position (Key of A), an advancing beginner arrangement in a movable pattern, using tremolo (Key of D) and finish off with an intermediate arrangement of the tune, using double stops also in a movable pattern (Key of G). Go to lesson...