Jingle Bells on the mandolin! Featuring both the verse and chorus melodies, this arrangement is in the key of G and embellishes the melody in a Bluegrass style, up and down the neck. Featuring double stops, crosspicking, some bluesy passages and some great chord changes this version is suitable for the intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Campbell’s Farewell is a great traditional Scottish march in the key of A (Mixolydian), but is also popular in the American tradition played as a reel. This mandolin arrangement of the tune is approached at the reel tempo and the phrases sit primarily in the A Mixolydian scale on strings 1 & 2. Go to lesson...
Miss McLeod’s Reel is a great traditional Scottish reel in the key of G. This mandolin arrangement of the tune sits within one octave of the G major scale and is a great intermediate tune, played at a moderately fast tempo. While getting the tune up to tempo might be suited to the intermediate picker, the phrases and position of the melody are very accessible for the advanced beginner picker. Go to lesson...
The Irish Washerwoman is a fantastic traditional Irish jig in the key of G. Played at quite a lively tempo, there are some demanding techniques within the tune including the right-hand picking structure to help emphasise the pulse, plus the melody has quite a bit of movement up the neck. This in combination certainly lends the tune to the advancing intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
In this third instalment of Bluegrass Licks on the mandolin, we’ll dive into an open position set of licks, in the key of G. In the lesson we’ll cover an example break, over 23 individual licks for the G, C & D chords plus the open position arpeggios and major blues and minor pentatonic scales that are used within the licks. Go to lesson...
Carolan’s Welcome is a traditional air (3/4), composed by Turlough O’Carolan. This arrangement on the mandolin is in the key of Am, is a great tremolo study and is well suited to the intermediate picker. All of O’Carolan’s melodies are beautiful and this is no exception. Played at a relatively moderate tempo, in the lesson we’ll break down the melody and technique and work through several exercises to help you get on top of the tremolo. Go to lesson...
In this lesson for Amazing Grace on the mandolin, we’ll look at an arrangement with 2 variations in the key of D. The first variation features chord melody and the second variation uses the tremolo technique in an easily movable position. The beautiful melody is relatively straight forward, but as we support it with the chordal harmony, it does become more challenging and is suited to the more advanced intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
St Anne’s Reel is a popular bluegrass fiddle tune, played at a medium/fast tempo, in the key of D. This arrangement lays out a nice basic version of the tune, well suited to the intermediate picker, but also allows for the fingers to more easily get around the tune comfortably at a faster tempo. Go to lesson...
Salt Creek is a popular bluegrass fiddle tune, played at a fast tempo, in the key of A. This arrangement lays out a nice basic version of the tune, well suited to the intermediate picker, but also allows for the fingers to more easily get around the tune comfortably at a faster tempo. Go to lesson...
Midnight On The Water is a popular, traditional American waltz (3/4 time), composed by Luke Thomasson (C. 1900), in the key of D. This arrangement on the mandolin is well suited to the intermediate picker featuring double stops, tremolo, 3/4 time and a shuffle feel. It has a beautiful melody, played at a relaxed tempo and will be a great addition to your mandolin repertoire! Go to lesson...