Old Grimes is an excellent traditional bluegrass tune, in the key of D. This arrangement is played in the open D position and is well suited to the intermediate picker. It will be a great addition to your repertoire! It’s a wonderful tune to pick and the combination of melody & chord movement has certainly moved this tune to quickly become one of my personal favourites. Go to lesson...
Tag Archives: American
Kitchen Girl: Melodic Banjo Lesson
Kitchen Girl is a traditional American Old-Time tune, in the key of A (mixolydian) in Part A and moves to Am (aeolian) in Part B, making it a great modal tune. This arrangement is in standard tuning – capo 2 and is well suited to the advanced picker, with some challenging variations up & down the neck.
Kitchen Girl: Mandolin Lesson
Kitchen Girl is a traditional American Old-Time tune, in the key of A (mixolydian) in Part A and moves to Am in Part B, making it a great modal tune. This arrangement is well suited to the intermediate picker, with some fun rhythm variations. With the key change from part A to B, this is a fantastic tune to pick, with a very interesting melody! Go to lesson...
Old Joe Clark (V2): Mandolin Lesson
Old Joe Clark is a traditional American song/fiddle tune, typically played in the key of A. This is a very popular session tune, and this arrangement features an embellished melody, using a common approach to move around the main melody with surrounding scale notes. This arrangement is well suited to the intermediate picker and in the lesson, we’ll break down the techniques to help you pick this wonderful session tune. Go to lesson...
Old Joe Clark: Melodic Banjo Lesson
Old Joe Clark is a traditional American song/fiddle tune, typically played in the key of A. This is a very popular session tune, and this arrangement features the melodic technique. The banjo is in standard tuning with the capo placed at fret 2 and the faster tempo will be suited to the advanced picker.
Grandfather’s Clock: Banjo Lesson
Grandfather’s Clock is a song by Henry Clay Work (1876) that has a wonderful melody that we’ll learn on the 5-string banjo. In this arrangement, there are two variations featuring the single-string and melodic techniques, and playing both up and down the neck. Played in the key of G (standard tuning), this version of the song is well suited to the intermediate picker, working as a great study for the techniques featured.
Bill Cheatham: Flatpicking Guitar Lesson
Bill Cheatham is a popular, traditional American fiddle tune, in the key of A (capo 2). With a melody that is often picked at a fast tempo, it features double stops, crosspicking arpeggios, some great scale movement and making use of both the first & second positions. If you’re familiar with the open G major scale, it will certainly help, as I’d suggest this tune is suited to the advancing intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Turkey In The Straw: Guitar Lesson
Turkey In The Straw is a popular American folk song, commonly played as an instrumental in bluegrass sessions. In the key of G, this is an arrangement of the basic melody, suited to the intermediate picker. Featuring some hammer-on & pull-off slurs, we’ll focus on technique as we work our way through the tune. Go to lesson...
Turkey In The Straw: Melodic Banjo Lesson
Turkey In The Straw is a popular American folk song, commonly played as an instrumental in bluegrass sessions. In the key of G, the banjo is in standard tuning (gDGBD) and the melodic technique is a feature of this arrangement. This arrangement is a perfect follow up for the Introduction To Melodic Banjo course, and well suited to the intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Back Side Of Albany: Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson
The Back Side of Albany is a traditional American reel in the key of Em (dorian). In this fingerstyle arrangement, the melody is supported by harmonising bass notes that compliments the tune in a pretty way, with some really interesting chord movements throughout. This is suited to the advanced fingerstyle player, especially as the tune requires a quick, lively tempo. Go to lesson...