Tag Archives: American

Campbell’s Farewell: Mandolin 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...

Campbell’s Farewell: Melodic Banjo Lesson

Campbell’s Farewell is a great traditional Scottish march in the key of A (Mixolydian) (capo 2 – standard tuning), but is also popular in the American tradition played as a reel. This melodic banjo arrangement of the tune is approached at the reel tempo and the phrases sit around the G melodic scale position.

Go to lesson...

Midnight On The Water: Guitar 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 guitar is in open D tuning (DADF#AD) and is well suited to the intermediate picker. It has a beautiful melody, played at a relaxed tempo and will be a great addition to your guitar repertoire! Go to lesson...

Midnight On The Water: Mandolin 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...

Old Grimes: Guitar Lesson

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...

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.

Go to lesson...

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...

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. 

Go to lesson...