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...
Tag Archives: Key of A
Cherokee Shuffle (V2): Melodic Banjo Lesson
This is the second variation on the melody of Cherokee Shuffle here on Pickin’ Lessons. It is a popular fiddle tune, a common tune in bluegrass sessions and one of my personal favourites. In the key of A (capo 2-spike string 5 to fret 7), this is an intermediate melodic arrangement working around a nice, straight ahead version of the melody. Go to lesson...
Cherokee Shuffle (V3): Guitar Lesson
This is the third variation on the melody of Cherokee Shuffle here on Pickin’ Lessons. It is a popular fiddle tune, a common tune in bluegrass sessions and one of my personal favourites. In the key of A (capo 2), this is an intermediate arrangement, with a handful of great bluesy licks, working around a nice, straight ahead version of the melody. Go to lesson...
Joy To The World: Christmas Mandolin
In this lesson for Joy To The World on the mandolin, we’ll take a look at a fun arrangement of the Christmas Carol played in a bluegrass style, for the both the intermediate & advanced picker.
In the key of A, there are 2 versions inside this arrangement. The first is a basic version of the melody with plenty of space in the rhythm & a little extra bluegrass flavour added. Go to lesson...
Mason’s Apron: Mandolin Lesson
Mason’s Apron is a fast tempo, traditional Irish reel, in the key of A. In this lesson, we’ll learn an arrangement that features a great picking articulation that can be used to spice up lots of different tunes. The tune is relatively straight forward, when played at a slower tempo, but when played up to the usual tempo, does become more difficult, and is suited to the more advanced intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Mason’s Apron: Banjo Lesson
Mason’s Apron is a fast tempo, traditional Irish reel, in the key of A (standard tuning – capo 2 string 5=A). In this lesson, we’ll learn an arrangement that uses the melodic & single-string techniques. The tune is relatively straight forward, when played at a slower tempo, but when played up to the usual tempo, does become more difficult, and is suited to the more advanced intermediate picker. Go to lesson...
Lesson 04 – Beginner Mandolin Crash Course (Key of A & Cripple Creek)
In this chockablock beginner lesson we’ll cover:
- The open position A major scale & arpeggio (full open position);
- Work on two excellent right-hand exercises; a double picking exercise & alternate picking exercise;
- Four new open chords, introduce four chop/movable chords, along with several rhythm exercises and a turnaround chord progression in the key of A;
- And finally, we’ll learn a great version of ‘Cripple Creek’ with two variations.
Salt Creek: Mandolin
Salt Creek is a great traditional fiddle tune and a popular session tune. In the key of A, the tune moves along at a quick tempo & this arrangement features 2 variations of the melody for both Part A & B. As part of this lesson, we’ll break down the ideas, which focus on the use of the mixolydian scale, with the addition of the minor 3rd. Go to lesson...
Salt Creek: Melodic Banjo
Melodic, single string, bluesy licks – Salt Creek – hold on tight! In this lesson, we’ll look at 2 variations for the advanced picker, in the key of A (standard tuning – capo 2 – string 5 spiked to fret 7), using the mixolydian scale with the addition of the minor 3rd (b3) passing note giving it a great bluesy feel. Go to lesson...
Joy To The World: Bluegrass Guitar Lesson
G’day! In this Joy To The World: Bluegrass Guitar Lesson, we’ll take a look at a fun arrangement of this Christmas Carol played in a bluegrass style, for the both the intermediate & advanced picker. The arrangement is played out of G shapes, capo’d at the 2nd fret, putting us in the key of A. Go to lesson...