In the second Mandolin Essentials lesson, we’ll cover the Key of Bb Major, played in the open position. It’s another great key, often used in bluegrass, that can easily be overlooked as a mandolin player, yet is quite easy to play in the open position. Areas of study include:

• Bb major scale (one octave);
• Bb major scale (full open position);
• Bb major pentatonic scale (full open position);
• The chords found in the key of Bb;
• Arpeggios (full open position for each chord in the key of Bb);
• And we’ll finish with a Study in Bb Major, applying and analysing the above information.