Tag Archives: Old-Time

Over The Waterfall: Fingerstyle Guitar Lesson

Over The Waterfall is a popular traditional tune, with a 2 part form, in the key of D. This fingerstyle arrangement has both a basic & advanced variation and the guitar is tuned to the lovely sounding DADGAD tuning. Featuring a variety of intricate techniques, including drones, triplet slurs, octaves and left-hand taps, the arrangement is certainly one of my favourites. Go to lesson...

You Are My Sunshine: Crosspicking Guitar Lesson

You Are My Sunshine is a very popular song, and in this guitar lesson we’ll look at an arrangement that features the crosspicking and floating techniques, suited to the intermediate picker. In the key of G, this arrangement has 2 variations that both require a strong left-hand technique and a high level of right-hand control. Go to lesson...

Lazy John: Melodic Banjo Lesson

Lazy John is an Old Time song that has a great melody. In this lesson, we’ll learn a melodic arrangement that contains two variations, in the key of G (standard tuning). The techniques used in the arrangement combined with the slower tempo make this a great entry level melodic tune, suited to the intermediate banjo picker looking to learn the melodic technique. Go to lesson...

Handsome Molly: Fingerstyle Guitar

Handsome Molly is a traditional ballad and in this arrangement there are 2 solo variations, plus an accompaniment variation and outro. Played in the key of G in Drop D tuning, the Travis picking technique is a feature of this version. The parts can be arranged to suit many forms of the song, either with a singer or played as an instrumental. Go to lesson...

Bonaparte’s Retreat: Banjo

Bonaparte’s Retreat is a traditional tune in the key of D Major. This tune has such a great melody and within this arrangement we’ll focus on the the single-string technique plus playing out of the D chord shape while finding our melody notes. The form we’ll play for this version is ABBCBB, but once you know the parts, you may hear it played with a different structure, so be adaptable! Go to lesson...

Bonaparte’s Retreat: Guitar

Bonaparte’s Retreat is a traditional tune in the key of D Major and we’re in Drop D tuning. This tune has such a great melody and within this arrangement we’ll focus on two main techniques, crosspicking & triplets. The form we’ll play for this version is ABBCBB, but once you know the parts, you may hear it played with a different structure, so be adaptable! Go to lesson...

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine: Mandolin

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine is a traditional tune in the key of D Major. There are 2 variations within this arrangement. Firstly, the basic melodyperfect for a beginner picker, but also a great variation for any level, as knowing the basic melody really helps develop your knowledge of the tune, plus sometimes less is more! The Go to lesson...

Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine: Guitar Lesson

In this guitar lesson we’ll take a look at an Old Time tune, Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine. The tune is in the key of D Major and we are in drop D tuning (DADGBE). The arrangement features crosspicking, triplets and other articulation and is suited to the advanced intermediate student. Go to lesson...

Cumberland Gap: Mandolin Lesson

G’day! In this mandolin lesson we’ll take a look at the traditional fiddle tune, Cumberland Gap. A challenging, faster tempo bluegrass tune played in the Key of G. There are several variations within the break and is a challenging tune for the advanced picker. In this lesson we’ll break down how to play the tune, focusing on some exercises for fluency and exploring ideas to increase your tempo. Go to lesson...

Arkansas Traveler: Mandolin Lesson

G’day! In this jam packed Arkansas Traveler: Mandolin Lesson, we’ll take a look at a fun & challenging arrangement for the intermediate/advanced picker. The arrangement has 2 variations of the melody for both Part A & B. Arkansas Traveler is a traditional fiddle tune in the key of D.

The first variation is a basic version of the melody with a handful of tricky licks for the advancing beginner/intermediate picker. Go to lesson...