Mandolin Song Breakdown: Jerusalem Ridge
Today’s mandolin song breakdown will be focusing on Jerusalem Ridge. Often this tune is considered a jam buster due to it’s length and complex melody. Aside from having 4 parts, this tune is also in a minor key and has some minor oddities with the form. So weird stuff all around as far as fiddle […]
Mandolin Song Breakdown: The High Road
Today’s mandolin song breakdown is on the Tim O’Brien tune the High Road. I was introduced to this tune in the Seattle bluegrass jam at Outlander Brewing late 2022 I believe. The more I play this song, the more I just love the melody. To me it feels like an old time fiddle tune wrapped […]
Mandolin Workshop: Playing to the Chords
Pop quiz hot shot – you’re at a friendly bluegrass jam and the leader just called a song you don’t know and only said “it’s in G” before they started playing. You’re at the end of the jam circle. Do you take the easy out and get a drink, or take the opportunity to get […]
Mandolin Technique: Picking Hand
As part of my Mandolin Technique series, this week we’ll be diving into picking hand exercises. You’ll need a metronome for all of these, so make sure you have one available. I’ve been using the Matrix MR-500 for about 20 years – nothing fancy, but works and is small. If you don’t have a physical […]
Mandolin Technique: Pentatonic Scales
Today’s mandolin technique focuses on the versatile Pentatonic Scales. These 5 note scales are used often in the melodies of many fiddle tunes and can be incredibly helpful for soloing. What is a Pentatonic Scale? A pentatonic scale is simply a scale with 5 notes. While there are a few types of pentatonic scales, the […]
Mandolin Workshop: Double Stops Overview
Thanks for attending my Double Stops Workshop. If you like this content, please post a comment below and let me know. In this workshop, I’ll review: You can find the sheet music parts of the lesson materials here. And some graphics here. In addition, I recommending using a physical (non-digital) metronome when practicing. Here’s the […]
Mandolin Sheet Music Breakdown: Old Home Place
Today’s Mandolin Sheet Music Breakdown focuses on one of my favorite jam songs, Old Home Place. The progression is pretty simple but includes the dominant 3rd (III7) which makes it a little more interesting without being too complex. I like playing this song in A so this breakdown will be using that key. It’s a […]
Mandolin Technique: Guide Fingers
Changing chords can be difficult at first but there’s a few tricks that you can learn to make it a lot easier. In this mandolin technique, we’ll focus on how to use Guide Fingers to speed chord changes to help your playing. If you have any questions on this topic, please post them in the […]