Time for another “song I should know but never learned”. Today’s mandolin song breakdown focuses on East Tennessee Blues (sometimes called East Tennessee Rag). I first heard this tune done by Adam Steffey a while back. It’s a great tune that I liked, but just wasn’t called a lot in jams so I never really […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
