New Lessons for September 2023

Check out new lessons, tunes, and techniques from Peghead Nation instructors.

By: Dan Gabel

September 12, 2023

Peghead Nation instructors have released hours of new instruction in their courses, and here are the tunes and lessons we’ve just published for September 2023. Join us in any course and get your first month free. Just use promo code Learn23 at checkout!

GUITAR COURSES

Alternate Tunings Fingerstyle Guitar with Doug Young

EADEAE Tuning EADEAE is part of a family of tunings that are often referred to as “pipe” tunings. Doug shows you chords in EADEAE and teaches you his arrangement of “The Banks of the Bann,” an Irish air from the 19th century.

Bluegrass Guitar Fingerboard Mastery with Stash Wyslouch

Position 2E Arpeggios In the next series of lessons, you’ll learn arpeggios in the five scale positions you’ve already learned. In this lesson, you’ll learn major seven and dominant seven arpeggios using pattern 2E.

Maybelle Carter-Style Guitar with Cathy Fink

Hello Stranger Maybelle Carter played “Hello Stranger” in a fingerpicking style with steady alternating bass and a couple of single-note melodic lines. Cathy shows you Maybelle’s basic fingerpicking pattern and walks you through her solo.

Irish Flatpicking Guitar with Flynn Cohen

Planxty Irwin “Planxty Irwin” was composed by Turlough O’Carolan, who wrote numerous harp pieces that are a combination of traditional Irish music and Baroque music. “Planxty Irwin” is in 3/4 time in the key of G major.

Western Swing Guitar with Matt Munisteri

We’re happy to announce the latest Peghead Nation course, Western Swing Guitar, taught by the great Matt Munisteri. In this course, you’ll learn to play the classic western swing rhythm style pioneered by Eldon Shamblin, as well as “twin guitar” solos from Bob Wills’s guitarists and the soloing styles of greats like Junior Bernard, Jimmy Wyble, and others.

The extensive lessons in Western Swing Guitar include transcriptions of Shamblin’s groundbreaking chordal work, as well as transcriptions of twin guitar solos from songs like “Roly Poly,” “Bob Wills Special,” and “I Hear You Talking.” You’ll learn Western swing classics from Bob Wills, Leon McAuliffe, and others, with arrangements of classic songs like “Faded Love,” “Panhandle Rag,” “Right or Wrong,” and more. Matt will add new lessons to the course each month, and all lessons include detailed notation and Play-Along Track videos and audio downloads so you can play along with Matt.

Right or Wrong “Right or Wrong” is a western swing classic. In this lesson, you’ll learn to play “Right Or Wrong” with the western swing–style chords that Eldon Shamblin uses and the “sock” chords that Homer Haynes (of Homer and Jethro) played.

MANDOLIN COURSES

Swing and Jazz Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh

Learn to play swing and jazz melodies and classic solos from jazz legends like Lester Young, Miles Davis, and Django Reinhardt, as well as swing mandolinists like Tiny Moore and Jethro Burns. For each song, you’ll learn the melody and a solo, along with tips on technique, phrasing, and improvisation.

“Sweet Georgia Brown” Tiny Moore Solo “Sweet Georgia Brown” is one of the most ubiquitous tunes in the swing repertoire. You’ll learn a solo by mandolinist Tiny Moore that includes choruses based on the melody and the chord progression.

Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton

Seven Year Blues Bill Monroe recorded the mournful waltz “Seven Year Blues” in December 1960 in the key of F, and his solo is one of Mike’s favorites. It includes triplets, sliding double stops, and a couple of tricky slides.

Old-Time Mandolin with John Reischman

Forked Deer “Forked Deer” is a standard old-time square dance tune and there are many versions. It’s in the key of D, but the B part goes to an A chord before resolving to a D at the very end.

The Advancing Mandolinist with Joe K. Walsh

Goldbrickin’ “Goldbrickin’” is a three-part tune in A minor written by Ronnie McCoury and recorded on the album Del and the Boys. Ronnie fingers the melody in some unusual ways and uses some cool syncopated rhythms.

Brazilian Choro Mandolin with Ian Coury

Brasileirinho “Brasileirinho” is one of the most well-known choro tunes around the world. It’s a two-part choro in A major and A minor written by Waldyr Azevedo, one of the most important cavaquinho players in choro history.

Chord Melody Mandolin with Aaron Weinstein

My Buddy The old standard “My Buddy” was written in 1922. Aaron’s arrangement highlights a few different ways to deal with long notes, including playing rhythm figures with the chords.

Octave Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh

Hector the Hero “Hector the Hero” is a beautiful Scottish waltz composed more than a hundred years ago by Scottish fiddler James Scott Skinner. Joe shows you how to flesh out the melody with double stops and open strings.

BANJO COURSES

Old-Time Banjo with Bruce Molsky

Breaking Up Christmas “Breaking Up Christmas” is one of the most important and popular tunes in the Round Peak repertoire. It’s in the key of A, played in standard tuning with a capo at the second fret.

FIDDLE COURSES

Western Swing Fiddle with Chad Manning

Silver Bell “Silver Bell” is a Tin Pan Alley song from 1910 that became a favorite of fiddlers and old-time fiddlers. It was recorded by Bob Wills in 1938. You’ll learn the melody and a swingin’ version of the B part from Johnny Gimble.

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PLAY-ALONG RHYTHM TRACKS – Available to all subscribers. Guitar accompaniment video, downloadable audio, and chord charts for popular bluegrass, old-time, and roots tunes and songs.