New Lessons, Tunes, and Techniques for June 2022!

Explore Hours of New Lessons from Peghead Nation's Expert Instructors!

By: Dan Gabel

June 6, 2022

Peghead Nation instructors have released hours of new instruction in their courses, and here are the tunes and lessons we’ve just published for June 2022. Join us in any course and get your first month free. Just use promo code Learn22 at checkout!

GUITAR COURSES

Alternate Tunings Fingerstyle Guitar with Doug Young

Intro to Orkney Tuning and “Hector the Hero” Doug introduces you to Orkney tuning (CGDGCD), shows you some of the similarities between Orkney and DADGAD, and shows you how to play the Scottish song “Hector the Hero” in Orkney tuning.

MANDOLIN COURSES

Bluegrass Mandolin Jam Favorites with Joe K. Walsh

Snowflake Reel “Snowflake Reel” comes from Canadian fiddler Wally Traugott and has become a bluegrass favorite through recordings by bluegrass fiddlers Bobby Hicks, Vassar Clements, and others.

Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin with Sharon Gilchrist

Big Sciota The old-time fiddle tune “Big Sciota” was introduced to the bluegrass world with the 1993 recording Skip, Hop and Wobble by Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, Edgar Meyer, and Sam Bush. Since then it has become a bluegrass jam session favorite.

Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton

Scotland The fiddle tune “Scotland” is a tribute to Bill Monroe’s Scottish ancestry and features a droning fiddle sound that mimics the bagpipes. It’s a three-part tune, and Monroe solos on the first and second parts, but in reverse order.

Old-Time Mandolin with John Reischman

The Blackest Crow The Civil War–era song “The Blackest Crow” is also known as “As Time Draws Near” and “My Dearest Dear.” John shows you how to embellish the melody with double stops, tremolo, and hammer-ons.

The Advancing Mandolinist with Joe K. Walsh

Traveler’s Prayer Joe wrote “Traveler’s Prayer” with guitarist Grant Gordy and recorded it on the recent album Extrovert by their band Mr Sun. “Traveler’s Prayer” is in the key of C minor (the relative minor of Eb).

Irish Mandolin with Marla Fibish

The Girl Who Broke My Heart “The Girl Who Broke My Heart” is a reel in G mixolydian, another mode of C major. G Mixolydian is what you get when you play the C major scale starting on the fifth step of the scale: G.

Brazilian Choro Mandolin with Ian Coury – NEW COURSE!

Learn to play Brazilian choro music on the mandolin with young Brazilian virtuoso Ian Coury, from the classic sounds of Jacob do Bandolim to the modern style of Hamilton Holanda. Includes play-along tracks with Ian’s Brazilian backing band. Take a look at his course introduction video here!

Carinhoso “Carinhoso” is one of the most popular Brazilian choros and was written by the legendary composer, flautist, and saxophonist Pixinguinha. It is a beautiful, emotional tune, and in addition to being played as an instrumental, it’s often sung.

Chord Melody Mandolin with Aaron Weinstein

A Foggy Day The George and Ira Gerswhin song “A Foggy Day” was originally titled “A Foggy Day in London Town” and was sung by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film Damsel in Distress. Aaron’s arrangement is meant to be played as a rubato ballad.

Octave Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh

St. Anne’s Reel The fiddle tune “St. Anne’s Reel” is one of the all-time greats and is a favorite among multiple genres of fiddle music. It’s in the key of D and the chords include Em and Bm, as well as the usual G and A.

BANJO COURSES

Bluegrass Banjo with Bill Evans

Siempre Sonny Osborne’s original tune “Siempre” is a Spanish-sounding piece that features the melody played in thirds and sixths. It recalls the playing of country guitarists and was recorded by Chet Atkins.

Contemporary Bluegrass Banjo with Wes Corbett

“Crying Holy” in C You learned to play a break to “Crying Holy” in the key of G in a previous lesson. In this lesson Wes shows you a break in the key of C. It’s mostly in Scruggs-style but includes some single-string and melodic-style passages.

Old-Time Banjo with Bruce Molsky

Old Dad The old-time fiddle tune “Old Dad” is popular all over and goes by many names, including “Stony Point” and “Wild Horses.” It’s in the key of G, but Bruce plays it not in standard G tuning but in “Last Chance” tuning: gDGDE.

FIDDLE COURSES

Old-Time Fiddle with Bruce Molsky

Indians Over the Hill “Indians Over the Hill” comes from West Virginia fiddler John Hannah, who was born in the 1920s and recorded in the 1980s by fiddler Jeff Goehring. It’s a three-part tune in the key of D.

Beginning Bluegrass and Old-Time Fiddle with Chad Manning

A Voice on the Wind The bluegrass song “A Voice on the Wind” was written by Butch Waller and made famous by Tim O’Brien and Hot Rize. Chad shows you the melody and how to add some double stops and bluesy embellishments.

Beginning Celtic Fiddle with Emerald Rae

In Beginning Celtic Fiddle with Emerald Rae, you’ll learn to play the fiddle from scratch using traditional Scottish and Irish melodies. Emerald starts at the very beginning, showing you how to hold the fiddle and bow and breaking down essential techniques for both hands. She then moves into teaching easy versions of popular Celtic tunes and songs, building your skills as you go.

The Stool of Repentance Although the Scottish jig “The Stool of Repentance” is named for a stool used for public humiliation in Scottish Reformation churches, it’s a bright happy tune in the key of A, and is popular in Scotland and Cape Breton.

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.