New Lessons Just Added to Peghead Nation
What to do with all of that time? Check out the lessons, tunes, and techniques to learn in our guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, dobro, ukulele, and bass courses.
NEW LESSONS JUST ADDED TO THE STRING SCHOOL!
GUITAR COURSES
Abe’s Retreat | The fiddle tune “Abe’s Retreat” comes from the old-time repertoire and dates back to the Civil War. Scott often plays it as a solo guitar tune in A, without a capo. You’ll learn it in two octaves.
Chicken à la Swing | In this first installment of a three-part lesson on the classic guitar duet “Chicken à la Swing,” recorded in 1937 by Dick McDonough and Carl Kress, you’ll learn the first three of six parts as played by McDonough.
MANDOLIN COURSES
Bluesy Pentatonic Lick in All Bluegrass Keys | Chad shows you a bluesy lick that uses the pentatonic scale and how to play it over a I–IV–V–I progression in all the bluegrass keys: B, E, A, D, G, C, F, and Bb.
Sitting Alone in the Moonlight | Recorded by Bill Monroe in 1954, “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight” was one of his biggest hits and it continues to be a favorite in the bluegrass world to this day.
Sam I Am | Matt Flinner’s tune “Sam I Am” pushes the boundaries of contemporary bluegrass mandolin composition with interesting chordal movement, tricky melodic passages, and an A section with a lot of space.
Intro to the Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method, Part 1: The L Shape | Sharon talks about the basic concept of her Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method, which teaches intermediate bluegrass mandolin players how to walk into jam sessions and play solos to any bluegrass song in any key. The method uses shapes and patterns that you may already be familiar with, but Sharon shows you how to use those patterns (chords, scales, and double stops) in different places on the neck and construct melody-based solos from them. She starts by explaining “the L shape,” a concept Sharon got from mandolinist John Moore that gives visual representation to the roots of the I, IV, and V chords on the fingerboard.
Intro to the Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method, Part 2: Arpeggios | In this lesson, Sharon shows you how to use the L shape to easily find arpeggios for the I, IV, and V chords in the key of D: D, G, A. She gives you a couple of exercises to help you practice moving between the arpeggios of the D, G, A chords.
Intro to the Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method, Part 3: Double Stops | Once you know the arpeggios based on the L shape, you can easily find double stops to harmonize the melodies of the songs you’re playing. Sharon shows you two handy double stops in the L shape for D, G, and A, and gives you a couple exercises using them.
Intro to the Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method, Part 4: Simple I–IV–V Solo In this video, Sharon gives you a simple solo to play using the L-shape double stops, arpeggios, and scales you’ve learned for D, G, and A.
I’ll Fly Away: Basic Melody and Chords, Harmonizing with Double-Stops, Play-Along Track | After learning the basics of playing arpeggios, scales and double stops using the L shape, it’s time to put the concept to use on some songs. In this lesson you’ll learn to play a solo on the bluegrass/folk/gospel standard “I’ll Fly Away” in the key of D. Since it’s in D, you already know the positions you’ll use for the solo, but Sharon starts by reviewing the basics of what you learned in the Intro to the Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method. Then she gives you advice on finding the melody of the song you want to build a solo for, and shows you the basic melody and chords of the verse and chorus of “I’ll Fly Away.”
Nine Pound Hammer, Part 1: Basic Melody and Chords, Harmonizing with Double-Stops, Play-Along Track | The song “Nine Pound Hammer” is one of the most popular bluegrass jam songs, and is played in a few different keys. The version you’ll learn here is in the key of D, so Sharon starts by reminding you of the L shapes, arpeggio patterns, and double stops in the key of D. Then she walks you through the melody and chords of the verse and chorus of “Nine Pound Hammer.”
BANJO COURSES
FIDDLE COURSES
Margaret’s Musical Mecca | You’ll learn one of Chad’s original tunes, “Margaret’s Musical Mecca,” in this lesson. It’s a fun tune in the key of A, with some old-time bowing and drones.
Bluegrass Fiddle with Chad Manning
Old Gnarly Oak | “Old Gnarly Oak” is one of Chad’s original tunes, a fast bluegrass fiddle tune in A modal that includes some cool bow crossings and rhythmic punctuation.
DOBRO COURSES
BASS COURSES
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