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Most people think of Bill Monroe’s rhythm playing as consisting of hard chop chords on the offbeat, but he did a lot of other things as well. Mike talks about how, in the early days of his career, Monroe played a lot of strummy, melody-based things that old-time mandolin players would play. He also talks about the different ways you can play chop chords to influence the tempo, either pushing it forward or letting it lay back.
Tremolo in Monroe-style mandolin has many speeds, but it always references the tempo of the song. Mike talks about how important tremolo is to traditional bluegrass mandolin playing and demonstrates some of the nuances of Monroe-style tremolo.
“Tennessee Blues” is the first original tune that Bill Monroe recorded (for his first solo recording for RCA in 1940). Mike explains how to play with a very regular and smooth down-up stroke for the tremolo and points out the preponderance of flatted thirds in the melody. He also demonstrates how Monroe “plays ahead” in the melody and points out the important accents in the tune. You’ll also learn the best way to finger the high notes in the B part, and the sliding double stops up the neck in the shorter A part.
Bill Monroe’s “Rocky Road Blues” has more of a western swing feel than the typical bluegrass offbeat chop feel. Mike explains the swing feel you should keep in mind as you’re learning it. “Rocky Road Blues” is played with all downstrokes, so Mike talks about the importance of staying relaxed and not traveling too far with each pick stroke.
This version of Bill Monroe’s “True Life Blues” is a pre-bluegrass arrangement with more of an old-time rhythmic feel that sounds a lot like western swing. You’ll learn two solos; the first includes octaves, flatted thirds, and slurred triplets and is played entirely with downstrokes. The second solo is quite a bit different and is played mostly with tremolo. Mike explains that the speed of the tremolo is essential to Monroe-style mandolin and that it should be metered off the beat, not played at an arbitrary speed.
Bill Monroe’s 1946 recording of “Blue Yodel #4” is actually Jimmie Rodgers’ “Blue Yodel #3.” It’s mislabeled on the record label. It was recorded at the beginning of the classic Blue Grass Boys lineup, with Lester Flatt, Chubby Wise, Earl Scruggs, and Cedric Rainwater, and the rhythm still has a western swing flavor. It’s primarily played with downstrokes except for a couple triplets that are played down-up-down. You’ll also have the opportunity to do something on the mandolin in this solo that you’d don't often get the chance to do: bend a string.
The solo to Bill Monroe’s song “How Will I Explain About You?” is played mostly in the third position, with the index finger at the fifth fret. It has a lot of double stops and slides and is played entirely with tremolo. Mike explains how he fingers some of the double stops and melody notes up the neck and gives advice on sliding.
Bill Monroe’s solo to “Little Cabin Home on the Hill,” which he recorded in 1947, uses slurs, slurred triplets, hammer-ons, and slides. It’s mostly played with downstrokes, except for when you’re playing triplets.
Learn some Monroe-style backup using the song “Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong,” which Monroe recorded in 1946. Mike plays the backup on one verse and then breaks it down phrase by phrase. He also shows you a variation to the backup.
The gospel song “That Home Above” was recorded by the classic Blue Grass Boys lineup of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater. The recording is pitched in Bb, but Bill Monroe plays the mandolin part out of A. The solo includes slurred triplets, lots of downstrokes, tremolo, and a bit of blues. Mike explains that Monroe’s tone on gospel songs was a little bit sweeter, with his pick striking the strings closer to the fingerboard and not so close to the bridge.
The old-time heart song “When You Are Lonely” is another one from the classic Blue Grass Boys band of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater. It’s in the key of G and the solo has a lot of arpeggiated lines over the chords, with some bluesy slides, slurs, etc.
The Bill Monroe classic “Can’t You Hear Me Callin’” was recorded in 1949 with Mac Wiseman singing lead. The solo has a lot of passages that combine tremolo with slides and moving double stops. Mike shows you how Monroe uses open strings to change positions, even if the open string doesn’t “correctly” fit the underlying chord.
The instrumental “Blue Grass Breakdown,” recorded with the classic Blue Grass Boys lineup of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater, is one of Monroe’s best-known tunes. He originally recorded it at 175 beats per minute (bpm) and the tune evolved throughout his career. The version you’ll learn here is the first version Monroe recorded. The rhythmic variations in the right hand are probably the most important part of this tune, as Mike demonstrates, showing you how to use “phantom” pick strokes to get Monroe’s syncopation.
Bill Monroe wrote four “boogie-woogie” tunes over the course of his career, including “Blue Grass Special,” a 12-bar blues in the key of A with a lot of blue notes (C’s and G’s instead of C#’s and G#’s). You’ll learn the main theme along with some variations. The first variation is played around the third-position A chord and Mike explains that if you keep your fingers in position you’ll always have a reference point for where you’re supposed to go next. You’ll also learn a variation that uses tremolo up at the 12th and ninth frets.
“Blue Grass Stomp” is probably the most popular of Bill Monroe’s “boogie-woogie” tunes. Monroe played seven variations in his solo on the studio recording of “Blue Grass Stomp.” You’ll learn the main theme and some of the most important variations. Mike shows you all of the nuances (triplets, slurs, etc.) of the main melody and the double stops you’ll use for the up-the-neck tremolo section. He also plays through the five other variations Monroe played, pointing out some of the more important aspects of each one.
“Blue Moon of Kentucky” is one of Bill Monroe’s most popular songs and has been recorded by Elvis Presley, the Stanley Brothers, and many others. This solo, which comes from Monroe’s original 1946 recording, is in the key of Bb and involves a lot of tremolo and sliding chord positions.
One of the most popular songs from the classic Blue Grass Boys lineup, “I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky” is in the key of A with lots of ringing A and E drone strings. It’s played with a very deliberate right hand that matches Earl Scruggs banjo roll. You’ll learn a classic Monroe ending that he played on lots of songs in the key of A.
Another song from the classic Blue Grass Boys lineup, “It’s Mighty Dark to Travel” is in the key of G and has lots of blue notes in the solo (Bb’s instead of B naturals). It has a little more swing or bounce than “I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky.” Mike gives you a couple of options for double stops and shows you where to put the accents that help spell out the melody.
Another of the songs recorded by Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater, the original Blue Grass Boys, “Mother’s Only Sleeping” is a beautiful slow song in the key of F. Monroe’s solo is predominantly tremolo, working out of standard key-of-F chord shapes and double stops, with some nice one-fret slides.
Bill Monroe’s solo to his song “My Rose of Old Kentucky” (in the key of B) is played out of a closed position centered around the seventh fret. This solo is an example of what Monroe calls “short notes and long notes,” combining chord “bursts” with short single-note intros. Mike gives you advice on supporting your little finger with pressure from the back of the neck and with the other fingers.
Bill Monroe recorded Jimmie Rodgers’ song “Muleskinner Blues” on his first recording session in 1940 and recorded a version with new lyrics in 1950, calling it “New Muleskinner Blues.” His solo from the 1950 recording is primarily played with downstrokes, and the intro starts with a rhythmic phrase (16th/8th/16th) that is repeated throughout the solo.
“Toy Heart” is one of Bill Monroe’s most loved songs, and he’s recorded it a number of times, in different keys. The version you’ll learn here is the original, recorded with Flatt, Scruggs, Wise, and Rainwater in the key of C. You’ll learn two solos; the second is a little different than the first solo but includes some of the same things.
Recorded by Bill Monroe in 1949, with Mac Wiseman on guitar and vocals, Rudy Lyle on banjo, Chubby Wise on fiddle, and Jack Thompson on bass, “Travelin’ This Lonesome Road” is in the key of F, an unusual key for bluegrass songs. The solo includes some tricky fingering, sliding double stops, and shifts between positions. There are also some extra beats on the ends of the lines.
“Why Did You Wander?” is one of the fastest songs recorded by the original Blue Grass Boys lineup of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater. Monroe’s solo has almost no melody notes, but instead consists primarily of arpeggios played over the chord changes with a few connecting scalar lines.
The solo you’ll learn to Bill Monroe’s “My Little Honeysuckle Rose” comes from a live Grand Ole Opry recording of the original Blue Grass Boys lineup of Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Cedric Rainwater. This is the first in a series of four solos that you’ll learn from that recording. The solo, in the key of G, includes a lot of eighth-note triplets, arpeggiated chords, and a 16th/8th/16th rhythmic phrase that Monroe uses throughout the live recording.
This version of Bill Monroe’s “If I Should Wander Back Tonight” also comes from the live Grand Ole Opry recording of the original Blue Grass Boys. The solo features some light double stop strums that really showcase the sound of Monroe’s Lloyd Loar mandolin as well as G and D arpeggios and some cool syncopated chromatic lines. Mike walks you through the solo phrase by phrase and then plays through a second solo Monroe played, showing you where it differs from his first solo.
Another of Mike’s live Grand Ole Opry transcriptions, the song “Daisy Mae” is in the key of C and Bill Monroe’s solo includes some of the same kinds of licks and phrases Monroe uses in the key of G. Mike walks you through the solo, phrase by phrase, pointing out the pick direction on individual phrases, since Monroe sometimes uses consecutive downstrokes and sometimes uses alternate picking.
The final in Mike’s series of live Grand Ole Opry transcriptions of the classic Blue Grass Boys lineup, “Love Gone Cold” is in the key of Bb, and Monroe plays his solos almost entirely out of closed position. Mike walks you through the solo phrase by phrase, pointing out some of the cool slides and double stops Monroe uses in Bb and showing you a couple of fingering alternatives for the Eb arpeggio up the neck.
Bill Monroe’s “Heavy Traffic Ahead” is a swingy song in the key of A. You’ll learn two solos, the solo from the original release as well as a solo from an alternate take. The first solo is played out of the A chop chord position while the second is played in open position, with some cool blue notes, syncopation, and jazzy A7 and E7 chords.
Bill Monroe’s solo on the gospel song “I’m Traveling On and On” (recorded in 1947) is very similar to his solo on “Shine Hallelujah Shine,” a kind of stock gospel solo in the key of A. Monroe’s solo is based more on the chord shapes than a specific melody line. Mike shows you the “I’m Traveling On and On” solo phrase by phrase, starting with an intro/turnaround Monroe plays to begin the song.
Bill Monroe’s two solos on “Shine Hallelujah Shine” are similar to the solo you learned for “I’m Traveling On and On.” Mike plays through them both and then shows you how they differ from the “I’m Traveling On and On” solo.
In this lesson you’ll learn two solos to Bill Monroe’s classic song “My Little Georgia Rose”: the solo that was originally released as well as an alternate take. The first solo is played with 32nd-note tremolo out of the C chop chord position with your pinky at the 12th fret. The solo on the alternate take is also played out of the C chop chord position but it mostly uses downstrokes and Monroe’s favorite 16th/8th/16th rhythm, as opposed to the 32nd-note tremolo of the original solo.
Hank Williams’ song “The Alabama Waltz” was recorded by Bill Monroe in 1950. Monroe’s solo is typical of the way he plays in 3/4 time, using tremolo with a triplet feel, for example. Mike goes through the melody without tremolo so you can get a feel for the melody and then walks you through the solo with tremolo. He also gives you advice on keeping pressure on the back of the neck with your thumb as you slide double stops up and down the neck.
Bill Monroe’s 1950 recording of “I’m Blue, I’m Lonesome” is usually thought of as being in the key of B, but Mike discovered while transcribing the solo you'll learn here that Monroe played it out of Bb, tuning his mandolin up a half step so that it sounds in B. The solo uses a lot of 32nd-note tremolo and 32nd-note ornaments, as well as slides into chord positions.
Bill Monroe’s homage to his fiddle-playing Uncle Pendleton Vandiver, “Uncle Pen,” is one of his most popular songs. In this lesson, you’ll learn two half solos, the original solo from the 1950s recording and another solo from the 1970s. They illustrate how Monroe's style changed over the course of a couple of decades. The solo starts after another instrument, fiddle or banjo usually, has played the first half of the solo. Monroe only plays the second half.
The solo Bill Monroe played on his 1951 recording of “Letter from My Darling” is one of his feistiest, played near the bridge with lots of downstrokes. It’s in the key of G, with lots of blue notes and bluesy slides. Mike walks you through the solo phrase by phrase, giving you advice on playing with authority and where to put accents.
“Ben Dewberry’s Final Run” has been recorded by Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Snow, and others, including Bill Monroe, who recorded the song in 1951. The solo you’ll learn here is from take four, the take that was released. It’s played at a medium tempo with a bit of swing feel in the key of G, with downstrokes and some of Monroe’s typical open-G position blues phrases. It also includes some second-position double stops on the IV chord (C).
In this lesson, you’ll learn two solos that Bill Monroe played on “Sugar-Coated Love,” but not the solo that was released on the commercial recording. The first solo you’ll learn is from the first take at the 1951 recording session. It has some cool Hawaiian guitar-style lines, as well as a bit of a ragtime flavor, and starts with a two-octave jump from the C on the G string all the way up to the C at the eighth fret of the E string. The solo played on take two of “Sugar-Coated Love” starts the same way as the first take and then changes halfway through the first measure.
“Rawhide” is one of Bill Monroe’s most famous instrumentals, a fast mandolin showcase in the key of C with a bridge that moves around the circle of fifths. You’ll learn the A and B parts from the first solo on Monroe’s 1951 recording as well as an alternate A part.
Bill Monroe recorded “Memories of You” in 1950 with Jimmy Martin on guitar, Rudy Lyle on banjo, Vassar Clements on fiddle, and Joel Price on bass. It’s one of the tunes where Monroe retunes the bottom strings on his mandolin, dropping the top G string to an F# and raising the bottom G to an A. You’ll learn the solos Monroe played on take one and take four, which is the take that was released commercially.
Bill Monroe’s multi-part instrumental “Bluegrass Ramble” comes from the 1950 session that included Jimmy Martin on guitar, Rudy Lyle on banjo, Vassar Clements on fiddle, and Joel Price on bass. It’s another of Monroe’s “crosstuned” pieces, this time in a tuning that resembles the tuning that fiddlers call “Black Mountain Rag” tuning. The G strings are tuned up to A, the D strings up to E and one of the E strings is lowered to C#, which makes an A major chord: AA EE AA AC#. You’ll learn the A and B parts of “Bluegrass Ramble” as well as some variations of the A part (A2, A3, and A4) and the C part, which sounds strikingly like “Dixie.”
Bill Monroe’s brother Birch wrote the song “Cabin of Love,” which Bill recorded in 1951 with a band that included Carter Stanley (guitar), Rudy Lyle (Banjo), Gordon Terry (fiddle), and Howard Watts (bass). It’s in the key of A and the solo uses a lot of Monroe’s typical phrases, including sixteenth-eighth-sixteenth rhythms and quick hammer-ons and slurs on blue notes. Many of the lines are simple note-wise but have tricky syncopated phrases.
Bill Monroe recorded “Get Down on Your Knees and Pray” at the same 1951 session (and with the same band members) as “Cabin of Love.” It’s a powerful and spooky song and there were a number of takes. Bill played an intro and two solos on the take that was released. They feature 32nd-note tremolo, triplets, and a lot of hammer-ons and slides. Mike walks you through the intro and first solo, phrase by phrase, and then plays the second solo, which is mostly 32nd-note tremolo on different G double stops, through at a slow tempo.
“The First Whippoorwill” is another Bill Monroe classic from 1951. It’s in the key of G and uses some of Monroe’s favorite key-of-G licks, as well as lots of tremolo and some 32nd-note and 16th-note triplet phrases.
“In the Pines” is one of Bill Monroe’s most popular songs and he recorded a number of different solos over the years. The one you’ll learn here was recorded in 1952. It’s in the key of E and is played out of E chord positions up the neck. The second half of the solo features downstroke triplets on double stops.
Bill Monroe’s 1952 recording of “Memories of Mother and Dad” is pitched in the key of F#, so there are a few odd notes (open strings) in his solo. Most of the solo is played with the index finger centered at the fourth fret (F# on the D string) and it includes some 32nd-note tremolo passages up the neck, which can be tricky if you’ve never played in F# before.
Bill Monroe’s song “Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow,” recorded in 1952, is one of his most powerful vocal numbers, and the solo is played to match, played with aggressive downstrokes. The song is in G and the solo includes a lot of first-position arpeggios and full chords, as well as some of Monroe’s typical blues phrases.
Bill Monroe’s “My Dying Bed” was recorded at the same 1952 session as “Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow,” “Memories of Mother and Dad,” and “In the Pines.” The solo includes a new sound for Monroe, an open drone D string against fretted notes on the A string up the neck, starting with an octave D at the fifth fret.
There are numerous live recordings of Bill Monroe playing “On and On” throughout his career, and he seemed to approach the solo differently every time. This solo, from his 1954 studio recording, includes a lot of Monroe’s usual blues phrases and arpeggios, along with a few idiosyncratic variations and some chimes (harmonics).
Bill Monroe’s version of the traditional song “John Henry” was recorded in 1954, with Jimmy Martin, Rudy Lyle, Ernie Newton, and Charlie Cline. Monroe’s solo on the fast tune starts with octave G’s and a syncopated sixteenth-eighth-sixteenth rhythm, which recurs in places throughout the rhythmic solo.
You’ll learn three solos from Bill Monroe’s 1954 recording of “White House Blues” in this lesson. The song was played at a very fast tempo in the key of B, and Monroe’s solos combine closed-position licks with open strings, creating some bluesy, jagged lines.
Bill Monroe’s instrumental “Pike County Breakdown” was based on the old folk song “Sweet Betsy from Pike.” Mike has transcribed five pages of Monroe’s solos on “Pike County Breakdown” for you, but instead of walking you through everything note by note, he shows you the first two solos, which are played in open position, and one that moves up into a position up the neck.
Bill Monroe’s instrumental version of the traditional song “Get Up John” is in open-D tuning, F#A DD AA AD, which gives the tune its distinctive sound. Mike’s transcription of Monroe’s 1953 recording includes a number of variations. The C part is mostly played on the lowest string set and Monroe plays three versions of this part. You’ll learn the A and B parts and all three variations on the C part.
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. It’s a waltz in the key of A with a triplet feel, which means that each beat of the 3/4 measure has an underlying triplet feel. You’ll learn Monroe’s 1954 solo on “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight” in this lesson.
The solos Bill Monroe played on his 1954 recording of “Happy on My Way” are good examples of his “gospel vocabulary,” in which he rarely plays the melody of the song and uses many of the same phrases he plays in other gospel songs. “Happy on My Way” is in the key of A, and you’ll learn both of Monroe’s 1954 solos in this lesson.
Bill Monroe recorded the gospel song “Working on a Building” a number of times. This fiery version is from his 1954 recording and is in the key of A. You’ll learn two solos in this lesson. The first is mostly played in open position, with a lot of open strings, downstrokes, and Monroe’s signature syncopated 16th–8th–16th rhythm, while the second solo is all in second position, out of the A chop chord, and has a lot of chromatic sliding notes and quirky syncopated phrases.
“Close By” is another of Bill Monroe’s 1954 recordings. It’s in the key of A, and Bill’s solo is mostly in closed positions, with a lot of tremolo and downstroke phrases, as well as a couple of triplets.
This solo comes from Bill Monroe’s second recording of “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” which he cut after Elvis Presley had a huge hit with the song. It’s a short solo, partly because the fiddles were becoming more prominent in the arrangements, so Bill wasn’t playing as many solos. The solo features tremolo in triplets, which can also be heard in his solo for “Sitting Alone in the Moonlight.”
Bill Monroe’s December 31, 1954 recording featured three fiddle-oriented instrumentals: “Wheel Hoss,” “Cheyenne,” and “Roanoke,” with Charlie Cline and Bobby Hicks on fiddles. All three tunes are bluegrass jam session favorites, with “Wheel Hoss” possibly the most popular. Bill played the melody of “Wheel Hoss” in a few different ways, making slight variations each time. You’ll learn the way he played it on the recording in this lesson, starting with the A part, which Bill plays three times, instead of the standard four times. In the B section of the 1954 recording of “Wheel Hoss,” Bill added an extra beat to the third measure, making it a bar of 5/4, which includes a chime. As if to make up for the extra beat in measure three of the B section, Bill drops a beat in the seventh measure.
Bill Monroe’s instrumental tune “Cheyenne” is in the key of G minor and Bb. On the original recording Bill only took a solo on the first part, which is in G minor, leaving the second part to the fiddler. Monroe’s solo includes some 32nd-note “spasms” at the ends of lines, every one of which is different. He also plays a C double stop against the D chord that the band is playing, and occasionally plays B naturals against the G minor chord.
“You’ll Find Her Name Written There” was the one song recorded at Bill Monroe’s December 31, 1954 recording, along with the instrumentals “Wheel Hoss,” “Cheyenne,” and “Roanoke.” Monroe only played a half solo, which consists of a lot of tremolo double stops in the key of G, along with a couple of typical Monroe key-of-G single-note licks. Mike walks you through the short solo, and also plays a Monroe solo from a mid-1960s live recording.
You’ll learn two solos and the intro from Bill Monroe’s 1955 recording of “Let the Light Shine Down” in this lesson. It’s in the key of D and Monroe uses a lot of his gospel vocabulary, following the chord changes but not the melody.
“Roanoke” is the final tune in the trio of instrumentals that Bill Monroe recorded on December 31, 1954. Monroe only played the intro and A parts of “Roanoke” in this recording, but in this lesson Mike includes a transcription of a solo Monroe played on a 1960s live recording that includes both parts. Monroe’s playing of the fiddle tune–like melody varies nearly every time he plays it. For example sometimes the first line is an arpeggio and sometimes almost a complete scale.
Bill Monroe recorded “Used to Be” in September 1955. His solo is on the beginning and end of the form, with the fiddles playing the middle section, so Mike fills in the middle section with some of Monroe’s typical phrases. The song is in the key of C and Monroe’s solo features strong, even tremolo and a few ragtimey sounding phrases.
“Tall Timber” is Bill Monroe’s version of the old-time fiddle tune “Katy Hill.” It was recorded in September 1955 with fiddlers Gordon Terry and Tommy Jackson. Mike shows you the half solo Bill played on the original recording as well as a complete solo from a later live recording with Peter Rowan, Lamar Grier, and Richard Greene from the mid-1960s.
Bill Monroe recorded “The Prisoner’s Song” in 1951 with a studio band that included electric guitar, piano, and drums. The mandolin solo is one of Monroe’s oddest and most characteristic, with some strange chromatic runs played with tremolo. The recording wasn’t released at the time, as the record company considered it a little too far out for a commercial release. Mike plays through the solo and talks about what he thinks Monroe was thinking about when he played it.
“Brown County Breakdown” is another of Bill Monroe’s triple fiddle tunes, recorded in September 1955, by Monroe and also by fiddler Kenny Baker in 1976 for his album Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, with Monroe on mandolin. It’s a three-part tune in the key of E, and while Monroe played all three parts on Kenny Baker Plays Bill Monroe, he only played the third part on his original recording. The version you’ll learn here comes from a live recording in which Monroe plays all three parts.
Bill Monroe recorded “A Good Woman’s Love” in May 1957, in another session with triple fiddles. Monroe plays a sparse melody-oriented half solo in the key of G, with “little bitty” intro notes followed by long metered-tremolo melody notes.
Bill Monroe recorded the Jimmy C. Newman song “Cry, Cry Darlin’” in May 1957 with Don Stover on banjo, Bessie Lee Mauldin on bass, and Gordon Terry, Joe Stuart, and Dale Potter on fiddles. As on “Good Woman’s Love,” Bill only played a half solo. It’s in the key of A and the solo is played out of the A chop-chord position, with a lot of triplet phrases used to set up tremoloed long notes.
Bill Monroe recorded “I’m Sitting on Top of the World” in 1957 in the unusual key of C#, using chop chord positions at the ninth fret. Monroe’s solo features his favored sixteenth–eighth–sixteenth rhythmic pattern in many places as well as an unusual half-measure of eighth-note triplets.
“Out in the Cold World” is another of Bill Monroe’s 1957 triple-fiddle songs. Monroe’s solo, like “I’m Sitting on Top of the World,” is played up the neck in chop-chord position, this time in the key of C, with the middle finger at the eighth fret. It includes 16th-note triplets, a lot of syncopation, and some odd arpeggios that combine open strings with fretted notes up the neck
Bill Monroe recorded “In Despair” in 1957, the day after he recorded “Out in the Cold World.” For “In Despair” he tunes his mandolin to F#A DD AA EE, which is reminiscent of his tuning on “Get Up, John” and the song is played in the key of D. Bill’s solo begins with triplet tremolo for three measures.
Bill Monroe recorded “Come Back to Me in My Dreams” in 1957. It’s a waltz in the key of B, and Monroe’s solo uses straight tremolo and downstroke melodies played out of chop-chord positions.
Bill Monroe’s 1957 solo on “Brand New Shoes” (also known as “Breaking in a Brand New Pair of Shoes”) is in the key of A and is played out of open position with all downstrokes. It includes a lot of hammers and slurs, and many of the thirds and sevenths are natural instead of sharped (C’s and G’s instead of C#’s and G#’s), giving it more of a blues feel.
Bill Monroe recorded Hank Williams’s “I Saw the Light” in 1958 at a gospel session without fiddles or banjos, just Edd Mayfield on guitar, Bessie Lee Mauldin on bass, and Monroe on mandolin, of course. Monroe’s first solo uses his gospel vocabulary in B chop-chord position.
“I’ve Found a Hiding Place” was recorded by Bill Monroe in May, 1958 with just Edd Mayfield on guitar. Monroe’s solo is on a clipped version of the chorus form. It’s in the key of E and is mostly played out of chop chord positions, but it includes a distinctive passage where Monroe alternates notes in the chop chord position with open strings.
“Jesus Hold My Hand” is another of the gospel songs recorded at the 1958 sessions where Monroe was accompanied only by guitar and backup vocals. Monroe’s solo uses his key-of-A gospel vocabulary with a lot of unison E notes over the chord changes and some syncopated phrases.
Bill Monroe recorded “I Am a Pilgrim” at his 1958 gospel sessions. He didn’t play a full chorus solo, just turnarounds between the verses and a half solo, which you’ll learn here. The song is in B, and the solo is played out of the B chop-chord position.
Bill Monroe’s first solo on his 1958 recording of Hank Williams’s gospel song “House of Gold” is one of Mike’s favorites, with huge tone and a straightforward approach. It’s in the key of A and illustrates Bill’s self-confessed “short notes leading up to long notes, little bitty notes leading up to big notes” soloing style.
The twin-fiddle instrumental “Panhandle Country” was recorded in April 1958 with Kenny Baker and Bobby Hicks on fiddles. On this recording, Monroe just plays a half solo consisting of the B parts of the tune, which you’ll learn in this lesson. “Panhandle Country” is in the key of C, and Monroe plays the solo in open position.
“Scotland” is another multiple fiddle tune and was recorded at the same session as “Panhandle Country.” It’s 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, playing the second part first, followed by the first part. He plays the solo out of the A chop-chord position but with lots of open strings.
Bill Monroe’s December 1, 1958 recording of “Gotta Travel On” is in the key of D and Monroe plays the solo in open position, with a lot of big chords and ringing open strings. The mandolin sound is very different from many of Monroe’s recordings, and one reason is that he played an oval-hole mandolin on this session.
Bill Monroe’s “No One But My Darlin’” was recorded in December 1958 and includes one of his most iconic solos, which bookends Bobby Hicks’s fiddle solo.
“Big Mon” is one of Bill Monroe’s most popular original instrumentals, a fiddle tune in A with three parts, although these days most people just play two parts. In Monroe’s solo in the original 1958 version he just plays the first two parts, but starts with the B part.
“Monroe’s Hornpipe” is a fast fiddle tune in the key of A and was first recorded at the same December 1958 session as “Big Mon.”
Bill Monroe recorded the Wilma Lee Cooper song “Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone” in January 1959. His solo is short, splitting a chorus with the banjo, and is played out of B chop-chord position, with some of Monroe’s favorite phrases, a lot of downstrokes, and some tricky pinky maneuvers.
“Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day” was recorded at the same 1959 session as “Tomorrow I’ll Be Gone.” In fact, the two songs were released as the A side on an Extended Play (EP) 45. Monroe plays a memorable half solo on the bridge between two twin-fiddle solos. The solo includes triplets, slides, hammer-ons, and tremolo.
The instrumental tune “Stoney Lonesome” was named after a town down the road from Bill Monroe’s park in Bean Blossom, Indiana. It was originally recorded in January 1959 and featured triple fiddles. Bill only recorded the first part of the tune, but he played all three parts later on a live workshop tape that Mike has transcribed.
“Lonesome Wind Blues” was written by Wayne Raney and recorded by Bill Monroe in November 1959 with Benny Martin and Dale Potter on twin fiddles, Jack Cooke on guitar, Bessie Lee Mauldin on bass, and Joe Drumright on banjo. Bill plays a half solo, with a lot of his typical key-of-G bluesy phrases, slides, and arpeggios. He also talks about what Bill might have played on a full solo.
“Thinking About You” was recorded at the same November 1959 session as “Lonesome Wind Blues” with Dale Potter on fiddle. Bill Monroe just plays a short intro on the recording so Mike has created a Monroe-style solo based on Bill’s solo and the melody of “Thinking About You.”
Bill Monroe recorded the Marty Robbins song “Come Go With Me” on November 5, 1959. His solo is only six bars long, because Monroe dropped out so that fiddler Dale Potter could finish the solo, but Mike adds two bars of his own devising to the solo so you’ll have a complete solo to play. Monroe’s recorded solo includes 32nd-note tremolo, some chromatic lines, and slides.
“Sold Down the River” was recorded by Bill Monroe on November 30, 1960. The song was written by Vaughn Horton, who also wrote “Muleskinner Blues,” “Sugar Foot Rag,” and pop and R&B songs like “Mockingbird Hill” and “Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” as well as the Christmas classic “Jolly Old St. Nicholas.” Monroe plays “Sold Down the River” in Bb, and in his solo he plays out of the Bb, Eb, and F chord shapes, ignoring the melody notes but phrasing his solo along with the vocal
“Linda Lou” was written by Carl Butler, who played guitar on this recording and all of Bill Monroe’s November and December 1960 sessions. “Linda Lou” is a waltz in the key of G. There is no mandolin solo on the recording, so Mike wrote one that follows the melody and uses a lot of Monroe’s typical phrases in the key of G.
“You Live in a World All Your Own” is one of Monroe’s original songs and was recorded in November 1960. The first part of Monroe’s solo focuses on the rhythmic aspect of the melody instead of the melody notes, and the second half uses a lot of Monroe’s typical vocabulary in the key of B.
“Little Joe” is another of the songs Bill Monroe recorded in November 1960. It was originally published in 1866 as “The Death of Little Joe.” Bill’s 1960 recording is quite a bit different than the Monroe Brothers version from 1938, with almost a Latin feel on his solo and some of his typical chordal runs in the key of D.
The mournful waltz “Seven Year Blues” was written by Ira and Charlie Louvin (the Louvin Brothers) and Eddie Hill. Bill Monroe recorded it in December 1960 in the key of F, and his solo is one of Mike’s favorites. It includes triplet intros into sliding double stops and a couple of tricky slides.
Bill Monroe recorded the western swing song “Time Changes Everything” (written by Tommy Duncan and made famous by Duncan’s recording with Bob Wills) in December, 1960. Bill’s solo makes you wonder if he thought the title was “Timing Changes Everything.” It’s unlike anything he ever recorded. In the first six bars, Bill strums chord shapes, some of which are rather odd, and he finishes the solo with two bars of his typical key-of-G phrases.
Bill Monroe recorded “Lonesome Road Blues” in 1960, and his solo includes some of his classic “slidy” licks.
Bill Monroe recorded Johnny Cash’s hit song “Big River” in December 1960. It’s in the key of D but Bill plays a lot of open G notes under the D chords. Mike shows you what Bill played and then walks you through the solo, giving you some less dissonant options to play.
Bill Monroe first recorded “It’s Mighty Dark to Travel” in 1947 with Lester Flatt and Earl Scrugges. His December 1960 rerecording features Curtis McPeake on banjo, Dale Potter on fiddle, and a Monroe solo that owes less to the melody than the earlier version.
The rockabilly blues instrumental “Blue Grass Twist” (also called “Blue Grass, Part 1” on some albums) was recorded on December 3, 1960. Monroe plays three double solos back to back, for six solos in all. In this lesson, you’ll learn the first two solos. Throughout these solos Bill uses a lot of triplets and slides as well as hammer-ons and pull-offs, the latter of which was new for Bill. Monroe’s exuberance manifests itself in the presence of several complex measures with a combination of slides and 32nd notes where one might expect a sparser rendition. There is also a more modern rewrite of one of Bill’s “stock” endings using flatted fifths, flatted thirds, and slides, as well as triplets, as seen in measures 23, 48, and 52.
In this lesson, you’ll learn sections C and D of Bill Monroe’s 1960 recording of “Blue Grass Twist.” At the beginning of Section C, Bill pulls his E string off the edge of the fingerboard while fretting a G note, which produces a Bb in addition to the G, because of a faulty fret at the fifth fret. Mike teaches the solo straight instead of trying to reproduce the extra notes.
In this lesson, you’ll learn sections E and F (the last two parts) of Bill Monroe’s 1960 recording of “Blue Grass Twist.” The first seven bars of section E of “Bluegrass Twist” are played with 32nd-note tremolo, so Mike’s transcription is somewhat approximate as it is difficult to notate exactly.
Bill Monroe recorded “Little Maggie” on November 9, 1961, with Curtis McPeake (banjo), Jimmy Maynard (guitar), Bessie Lee Mauldin (bass), and Vassar Clements and Buddy Spicher on fiddles. The solo is played in fifth position with a lot of closed-chord arpeggios. Monroe uses a lot of his favorite sixteenth–eighth–sixteenth rhythms throughout and there are slurred triplets in measures 3 and 7. It’s in the key of B, but Bill uses a lot of open strings without regard for the key, with some open D and G strings.
Bill Monroe’s November 9, 1961 recording of “Toy Heart” is quite a departure in key and style from his original recording in 1946. The blues is quoted more in this version, which is in the key of E, and flatted thirds abound. Monroe also plays open A strings against the E chord. The solo seems to be based more on the rhythmic content (phrasing) of the melody than the actual notes of the melody.
Bill Monroe recorded this version of “Shady Grove” on November 10, 1961 with Curtis McPeake (banjo), Jimmy Maynard (guitar), Bessie Lee Mauldin (bass), and Benny Williams on fiddle. Bill’s solo is primarily played in second position in C. Chord voicings toggle between the root at the third and eighth frets. The melodic content in no way mirrors the sung vocal but is nevertheless a light-hearted and light-handed melodic frolic. There are sixteenth–eighth–sixteenth rhythms in measure 5 and slides in measure 6.
Bill Monroe’s 1961 version of “Nine Pound Hammer” is in the key of C, and is the most raucous of his recordings of “Nine Pound Hammer.” Downstrokes predominantly carry the load in Monroe’s solo, which leans heavily on chord forms for the body of the melody, with single-string lines on the turnarounds.
The Wiley Walker and Gene Sullivan song “Live and Let Live” was recorded by Bill Monroe on November 10, 1961, with Buddy Spicher and Vassar Clements on fiddles, Curtis McPeake on banjo, Bessie Lee Mauldin on bass, and Jimmy Maynard on guitar. It’s in the key of C, and Monroe’s solo is primarily played with 32nd-note tremolo throughout except for the last couple of measures where Bill does one of his signature downstroke endings.
Bill Monroe recorded the Ernest Tubb song “Journey’s End” on November 30, 1961, with Tony Ellis, Benny Williams, Bessie Lee Mauldin, Buddy Spicher, and Bobby Joe Lester. The solo (in the key of C) is one of Mike’s all-time favorites. Monroe plays it with a light touch and the solo has a raggy sound, with some E–Eb lines in measures one and five and sixteenth–eighth–sixteenth rhythm figures in measures one, three, and five.
The old folk song “John Hardy” was the first of three instrumentals that Bill Monroe recorded on December 4, 1961. (The other two were “Bugle Call Rag” and “Old Joe Clark.”) There are two solos, both of which have similar elements. There’s a slight Latin feel to Bill’s rendition due to his use of upstroke ties from one beat to the next, often using versions of the sixteenth–eighth–sixteenth rhythm.
Bill Monroe recorded the banjo instrumental “Bugle Call Rag” on December 4, 1961. It’s in the key of G and Bill plays two distinctly different eight-bar solos. The first follows a familiar thought process for running lines over the chord changes with a lot of arpeggiated 16th-note phrases. The second solo is on the zany side with an initial blast featuring three-note chord forms followed by a setup into an arpeggiated ride beginning at the V chord from third position D all the way up to the A and E strings at seventh position.
