Bill Monroe’s Rhythm Style

from: Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton

This lesson is part of the course Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton.

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Learn traditional bluegrass-style mandolin as exemplified by the father of bluegrass, Bill Monroe, with original transcribed solos and tips on reproducing Monroe’s sound, rhythm, and feel.

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TENNESSEE BLUES

Learn the “fancy high part” (all the way up the 15th fret) of “Tennessee Blues” in this video. Mike takes it apart phrase by phrase, showing you the best way to finger the high notes. You’ll also learn the shorter A section, which features sliding double stops up the neck, and some variations on the regular A section. (For full transcription, see Part 1.)

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Bill Monroe’s Rhythm Style

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. In this video, Mike talks about Monroe’s rhythm playing, including his playing in the early days of his career when he 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 and letting it lay back, and how Monroe played with more rhythmic variety in some later recordings.

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Traditional Bluegrass Tremolo →

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← Mike Compton’s 2002 Gilchrist F-5

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Traditional Bluegrass Tremolo →