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Mandolin Courses

Whether you're just starting out or have been playing mandolin for years, Peghead Nation has courses to help you develop your eight-string prowess. From beginning to advanced mandolin lessons with some of the finest mandolinists in roots music, you can delve into bluegrass, old-time, Irish, and other styles, building your repertoire of tunes and filling out your toolbox of techniques as you go. See introduction videos of all of our mandolin courses below, and check out free sample lessons as well. Enjoy!

Available Mandolin Courses

Beginning Mandolin

with Sharon Gilchrist

Beginner

• 27 Lessons

• 16 Tunes

Get started off right on the mandolin, with basic techniques, scales and chords, and simple and popular bluegrass and old-time tunes to play. Includes downloadable Play-Along audio practice tracks for rhythm and melody on all tunes, advice on embellishing melodies and playing tremolo, and more.

Theory for Mandolin and Fiddle

with Chad Manning

Beginner / Intermediate

• 43 Lessons

• 6 Tunes

Learn the basics of music theory as it relates to four-string instruments tuned in fifths. Chad’s practical approach will deepen your knowledge of chords, scales, and arpeggios, and help you integrate them into your playing.

Bluegrass Mandolin Fingerboard Method

with Sharon Gilchrist

Intermediate

• 23 Lessons

• 21 Tunes

Learn to play solos to any bluegrass song in any key with Sharon's intermediate-level method for learning the fingerboard, based on arpeggios, chop-chord shapes, and double stops.

Bluegrass Mandolin Jam Favorites

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate

• 58 Lessons

• 57 Tunes

Learn the essential instrumental tunes you’ll encounter at bluegrass jam sessions everywhere. Designed for intermediate level mandolinists, with tunes, techniques, and solos from mandolin greats.

Old-Time Mandolin

with John Reischman

Intermediate

• 31 Lessons

• 29 Tunes

Learn to play old-time fiddle tunes and song melodies with mandolin master John Reischman. Includes advice on picking technique and playing old-time rhythm on the mandolin.

Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin

with Sharon Gilchrist

Intermediate / Advanced

• 77 Lessons

• 58 Tunes

Learn to play solos on classic bluegrass songs and instrumentals using bluegrass mandolin techniques like tremolo, double stops, two-string melodies, and more.

with Marla Fibish

Intermediate / Advanced

• 89 Lessons

• 81 Tunes

Learn traditional Irish mandolin, with an emphasis on playing the dance music of Ireland with an authentic Irish feel and rhythm.

Monroe-Style Mandolin

with Mike Compton

Intermediate / Advanced

• 98 Lessons

• 94 Tunes

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.

Melodic Mandolin Tunes

with John Reischman

Intermediate / Advanced

• 64 Lessons

• 61 Tunes

Learn great traditional and original tunes in a variety of styles—old-time, bluegrass, Latin, jazz, and more—from a modern mandolin master.

The Advancing Mandolinist

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 112 Lessons

• 110 Tunes

Explore all the modern mandolin techniques, from tremolo, chords and double stops, and soloing and improvisation tips, with plenty of bluegrass, old-time and swing tunes to keep you moving forward.

Chord Melody Mandolin

with Aaron Weinstein

Advanced

• 57 Lessons

• 47 Tunes

Learn how to combine chords and melody to play jazz standards in the style pioneered by jazz mandolinist Jethro Burns and guitarists like Joe Pass and Bucky Pizzarelli.

Swing and Jazz Mandolin

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 10 Lessons

• 9 Tunes

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.

Octave Mandolin

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 34 Lessons

• 32 Tunes

Learn to transfer what you know on the mandolin to its bigger cousin and how to exploit the octave mandolin’s potential for more complex, guitar-oriented accompaniment styles. For intermediate mandolin, fiddle, or guitar players with a basic knowledge of their instrument.

Melodic Embellishment

with Sharon Gilchrist

Intermediate

• 9 Lessons

• 7 Tunes

In this workshop, Sharon will use common bluegrass and old-time tunes like “Old Joe Clark,” “Whiskey Before Breakfast,” “June Apple,” “Angeline the Baker,” and more to demonstrate her method for teaching students how to embellish and vary melodies as a way to begin to improvise.

Brazilian Choro Mandolin

with Ian Coury

Intermediate / Advanced

• 19 Lessons

• 16 Tunes

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.

Improvising for Mandolin and Fiddle

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 9 Lessons

• 8 Tunes

Learn to improvise on fiddle tunes, create new melodies over chord changes, practice the arpeggios and scales you need to play jazz tunes, and more. Joe lays out his approach to improvising and practicing improvising, with exercises and solos that illustrate his unique, widely acclaimed, freewheeling style.

Swing Mandolin: Rhythm and Chord Solos

with Aaron Weinstein

Intermediate

• 9 Lessons

• 8 Tunes

Learn to play swing rhythm mandolin and how to create rhythmic chord solos, using eight classic jazz and swing tunes, with one of the world’s greatest swing mandolinists, Aaron Weinstein.

Mandolin Performances

Featured Videos

Mike Compton: “Avalon Blues”

Peghead Nation mandolin instructor plays a solo version of a tune by 1930s string band Narmour and Smith.

Featured Videos

Joe K. Walsh and Grant Gordy: “Little White Lies”

Peghead Nation mandolin instructor plays a great standard with his long-time musical collaborator in the Peghead Nation studio.

Featured Videos

Joe K. Walsh, John Mailander, Todd Phillips, Paul Kowert: “Egypt”

An all-star band plays an iconic composition at Great Lakes Music Camp.

Mandolin Demos

Featured Videos

Eight Mandolin Picks

Joe K. Walsh demonstrates eight of his favorite picks, including picks from Apollo, Bluebird, BlueChip, D’Andrea, and Wegen.

Featured Videos

Shubb Fine Tune Capo on Octave Mandolin

Joe K. Walsh demonstrates using Shubb’s yoke-style capo on a Northfield octave mandolin.

Featured Videos

Flynn Cohen’s Mandolin Setup

Peghead Nation instructor demonstrates the Northfield F5S and other gear that he uses on tour.

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© Copyright 2020 PegheadNation.com

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Sign In

● Courses

● Live Workshops

● Instructors

● Sample Lessons

● Play-along Tracks

● Notation Guide

● For Beginners

Instruments & Gear

● Instrument Demos

● Vintage Vault

● New Gear

● Fine Lutherie

● Workshops

● Advice

● Repertoire

● Recordings

● Events

● Breaking News

Featured Videos

● In The Studio

● Live Onstage

● Backroom

● New Products

● Inside Look

● Performances

● Partner Pages

© Copyright 2020 PegheadNation.com