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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Old-Time Mandolin

with John Reischman

Intermediate

• 42 Lessons

• 40 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Irish Mandolin

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Gypsy Jazz Mandolin Essentials

with Aaron Weinstein

Intermediate

• 17 Lessons

• 16 Tunes

Learn to play swing and jazz mandolin from scratch, with a step-by-step method for learning swing chord voicings, as well as simple, swingin’, melody-based solos for some of the most popular songs in the jazz and swing repertoire. Designed for newcomers to playing jazz and swing.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Monroe-Style Mandolin

with Mike Compton

Intermediate / Advanced

• 111 Lessons

• 104 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

The Advancing Mandolinist

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 125 Lessons

• 123 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Chord Melody Mandolin

with Aaron Weinstein

Advanced

• 70 Lessons

• 57 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Weekly Mandolin Workout

with Ethan Setiawan

Intermediate / Advanced

• 11 Lessons

• 5 Tunes

This series of workouts will help mandolinists learn the fingerboard, strengthen and increase the dexterity of their fingers, and expand their knowledge of chord and scale theory, with advice on picking and fretting techniques.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Swing and Jazz Mandolin

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 23 Lessons

• 19 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Octave Mandolin

with Joe K. Walsh

Intermediate / Advanced

• 43 Lessons

• 41 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Brazilian Choro Mandolin

with Ian Coury

Intermediate / Advanced

• 25 Lessons

• 22 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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

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.

Course Details

Sample Lesson

Live Workshop

Creative Mandolin Backup

with Sharon Gilchrist

Intermediate

Sharon Gilchrist’s Creative Mandolin Backup workshop is designed for intermediate-level mandolinists who want to develop their rhythm and backup beyond the basic mandolin chord forms and chop or boom-chick rhythm. With easy-to-grasp applied theory concepts and instruction in using chord inversions.

Live Workshop Details

Mandolin Performances

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John Reischman, Ethan Setiawan, Mike Compton, and Kenny Smith: “Turkey in the Straw”

Three Peghead Nation mandolin instructors play a bluegrass classic at Great Lakes Music Camp.

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Charlie Torch: “Red Rocking Chair”

Peghead Nation fiddle instructor Chad Manning plays a traditional song with his band that includes siblings Jasper and Jayda Manning, Tyler Stengall, and Mark Schatz.

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Aaron Weinstein: “A Foggy Day”

Our jazz mandolin instructor plays a great two-mandolin arrangement of the Gershwin song “A Foggy Day.”

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Peghead Nation’s 10th Anniversary | We Want to Hear from You

We’d love to hear what you’ve learned on Peghead Nation. Record a video of your playing and share it with us on our social media channels to help celebrate our 10th!

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Mr Sun: “Blackbird” | Peghead Nation Exclusive

The virtuosic four-piece that includes Peghead instructors Joe K. Walsh and Grant Gordy showcases their playful arrangement of a Beatles classic.

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Ethan Setiawan and Louise Bichan: “Elk River Blues”

Peghead Nation mandolin instructor plays a beautiful tune with fiddler and duo partner in Hildland, Louise Bichan.

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Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway: “Crooked Tree”

The flatpicker, songwriter, and singer performs the title track to her Grammy-winning album at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California.

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Compton and Newberry: “Jenny Lynn”

Our Monroe-Style Mandolin instructor Mike Compton plays a Bill Monroe classic with his duo partner, Joe Newberry.

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Compton and Newberry: “Death and Blues”

Mike Compton plays a powerful original song with his long-time duo partner Joe Newberry.

Mandolin Demos

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Northfield Flat Top Octave

Peghead Nation co-founder Dan Gabel and instructor Joe K. Walsh demonstrate Northfield’s popular octave mandolin.

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Eight Mandolin Picks

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

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Shubb Fine Tune Capo on Octave Mandolin

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

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Flynn Cohen’s Mandolin Setup

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

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The Brazilian Mandolin

Peghead Nation’s Brazilian Choro Mandolin instructor Ian Coury demonstrates eight-string and ten-string mandolins and discusses their roles in Brazilian music.

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Pedro Santos Ten-String Bandolim

Peghead Nation’s Brazilian Choro Mandolin instructor Ian Coury demonstrates his main instrument and talks about the history of the mandolin in Brazilian music.