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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
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
with John Reischman
 
Intermediate
• 37 Lessons
• 35 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.
 
 
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.
 
 
with Aaron Weinstein
 
Intermediate
• 10 Lessons
• 9 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.
 
 
with Mike Compton
 
Intermediate / Advanced
• 104 Lessons
• 100 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.
 
 
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.
 
 
with Joe K. Walsh
 
Intermediate / Advanced
• 118 Lessons
• 116 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.
 
 
with Aaron Weinstein
 
Advanced
• 63 Lessons
• 53 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.
 
 
with Joe K. Walsh
 
Intermediate / Advanced
• 16 Lessons
• 14 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.
 
 
with Joe K. Walsh
 
Intermediate / Advanced
• 40 Lessons
• 38 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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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
 
 
 
Peghead Nation Irish Mandolin instructor joins former Solas members John Doyle and Mick McAuley for an impromptu set of tunes.
 
 
 
Peghead Naiton mandolin instructor and his longtime collaborator play a classic standard in the studio.
 
 
 
Peghead Nation instructor plays an old-time tune on the shore of Lake Michigan.
 
 
 
Mandolin Demos
 
 
 
Peghead Nation co-founder Dan Gabel and instructor Joe K. Walsh demonstrate Northfield’s popular octave mandolin.
 
 
 
Joe K. Walsh demonstrates eight of his favorite picks, including picks from Apollo, Bluebird, BlueChip, D’Andrea, and Wegen.
 
 
 
Joe K. Walsh demonstrates using Shubb’s yoke-style capo on a Northfield octave mandolin.
 
 
 
Browse By Instrument
 
 
 
 
 
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Peghead Partners
 
Touchstone Signature | Bourgeois Guitars
Available in Dreadnought and OM formats, the latest pair of Touchstone guitars feature Madagascar rosewood back and sides.
 
 
 
 
 
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    ● Courses
    ● Live Workshops
    ● Instructors
    ● Sample Lessons
    ● Notation Guide
    ● For Beginners
 
 
    ● Vintage Vault
    ● New Gear
    ● Fine Lutherie
 
 
    ● Workshops
    ● Advice
    ● Repertoire
 
 
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    ● Breaking News
 
 
    ● In The Studio
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© Copyright 2020 PegheadNation.com