In this video, I show you a good melody etude for improving your mandolin technique. It’s a 4 note melodic sequence that is coming from the tune Big Sciota. Playing an exercise like this will improve both your fretting hand and picking hand technique.
In Mandolin Secrets Academy...
In this video, Hayes Griffin plays a traditional tune from his home region called Big Sciota. This tune is a standard in old time and bluegrass circles, and increased in popularity after it was recorded by Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, and Edgar Meyer on their album “Skip, Hop, and...
In this video, I show you an arpeggio etude to expand your knowledge of the fretboard. We’re playing the same major arpeggio, 1-2-3-5, for all major chords, back cycling through the circle of fifths. Sheet music/tabs and audio version for this etude you’ll find in Mandolin...
In this video, I show how I play the octave mandolin accompaniment for Murphy’s Hornpipe. It’s a traditional Irish tune I learned 17 years ago but still love to play it.
For this accompaniment, I focus on playing a strong baseline.
It suits this tune well with its...
In this video, I play a duo arrangement of a traditional Irish tune on mandolin and octave mandolin. I learned it 17 years ago but still love to play it, it’s called Murphy’s Hornpipe. When playing the melody I play a lot of triplets.
I recommend you to do that as well as it is a very...
In this video, I show you how to play the triplets ornament in fiddle tunes. By playing this etude we will focus on the picking directions and develop control and awareness of the up and down strokes.
In Mandolin Secrets Academy you’ll find:
- Sheet music/tabs
- Audio Version
In this video I show you how to play Nuages by Django Reinhardt. This is a very beautiful and classic tune in the Gypsy Jazz repertoire that I love to play. For the melody there is lot of options for fingerings and picking directions and there is no right or wrong, use my suggestion as a guide....
In this video, I show you how to make the CHOP for the new grass chords. It’s a technique I learned from listening to players like Sam Bush, Chris Thile and Wayne Benson. You can use it it a variety of different ways and music styles.
In this video I show you how to play the three chord inversions for any 3-string chord on the mandolin. Study this and learn how to find any major chord on the entire fretboard. It's not a complicated but very powerful skill!
This lesson is a sample of one of the things you will learn in ...
In this video I give you three good exercises to improve the strength of your pinky. Some mechanical finger busters, a scale exercise in closed position and melody playing without using open strings.
In this video I show you how I play new grass chords in the style of Sam Bush. I demonstrate it for Cherokee Shuffle that is a cool old-time tune in the key of A-major. It´s an easy-going melody with a forward-moving chord progression.
I like to play the chop chords with a new grass...
In this video, I show you some open string studies I’ve learned from the great Mike Marshall. It’s an essential technique builder for all mandolin players.
This is wonderful stuff that will put all awareness into your picking hand and improve your tone, precision,...
