Peghead Nation’s Chord Melody Mandolin instructor Aaron Weinstein took over our Facebook feed for an hour in June from his apartment in Manhattan. He fielded some great questions from the students in his Peghead Nation course on topics ranging from his pick technique to playing in positions up-the-neck to playing rhythm in an ensemble setting. As always, Aaron gave us deep but accessible answers on some potentially complicated topics, and he played a few beautiful examples to illustrate his points. Watch the whole session here.

We have a virtual tip jar set up for Aaron, so please feel free to contribute if you can.

AARON’S TIP JAR

 ABOUT AARON WEINSTEIN

Called “a perfect musician” by jazz guitar legend, Bucky Pizzarelli, Aaron Weinstein is a respected violinist and mandolinist, widely regarded as one of the mandolin’s leading exponents in the jazz idiom, and author of the jazz mandolin book Mandolin Chord Melody System (Mel Bay Publications).

As a featured soloist, Aaron has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Blue Note, as well as at jazz festivals in England, France, Iceland, Israel, and Switzerland. He has performed and recorded with an array of jazz icons including Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, as well as musicians as varied as New York Pops conductor Skitch Henderson and rock guitarist Jay Geils. He has written arrangements for vocalists such as Christine Ebersole, Linda Lavin, and the Manhattan Transfer’s Janis Siegel. Aaron is a recipient of both the New York City Bistro and New York City Nightlife Awards.

Aaron is a graduate of the Berklee College of Music, where he was awarded a full four-year talent-based scholarship. He was recently named as one of Downbeat’s Rising Stars in the venerable publication’s 2019 critic’s poll, and his recent album, called 3×3, features Aaron on violin, Peghead Nation instructor Matt Munisteri on guitar, and Tom Hubbard on bass, and is the perfect illustration of the beauty of simplicity.

Politically, Aaron is a bow-tie rights activist, and he lives in New York City.

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