New Lessons for April 2026

New Lessons, Tunes, and Techniques from Peghead Nation's Master Teachers

By: Dan Gabel

April 1, 2026

Peghead Nation instructors have released hours of new instruction in their courses, and here are the tunes and lessons we’ve just published for April 2026. Join us in any course and get your first month free. Just use promo code Learn26 at checkout!

GUITAR COURSES

Irish Guitar with John Doyle

Key of A Chords: John continues his tour of dropped-D tuning for reels with a deep dive into the key of A. He shows you the basic chord forms and some more advanced voicings to build several backup patterns for “The Black-Haired Lass.”

Contemporary Flatpicking Guitar with Grant Gordy

Reharmonizing a Standard: This month Grant transforms Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” from an upbeat folk anthem into a brooding meditation. You’ll learn some basic substitutions and other strategies for reharmonizing the song.

Irish Flatpicking Guitar with Flynn Cohen

Give Us a Drink of Water: Flynn walks you phrase-by-phrase through a mighty slip jig (9/8) in the key of Am that was made famous by the Bothy Band. Along the way, he shows you the ornaments you’ll need to give it an idiomatically correct feel.

Western Swing Guitar with Matt Munisteri

“San Antonio Rose” Chord Melody: In these lessons, you’ll learn a chord-melody arrangement for the complete AABA form of the song in the key of A♭, plus a variation for the final A section inspired by the way a steel guitarist might play it.

MANDOLIN COURSES

Weekly Mandolin Workout with Ethan Setiawan

The Key of D: This month’s lesson gives you a kit bag of tools for playing in the key of D. You’ll learn basic, extended, and pentatonic scales in the first-position, various chord voicings and arpeggios, and a nice version of “Golden Slippers” in the key of D.

Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton

Baker’s Breakdown: Mike teaches Monroe’s recorded solos for the B parts of this tune, which feature arpeggiated phrases and Georgia-shuﬄe figures. Then he offers an interpretation of what Monroe might have played on the A parts of the tune.

Gypsy Jazz Mandolin Essentials with Aaron Weinstein

I’ve Found a New Baby: In this lesson, Aaron shows you how to take some of the techniques you learned in earlier lessons to craft a solo for this enduring jazz and swing favorite. Aaron teaches the song in the key of D minor.

The Advancing Mandolinist with Joe K. Walsh

Land of Enchantment: This intriguing Tim O’Brien tune is nominally in the key of E minor, but it is in the Dorian mode, which gives it what Joe describes as an “open feel.” He recommends thinking of it as an E minor tune with an altered scale.

Octave Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh

Hunt the Buffalo: Here’s a punchy, upbeat tune Joe learned from mandolinist John Reischman. With a standard AABB format in the key of A, this version is common at tune sessions around the country in recent years.

FIDDLE COURSES

Jazz Violin with Aaron Weinstein

All of Me: With well over 1,000 recorded versions, “All of Me” is the epitome of a standard. Going phrase by phrase, Aaron shows you a solo in the key of C that incorporates many of the improvisation devices you’ve already learned.

Old-Time Fiddle with Bruce Molsky

Polly Put the Kettle On: Marcus Martin’s twisty setting of “Polly Put the Kettle On” isn’t crooked per se, but the melody certainly takes a few surprising turns. The first part is in B♭and G minor. In the B part, the B♮notes give it a G-major feel.

BANJO COURSES

Clawhammer Banjo with Evie Ladin

Ship in the Clouds: Evie breaks this wildly crooked and sometimes confusing tune into clear A and B parts, and strips the melody down so it’s pretty easy to pick up. Note that although the tune is in the key of D, a C chord is prominent in the B part.

PLAY-ALONG RHYTHM TRACKS – Available to all subscribers. Guitar accompaniment video, downloadable audio, and chord charts for popular bluegrass, old-time, and roots tunes and songs.