New Lessons, Tunes, and Techniques for February 2025
New Tunes, Lessons, and Techniques from Peghead Nation instructors.
Peghead Nation instructors have released hours of new instruction in their courses, and here are the tunes and lessons we’ve just published for February 2025. Join us in any course and get your first month free. Just use promo code Learn25 at checkout!
GUITAR COURSES
Contemporary Flatpicking Guitar with Grant Gordy
“Tree King Creek” and Eighth-Note Triplets: Grant uses Darol Anger’s great fiddle tune “Tree King Creek” to look at some ways to play eighth-note triplets and find different fingering solutions for complicated melodic lines.
Irish Flatpicking Guitar with Flynn Cohen
The Gander in the Pratie Hole: The key-of-D jig “The Gander in the Pratie Hole” comes from the guitar playing of Scottish guitarist Dick Gaughan and his recording Coppers and Brass. It’s a mix of D modal and D major mostly played out of second position.
Western Swing Guitar with Matt Munisteri
Steel Guitar–Style Lines: Matt shows you some harmonized lines that imitate the steel guitar as well as a steel guitar–style solo on “It Makes No Difference Now.” He uses inversions of triads and changes just one or two notes as he moves to the next triad.
MANDOLIN COURSES
Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin with Sharon Gilchrist
Sitting on Top of the World: “Sitting on Top of the World” is an old folk and blues song that became a bluegrass classic. It’s very popular at bluegrass jam sessions. Sharon’s arrangement includes a kickoff and ending and some typical bluegrass licks.
Weekly Mandolin Workout with Ethan Setiawan
Syncopation and Pick Direction: This month’s workouts deal with syncopations and the pick direction you should use to play them. Ethan gives you exercises playing a scale, as well as the fiddle tune “Angeline the Baker,” with different rhythms.
Swing and Jazz Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh
Billie’s Bounce “Billie’s Bounce” is a blues in F written by Charlie Parker and recorded with Miles Davis in 1945. In this lesson you’ll learn the “head” (melody) and the first chorus of Parker’s solo.
Monroe-Style Mandolin with Mike Compton
There Was Nothing We Could Do: Bill Monroe’s solo on the key-of-F waltz “There Was Nothing We Could Do” starts with standard double-stop forms in 1/16th-note tremolo. It echoes the sung melody and is decorated with slides.
Gypsy Jazz Mandolin Essentials with Aaron Weinstein
I’m Confessin’: “I’m Confessin’”—also called “Confessin’” or “I’m Confessin’ That I Love You”—was written by vaudevillian Chris Smith. Louis Armstrong’s 1930 recording was very influential in it becoming a jazz standard. You’ll learn it in the key of Eb.
Old-Time Mandolin with John Reischman
Boston Boy: “Boston Boy” comes from Bill Monroe and his fiddling uncle Pendleton Vandiver, but John learned it years ago from a David Grisman record. It’s in the key of C and is similar to the old-time tune “Rattlesnake Bit the Baby.”
The Advancing Mandolinist with Joe K. Walsh
“John Hardy” Sam Bush Solo: In this lesson, you’ll learn a Sam Bush solo on the song “John Hardy” from the Tony Rice record Cold on the Shoulder.
Chord Melody Mandolin with Aaron Weinstein
“Honeysuckle Rose” Etude: Aaron’s etude on this classic Fats Waller song starts with a big open G minor chord, which you’ll use in different rhythmic ways throughout the first A part. The second A part is based on a popular “shout chorus.”
Octave Mandolin with Joe K. Walsh
Eklunda Polska No. 3 “Eklunda Polska No. 3” is a popular Swedish polska, which is a traditional Scandinavian dance form in 3/2. Joe’s version comes from American fiddlers Darol Anger and Brittany Haas.
FIDDLE COURSES
Folk and Bluegrass Songs with Lauren Rioux
“Don’t This Road Look Rough and Rocky,” Keys of A and G: You’ll learn the melody and fills for “Don’t This Road Look Rough and Rocky” in the key of A in two octaves. In the key of G, the melody feels most comfortable in the middle octave.
Western Swing Fiddle with Chad Manning
San Antonio Rose: The Bob Wills classic “San Antonio Rose” started life as a fiddle instrumental and was so popular that Wills added lyrics. Chad shows you the melody in the key of D and gives you ideas for creating variations on the melody.
Old-Time Fiddle with Bruce Molsky
Katy Hill: The popular dance tune “Katy Hill” was first recorded under the name “Sally Johnson” by Texas fiddlers Solomon and Hughes in the 1920s. There are also great recordings by Benton Flippen, Clark Kessinger, and others.
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.
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