In this video, we are playing a scale exercise for the Dorian mode.

This is a perfect 10 Minute Challenge if you want to improve your technique and experience more flow in your melody playing. I’m demonstrating the exercise to the jig rhythm, the 6/8 meter, but I will also show you how to adapt thi...

In this mandolin lesson, Hayes Griffin shows you how to play the melody to the Bill Monroe tune “Tennessee Blues.”

There are many ways that modern players choose to interpret this tune, but this lesson is focused on learning the unique “crooked time” signature of the original Bill Monroe version.

Here is a mandolin duo arrangement of the Irish tune called Wren's Nest.
This jig was written by the great fiddler Frankie Gavin of De Dannan.

It's a driving melody in E using the Dorian mode. I also included an octave mandolin accompaniment, but we are focusing on the melody in this video lesson.

Here is a traditional Swedish March called Gärdebylåten.

This is one of the most common fiddle tunes in Scandinavian Folk Music. I like playing it with an American touch adding some bluegrass chop chords.

In this video, I also show you a pro tip for keeping the backbeat rhythm rock steady. 

 In M...

Here is a swing lick that works well for ending a jazz tune like the pros!

We play the phrase in the key of A, Bb and C major. Then we demonstrate it for the songs Blues For Ike and All Of Me. It’s a must-know line for improvisers, spicing up a simple major scale with some blues sound.  

In Mandol...

Here is a traditional Swedish march called Gärdebylåten. This is one of the most common fiddle tunes in Scandinavian Folk Music.

I like playing it with an American touch adding some Western swing and bluegrass element to it.

In this video I also show you how to use the legato style that is common ...

In this video, Hayes Griffin shows you how to play another variation of the melody to the Bill Monroe tune “Roanoke.”

In our previous lesson, Hayes taught the melody as fiddlers would typically play it, but here, Hayes shows you some tips and tricks for how to approach this melody to get more of a M...

In this video, we’ll look deeply at the waltz rhythm. We will play four variations of a solid accompaniment on the mandolin and the octave mandolin.

We are also going into some music theory, and you will come out of this with a better understanding of rhythm, swing, and groove.

To fully understand...

Play gypsy jazz rhythm on the octave mandolin. I show you the chords for Blues For Ike by Django Reinhardt in this video. This tune is a 12-bar blues with an interesting twist.

The chord progression is in A and uses the major chord instead of the conventional dominant 7th chord. This tune demonstr...

In this video, instructor Hayes Griffin shows you how to play the chords to Bill Monroe’s classic fiddle tune, “Roanoke.” Hayes helps you learn the basics of a good bluegrass “chop” sound, a skill that you will need for any other bluegrass tunes you want to learn in the future.

In Mandolin Secrets ...

In this video lesson, I show you how to play the fiddle tune Margaret’s Waltz. It was written by Pat Shuldam Shaw (1917-1977) in 1959. This is an A-major melody, and it’s a charming composition in the music traditions of England, Scotland, and the Shetlands. The mandolin arrangement includes double ...

Play a simple but very efficient solo line for the jazz standard “It Don’t Mean a Thing (if you ain’t got that swing)”. In this video, I give you an improvisation framework using guidelines and target notes to get the pleasant sound of chromatics.

In Mandolin Secrets Academy you’ll find:

• Sheet m
...