Do any of these describe your bluegrass guitar breaks?
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I can play the melody, but it sounds too basic. How do I play something that still sounds like the song, but is more full and professional sounding?
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I can put together scales and licks, but then it doesn’t really sound like the song.
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I learned some solos from the top players, but there’s no way I can play them up to speed.
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I learned some licks off the internet, but I have no idea how to use them.
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I learned a G scale in 20 different positions on the fretboard, but I still can’t play a decent bluegrass guitar break.
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I play pentatonic scales on everything. What’s wrong with that?
In this class, you’ll learn how to build great-sounding bluegrass guitar solos that you can actually play!
Each session, we will build up a solo from the basic melody to a full-fledged bluegrass guitar break you’d be happy to play on stage or in a jam. Along the way, you’ll learn concepts and techniques that you can use over and over again to construct great-sounding breaks on bluegrass vocal tunes.
Topics include: making a basic melody more interesting, lead-ins, double-stops, drones, using and creating licks, following the chord progression, various crosspicking rolls and techniques, etc.
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Dates and Times TBA
If you're like me, tab only goes so far. Yes, I can read the tab, but I want to know why my favorite guitarists play what they play. I also want to be able to do what they can do: take an ordinary song, and fill it out--making a creative, original version that sounds great, but doesn't sound like the basic version.
Over the last year or so, I've been teaching exclusively online. Through this process, I've developed a set of tools to help bluegrass guitarists sound great. Now, I've taken what I've learned from teaching hundreds of private lessons, and put it into this class to share with you!
Each week, we will focus on a different fiddle tune. In fact, you may already know a version or two of the tune--that's ok! We will use the tune as a jumping off point to create a new variation. We'll walk through the tune together, changing it, embellishing it, until we have a new version that is both playable (with some practice, of course), sounds like the song, and is more interesting to play than the basic version.
This is a teacher-led class, but I'll also be asking for input from the class, and taking ideas about where we want our version of the song to go. The idea is that you not only learn a new arrangement, but also get used to a process for doing this that you can use to create your own variations.
Each lesson is $25, or you can attend all 5 classes for $105, which is just $21 per lesson. Grab your spot today!
Learn fiddle tune arranging from 2-time National Flatpicking champion Andy Hatfield. Each week, we will explore a basic fiddle tune, and together, turn it into something more interesting! Includes live Zoom class and access to tab and video recordings of each song. Level: Intermediate and up.
Wednesday October 20th, 2021 8:00 PM EST -- "Bill Cheatham" is a great fiddle tune for variations, because of it's chord-based, relatively simple variation. We'll be using techniques such as: call and response, double-stops, crosspicking and other right hand techniques, melodic variation, melodic simplification, playing alternate phrases, embracing well-played mistakes, melodic ornamentation, vocal phrasing, pickup notes, chromaticism, and playing what you "hear." Attend this live class where we talk through the arrangement as we create it! You'll get a pdf of the finished tab and access to a video performance of the arrangement that you can speed up or slow down. For intermediate bluegrass and flatpicking guitarists. Click here to sign up for the "Bill Cheatham" Class!
Wednesday October 27th, 2021 8:00 PM EST -- "Cherokee Shuffle" is a variation of another tune--Fiddler Tommy Jackson wrote the tune in the 1950's based on an old-time tune called "Lost Indian." The melody is relatively simple, so the tune lends itself to embellishment with various right-hand techniques. Other possibilities include melodic variation, melodic simplification, playing alternate phrases, embracing well-played mistakes, melodic ornamentation, vocal phrasing, pickup notes, chromaticism, chord substitution, and playing what you "hear." Attend this live class where we talk through the arrangement as we create it! You'll get a pdf of the finished tab and access to a video performance of the arrangement that you can speed up or slow down. For intermediate bluegrass and flatpicking guitarists. Click here to sign up for the "Cherokee Shuffle" Class!
Wednesday November 3rd, 2021 8:00 PM EST -- "Whiskey Before Breakfast" is near the top of the list of popular fiddle tunes on any instrument. The first notes of the tune are just the first 5 notes of a major scale: "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol," which makes it an easy one to start out learning. In our version, we'll create a variation based on the song that uses techniques such as: crosspicking and various right-hand techniques, melodic variation, simplification, alternate phrases, embracing well-played mistakes, ornamentation, vocal phrasing, pickup notes, chromaticism, drones, and playing what you "hear." Attend this live class where we talk through the arrangement as we create it! You'll get a pdf of the finished tab and access to a video performance of the arrangement that you can speed up or slow down. For intermediate bluegrass and flatpicking guitarists. Click here to sign up for the "Whiskey Before Breakfast" Class!
Wednesday November 10th, 2021 8:00 PM EST -- "Billy in the Lowground" is an interesting song for variations, because the first part is almost entirely 8th notes. There doesn't appear to be anywhere to add any extra notes. This week, we'll learn to simplify the melody to it's bare bones, follow the phrasing, and rebuild the lines differently.: double-stops, drones, crosspicking and other right hand techniques, melodic variation, simplification, ornamentation, alternate phrases, embracing well-played mistakes, vocal phrasing, pickup notes, chromaticism, and playing what you "hear." Attend this live class where we talk through the arrangement as we create it! You'll get a pdf of the finished tab and access to a video performance of the arrangement that you can speed up or slow down. For intermediate bluegrass and flatpicking guitarists. Click here to sign up for the "Billy in the Lowground" Class!
Wednesday November 17th, 2021 8:00 PM EST -- "Saint Anne's Reel" is another of the top fiddle tunes bluegrass musicians love to play. This is a tune with a beautiful and memorable melody, and it works well at any tempo. Our version will make small changes to the melody using the chord progression as a guide with concepts such as: double-stops, drones, crosspicking and other right hand techniques, melodic variation, simplification, ornamentation, alternate phrases, embracing well-played mistakes, vocal phrasing, pickup notes, chromaticism, and playing what you "hear." Attend this live class where we talk through the arrangement as we create it! You'll get a pdf of the finished tab and access to a video performance of the arrangement that you can speed up or slow down. For intermediate bluegrass and flatpicking guitarists. Click here to sign up for the "Saint Anne's Reel" Class!
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About Andy: Andy Hatfield is a creative teacher and musician from Peoria, IL. As a teacher, Andy can communicate to guitarists at all levels from beginning to advanced. Andy has been a regular teacher at Steve Kaufman's Acoustic Kamp since 2012, and was invited to teach at Roberto Dalla Vecchia's Acoustic Guitar Workshop in Italy in 2018.
About Zoom:
Many of us learned to use Zoom during 2020, and may already be familiar with it. If not, give yourself plenty of time, and go to the Zoom website to download and install the updated version on your computer or tablet. I will send a link to login to the class a day or so prior to the class. Note: Even if you have used Zoom in the past, if it has been awhile since you've used it, you may want to update to the latest version to avoid any problems logging in on class night.
Class Interaction:
You will have an opportunity to ask questions in the chat window. Also, I occasionally ask for an idea or prompt from students. Other than that, the student's microphones will be off so everyone can focus on the class.
Headphones:
I have found that headphones (even cheap earbuds) really help me to focus in on classes. You may find they work well for you too. No special microphone is needed. Usually the one on your device or headphones is suitable for our purpose.
Still have questions?
If you have any further questions about the class content, accessibility, or anything else feel free to reach out to me via the contact page.