Bluegrass Jam Along

This week we're jamming along to Salt Creek and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of A at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or jus...

This week we're jamming along to Salt Creek and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of A at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:30 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just wa...

This week we're jamming along to Salt Creek and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of A at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:30 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord cha...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Salt Creek. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam alon...

My guest this week is the brilliant Chris Eldridge. Chris is a member of my favourite band in the world, Punch Brothers, but he also records and tours with Julian Lage as a duet, as well as recording, writing and producing with a whole range of musicians, from Paul Simon to Renee Fleming and many points in between. We chat about Chris's online bluegrass guitar course at ArtistWorks, as well a...

My guest this week is the fabulous Charlotte Carrivick. Charlotte's one of my favourite guitarists and we've been chatting about getting this interview done since July, so I'm thrilled we finally managed to find a time to record it. It would be quicker to tell you which instruments Charlotte doesn't play than which she does, but she's probably best known for her guitar and...

This week we're jamming along to Red Wing and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just...

This week we're jamming along to Red Wing and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:26 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or just want...

This week we're jamming along to Red Wing and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:54 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Red Wing. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and jam along!...

I've got another great guest for you this week - multi-instrumentalist Justin Moses. Justin plays all the bluegrass instruments at an incredibly high level. He's played fiddle in Dan Tyminski's band, banjo with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder and guitar and mandolin with Sierra Hull (who he's also married to). That doesn't even cover the fact that he's been voted IB...

I've got another great interview for you this week, with mandolin virtuoso and all-round acoustic legend Mike Marshall. We talk about Mike's career, his teaching and his collaboration with Northfield mandolins, plus much (much) more! Enjoy and happy picking, Matt Links to stuff mentioned in the podcast Mike's Website Mandolin lessons with Mike at Artistworks Northfield Mandolins Man...

Happy Friday. This week's Food For Thought is inspired by Dr. Josh Turknett's book on how to learn the banjo (it's great for any instrument - not just banjo). If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. To give you an idea of how good this book is, Bryan Sutton recommended it to all his students...and also bought a copy for Sierra Hull!  Josh also offers a great free download...

This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:30 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...

This week we're jamming along to Daley's Reel and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of Bb at 75 bpm. backing track starts at 00:36 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a c...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Daley's Reel. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and j...

Hi everyone. It's Friday, which means another Food For Thought episode. This week I've been listening to the excellent The String podcast, in particular the recent episode with Bela Fleck talking about his new album My Bluegrass Heart. In it, host Craig Havighurst says: "I really hope folks will sit with the booklet so they'll be conscious of who's playing on each track. B...

This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveller and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:29 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart...

This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveler and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play lead track where I play backup so you can work on the tune.  It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:26 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord chart (or...

This week we're jamming along to Arkansas Traveler and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the jam along track where I play backup, followed by the melody then we keep swapping.  It's four times through in the key of D at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:49 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a ch...

This  week we're jamming along to the classic tune Arkansas Traveler. This is a performance track, rather than a backing track. It's me playing both tune and backup so you've got a reference to listen to if you're new to the tune, or just want to be able to listen a few times to the whole thing. Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done and j...

Hi everyone. Very quick Food For Thought episode this week! I spoke to Tristan Scroggins earlier this week (see episode #121 to check out the great interview he gave). He told me his dad used to practice banjo along to Tony Rice's Manzanita album because there was no banjo on it. I also read something from the wonderful Julian Lage on why playing along with recordings is so important. It got...

It's interview time on the podcast again and I've got a great conversation with Tristan Scroggins for you.  This one was such a joy to record. We chat about Tristan's recent IBMA Writer of the Year Award as well as his research into the background of fiddle tunes and what makes something 'authentic.' For more on Tristan's music and writing, check out - www.tristanscro...

This week we're jamming along to Turkey in the Straw and I've got  three brand new backing track episodes for you. This is the you play rhythm track where I play the melody so you can work on backup.  It's four times through in the key of G at 85 bpm. backing track starts at 00:28 Don't forget to check out the other three episodes when you're done. If you want a chord char...