• Chord books for kids from Mel Bay

    Mel Bay Publications has released a series of children's chord books for young pickers getting started on banjo, mandolin or ukulele. Each book runs 24 pages and presents the chords systematically, starting with simple shapes and moving later to more difficult

  • Mando workshop to benefit Butch Baldassari

    We've posted repeatedly here about Butch Baldassari, his ongoing health concerns as he battles a pernicious cancer, and the many opportunities that have been presented to come to his and his family's aid. Here's another... This weekend, the Musical Heritage Center of

  • New books from Mel Bay

    Mel Bay Publications has three new instructional books that will be of interest to any of our readers who study the mandolin or fiddle. The Mel Bay Mandolin Scales Chart is a simple 4 page folded chart which displays common and

  • Nashville Guitar Academy

    Our friend Tim May has put together a new workshop/camp for guitarists, aimed at providing more personalized, higher level instruction than normally available at camps and workshops. The intention is for intermediate to advanced players to come get three days

  • Fiddle Care and Setup book from Mel Bay

    Mel Bay Publications has released the latest in its FAQ book series, Fiddle Care And Setup, by Michael Hoffheimer. This 80 page book covers the basics of proper care and maintenance for your fiddle, a well as many details about adjusting

  • Player tips at BluegrassCollege.org

    BluegrassCollege.org is now offering a series of free playing tips from their prestigious faculty, updated daily on the front page of their web site. First up are two posts on warm-up tips for flatpickers from Tyler Grant and one for mandolinists

  • Reso Hangout goes live

    Eric Schlange, who manages the very popular BanjoHangout web site, has recently launched a similar site for resonator guitar enthusiasts. ResoHangout.com hosts an active discussion forum plus a tab archive, online video lessons, product reviews, chat rooms and myHangout home pages

  • Mel Bay reissues Kenny Hall book

    Kenny Hall has been a notable musician in the old time music world since the release of his album, Kenny Hall and the Sweet Mills String Band in 1972. Of course, he had been playing since 1937, on mandolin, fiddle

  • Workshop opportunities at IBMA

    With the annual IBMA World Of Bluegrass convention coming up (9/29-10/2), a number of instructional workshops have been scheduled in Nashville during that same time frame. Students of bluegrass instruments can take advantage of these opportunities during their visit, especially

  • American Fiddle Method: Canadian Fiddle Styles

    Renowned fiddle instructor Brian Wicklund and Canadian fiddle master April Verch have joined forces to bring a new instructional book/CD to market, American Fiddle Method: Canadian Fiddle Styles. The book and CD set will introduce the student to the Canadian fiddle