Young Tristan Scroggins, mandolinist at large in Nashville, has swiftly entered the running as the hardest working man in bluegrass music. Every time we turn around, we find another new venture or project he is involved with, trying to squeak out a living in a world where performing is largely prohibited for musicians.
We’ve just learned that he has teamed up with Megan Lynch and her Nashville Acoustic Camps program to host an ongoing series of weekly Mandolin Bluegrass Skill Builder workshops online. They will be taught in four week blocks, an hour each week, followed by a break of several weeks to give everyone a chance to absorb the material covered.
Tristan says that he has designed the course with intermediate level players in mind, those who have progressed beyond the beginner stage and looking to build confidence in basic techniques to move into jamming with friends.
“We’ll learn fundamental principles such as tremolo, double stops, rhythm, and phrasing, as well as more specific content such as kickoffs, fills, and licks, all with a focus on bluegrass music. I’ll break them down and show them to you as we go, no need to prepare anything ahead of time. We’ll also start each session with a useful series of warmups and exercises. Things will go slowly and there will be a lot of repetition.”
Each workshop will be held live on Zoom, and recorded so that students can rewatch as needed. Registration for each four week block is $70, about the cost of two private lessons. A $20 discount is offered to anyone who contributes to Tristan’s Patreon page.
He has created this video intro with more details about the Skill Builder workshops.
Classes will be held live on Saturday nights at 9:00 p.m. (EST), and Zoom meeting invitations will be sent to all registered students.
You can see all the details at the Nashville Acoustic Camps page.
