Picking After Hours

We have a few informal groups that sometimes meet immediately after the Main Jams end (at 9pm) for about 30-40 minutes and have specialty focus, such as: Fiddle Tunes, Swing / Jazz, etc. If you are unfamiliar with these styles, this is a great way to learn something new.

Note on Jim's Root and Blues Website

Jim's Root and Blues is one of THE BEST websites for Fiddle Tunes. A couple of quick notes on how it works.

Standard Music Notation - Use this page if you are comfortable reading standard music notation.

Tab Notation for Mandolin, Guitar - (NOTE, sorry not banjos) This will let you see the tab for all instruments. This has an extra step but works very well. Best done on a desktop computer or Tablet. The instructions are at the top. Once you create the tab, you can then use the "Export PDF" to save it off as needed.

For the Chord Progressions - You have two options. We recommend StrumMachine.com which is a paid subscription, but is one of the best tools for learning bluegrass music ever. I promise it is worth every penny. Make sure you pick the actual key listed, then on the drop down menu click "Capo Chords" and find the chord shapes you are comfrotable with:

Jim's Root and Blues also has the chord progressions for quick reference.

Beginner Fiddle Tunes

Thank you to Peter for putting this together. We focus on beginner speeds of some of the most common Fiddle Tunes. Slow and Steady. Meet upstairs on Elementary hall after the final song, 3rd door on the left. So look through the following:

Fiddle Tunes

This group is working together to learn some Fiddle Tunes. They meet in the back room from from 9-9:45. HUGE thank you to Denver for leading this group!

Because each instrument is different, we suggest you look for the music/tabs for your instrument.

If you would like to dig FAR down into the Fiddle Tunes Rabbit Hole we suggest Jim's Roots and Blues - Fiddle Tunes. That site has meticulously curated over 660 songs in standards music notation and youtube videos for many of the songs.

Swing/Jazz/Gypsy Group

This group is learning some Swing/Jazz/Gypsy songs. They meet next to the piano (of course :D) from 9-9:45. Huge thank you to Eyal, Katie and Jasen for forming this group.

Swing/Jazz/Gypsy Song Book

We are using PDF that was first published on MandolinCafe.com by the incredible Don Julin. I modified it slightly by adding SummerTime in a few different keys.

For those joining focus on: