ArtistWorks Blog

When first learning to play an instrument of any kind, one of the most seemingly daunting tasks that musicians face is transposing their favorite tunes from one key to another. Transposing tunes quickly is a skill that is required commonly in the context of bluegrass. Whether adjusting the key of a tune to accommodate the preferred register of a vocalist or fellow instrumentalist, transposing tunes from one key to another is a talent that’s exercised at essentially every bluegrass jam session.

We’re excited to announce that pre-sale VIP memberships are now available for our newest course, “Fiddle with Alex Hargreaves.” While the course officially launches in mid-March, joining early grants you access to a handful of amazing perks and exclusives leading up to the launch, including:

One of the many critical techniques that singers interested in performing publicly or with an ensemble need to understand is how their voice interacts with a microphone. Microphone technique is an essential skill for singers of all genres, however, particularly in the context of bluegrass, knowing how to balance one’s voice with the rest of the instrumentalists is of the utmost importance. Part of understanding how to balance one’s voice and achieve a great organic-sounding band mix is knowing a bit about the microphone’s construction, the type of microphone being used, and how the microphone works.

We are excited to announce our newest course coming in mid-March 2024, “Fiddle with Alex Hargreaves.”

Yesterday, we debuted over a hundred brand new online bluegrass guitar lessons from world-renowned flatpick master and one of the longest-standing members of our premier ArtistWorks faculty, Bryan Sutton.

When first learning how to play the mandolin, or any instrument for that matter, the first two types of chords that students typically learn are major and minor harmonies. These harmonies each offer drastically different emotive characteristics and tonal qualities but are very closely related. In fact, there is a simple relationship between the two harmonies that allows players to easily determine one from the other. Understanding this fundamental relationship between major and minor chords is critical and will help you further understand a variety of music theory concepts.

On January 10, 2024, the immensely popular bluegrass and flatpick guitar YouTube channel, Lessons with Marcel, published a new interview featuring none other than critically acclaimed, multi-style mandolin virtuoso and ArtistWorks bluegrass instructor, Mike Marshall.

At its foundation, bluegrass is a primarily improvised music. No two performances are ever alike, no two solos from a performer are ever identical, and that is an intentional, defining characteristic of the bluegrass aesthetic.