Advanced Mandolin
Tune up the old 8-string and join us as we explore all things mandolin! We’ll spend time covering useful shapes, chord voicings, and other repeating patterns that will expand your facility on the instrument and can add variety and color to your playing. Not to be outdone by the left hand, the right hand will also get some time in the spotlight as we explore ways to refine our picking. We’ll spend time working on our tremolo and maybe even get into a little bit of McReynolds-style crosspicking.
Since most of us spend the majority of our time backing up others with rhythm, we’ll talk about the importance of developing our rhythmic sensibilities as we dig deep into different ways to approach playing rhythm on the mandolin.
Throughout the class we’ll consult recordings of mandolin masters who demonstrate a variety of approaches to using the instrument in a traditional context. We’ll dig into what makes those masters so great and learn a few of their tunes as we explore ways that we can incorporate their techniques into our own playing. Along the way, we’ll hammer home the three T’s - Tone, Taste, and Timing (although not necessarily in that order). If you love the mandolin, this is the class for you!
Andrew Small
Andrew Small is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and composer who makes his home in Floyd County, VA. He travels the world fronting the Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee on mandolin and lead vocals, and in 2021 he served as the inaugural Artist-In-Residence for The Crooked Road - Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail. That same year, he also completed a Virginia Folklife Apprenticeship with National Heritage Award-winning fiddler Eddie Bond.
Originally from Eastern North Carolina, Andrew holds a master’s degree in music performance from Yale University and has performed around the world with artists including Sierra Hull, Mandolin Orange, and the North Carolina Symphony. From 2018-2023 he toured with Bill and the Belles and also played bass in the house band for the PBS television show Farm and Fun Time. A former Bluegrass Mandolin Champion of Australia, Andrew was awarded first prize in the bluegrass category at the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. In 2025, Andrew was awarded first place in the old-time fiddle contest at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV, and his string band The New Floyd County Ramblers also won first place in the traditional band category. His string bands have won old-time and bluegrass contests at numerous festivals including those in Galax, VA; Mount Airy, NC; and Clifftop, WV. He has taught for the Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music program at East Tennessee State University and recently joined the teaching faculty at Ferrum College.