The Bluegrass College has moving from a subscription model to become a free site. If you were previously a member of the College, there is now no longer any need to log on. For more information regarding previous membership, please click here All the lesson content is now available for you to use - if you find any links that don't appear to work, please let us know by using the Contact Us link.

The sound files are all hosted by SoundCloud, and you can play them directly from there. If you want to copy them to your computer or tablet, you can download them from SoundCloud - there are instructions on how to do that here

Each lesson is based on a well known bluegrass tune, and consists of a set of recordings with accompanying videos. There is a link on the right hand side of the main Home page - " What's in A lesson " - click this to get more details.

The new version of the Bluegrass College does not require membership, and therefore there is no longer any need to log on. If you were previously a member of the College you will find that all the material is still available on the site. If you were previously paying a subscription this has now ben cancelled - click here for more information.

All of our tunes and songs have been recorded at either two or three different tempos, with an Easier and an Advanced break, to make learning and practice interactive and fun. Unlike software which slows recordings down (but usually makes them sound awful), our specially made recordings are of our instructors actually playing at each tempo to capture their energy and excitement even at our slowest tempo. You can play along with the best in the business at a speed to suit you.The Learning Tempo is the slowest version of the tune and it's really slow. You'll be able to learn every note and nuance at this speed. The Slow Jam Tempo is faster than the Learning Tempo, but slower than the Performance Tempo, which is the tempo that we all aspire to play; these mixes are just like playing with the real band.There are two or three mixes of each tune with and without your instrument at each Tempo. There are also videos of the instructors playing the breaks, at different speeds. These are filmed in different ways so that you can more easily see how they are playing the tunes.Click on the Lessons link in the left hand navigator to access the sound files. You can see the various videos by clicking on the Videos link.

A Lesson is a set of files containing audio, video, notation and lyrics for a tune or song. The Lesson teaches an easier solo, advanced solo, backup and vocals when applicable.

Below is a description of the files in a typical Instrumental Lesson :

1. LESSON NOTES (in pdf. format)

Includes exact tempos, capo positions and other useful tips.

2. TAB / NOTATION (in pdf. format) (Tab and Notation Explained)

A transcription is available for each Lesson, for every instrument.

The Instruments transcribed in tab are banjo, dobro and guitar.

The Instruments transcribed in both tab and standard notation are bass and mandolin. The Fiddle is transcribed in standard notation only.



The transcriptions are in PDF format, which is universally readable.

The transcription of the easier and advanced solos for your instrument.

3. VIDEOS (in mov. format) (Videos Explained)

We have filmed our instructors playing every tune in the Bluegrass Library. The instructors play their Easier and Advanced solos at the slowest, or Learning, Tempo. It's very slow; it's very clear.



Many of our videos feature two views of the instructor, full frame and left hand. The full frame view shows their picking hand or bowing arm. The left hand view gets you right up close to the fret board.



Our video files are supplied in .mov format, which is compatible with most players.

Instructor playing the easier solo / Left hand view

Instructor playing the easier solo / Full frame view

Instructor playing the advanced solo / Left hand view

Instructor playing the advanced solo / Full frame view These usually include:

4. AUDIO FILES (in mp3 format) (Recordings Explained)

Learning Tempo Mixes (very slow speed) Easier solo - with the band Easier solo - without the band, but with a click track Advanced solo - with the band Advanced solo - without the band, but with a click track The band without your instrument

Slow Jam Tempo Mixes (medium speed) Easier and Advanced Solo + backup - with the band Easier and Advanced Solo + backup - the band without your instrument

Performance Tempo Mixes (fast speed) Easier and Advanced Solo + backup - with the band Easier and Advanced Solo + backup - the band without your instrument

These usually include:

All of our tunes and songs have been recorded at either two or three different tempos, with an Easier and an Advanced break, to make learning and practice interactive and fun. Unlike software which slows recordings down (but usually makes them sound awful), our specially made recordings are of our instructors actually playing at each tempo to capture their energy and excitement even at our slowest tempo. You can play along with the best in the business at a speed to suit you.



The Learning Tempo is the slowest version of the tune and it's really slow. You'll be able to learn every note and nuance at this speed. The Slow Jam Tempo is faster than the Learning Tempo, but slower than the Performance Tempo, which is the tempo that we all aspire to play; these mixes are just like playing with the real band.



There are two or three mixes of each tune with and without your instrument at each Tempo. The slower tunes do not have a Slow Jam recording.

For more information on how to use the lessons, click here