Featured Videos

My buddy Jake Howard takes on Chris Thile's solo from The Fox, off Nickel Creek's first album. That solo inspired me as a kid and I spent hours learning it and trying to play it.

Try matching Jake's tone and phrasing (and Thile's) as an exercise: slow the loops down and build back up to full speed.

If you like great mandolin playing and transcriptions check out Jake's Patreon: patreon.com/cw/jakehowardmusic

After Dude #5 (Chris Thile's famous original mandolin) selling this week, I thought it'd be fun to feature this great version of the Blind Leaving the Blind mvt 1 which the Punch Brothers haven't played live in awhile (they still play #3 fairly often at request).

I think the mandolin introduction and harmonics during the verse are just amazingly placed touches.

Julian Lage plays Solid Air into Day and Age and his harmony and ideas in E major are something to really dig into.

Check out the first theme at 0:21 and its bluesy lick at the end. Then loop 5:01, where the changes open up, and 5:50, where he takes that same movement from E to G.