How to Play Chinquapin Hunting

A Beautiful Mandolin Fiddle Tune with Celtic Inspired Ornamentation

This fiddle tune has a very lovely melody. In this mandolin lesson we'll walk through the base arrangement then learn several licks that draw influence from Celtic style ornamentation.

1

Overview

Going Over What's Ahead

Chinquapin Hunting is an excellent fiddle tune that is often heard at bluegrass jams. This arrangement stays very true to the original melody. There are some tough parts in the original arrangement...
2

A Section

Starting off With a Bang

We start off with a lick that's sure to draw attention. The secret to this one is not much different than any other: repetition. Use the looper and tempo to set a speed you can handle. Put in sever...
3

A Classic Opening Lick

Simplified Substitution Lick for Measure One

Nothing too fancy here. Just a classic opening lick. It's also a great example of a time to leave those fingers down when ascending a scale on one string.
4

B Section

The Hunt Continues

The tricky spots in the B section are the second and third measures. In measure two, we have to reach out our ring finger to note the 6th fret on the G string. Make sure your hand is slightly at an...
5

A Simpler Time

Simplified Substitution Lick for Measure Three of B Section

This is a good example of how something complicated can be made easy. We took what was a tough triplet lick, and replaced it with a single note-and it still sounds great. Don't be intimidated by to...
6

Pulling. It. Off.

A Celtic Inspired Pull-Off Lick With Triplet

In Celtic music, slurs often come at lightning speed. They mimic the quick finger movement and ornamentation that happens on a flute, bagpipe, or penny whistle. They're very precise and rhythmic. I...
7

The Sound of the Highlands

A Lick with that Mimics the Droning Bagpipe Sound

This lick is very similar to the last. It has the quick pull-off in the same place. Here, we add the quick hammer-on with drone string. This is very close to the bagpipe sound and is a great orname...
8

Sliding In

Another Kind of Ornamentation

As with the pull-off and hammer-on licks, the slide here will happen quickly. The rest of the lick is just like the pull-off in the previous licks.
9

What's Next

Looking Ahead

If you are digging the Cletic flavor, here's a couple more tunes that you might be interested in learning: "Brilliancy", and "Sailor's Hornpipe". Check out the links below to jump right into it!