About

Phil Berthoud – Devon based Musician (Fiddle, Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele, Bass guitar), Music Teacher, Composer and Author of Music Instruction books.

Online lessonsBooks and Albums
Phil Berthoud is a Musician and Teacher (Fiddle, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, Ukulele), Composer and Author

Born in Zimbabwe, Phil first took up the guitar aged 14, teaching himself by learning rock and pop songs. In his early 20’s, he discovered Irish traditional music and took up fiddle and mandolin. He’s played with many bands over the years in London, Brighton and Devon, and has many years’ experience teaching all age groups and standards. Phil offers one-to-one online lessons – specialities include Irish fiddle playing, folk mandolin, folk/blues/pop/rock guitar, composing and arranging for guitar.

Phil has had a number of instruction books and music collections published (mostly by American publisher Mel Bay) on fiddle, mandolin and guitar playing, which are available internationally.

As well as being known as an outstanding musician, Phil has made a name for himself as a composer, especially of string quartet music, guitar arrangements of well-known songs and beginner to advanced level pieces for students.

As a performer, Phil often plays with Freedom Fields Ceilidh Band, and currently plays in two duos with his wife, Mahrey – folk duo Rhillig and Stringing Along, a duo that performs for the elderly and those with learning difficulties. He also performs as a solo guitarist.

Products

Solid Session Tunes – Reels Book 1 – PDF Edition

Solid Session Tunes – Reels Book 1 – PDF Edition

£4.99
When Two Rivers Meet by Rhillig – CD album

When Two Rivers Meet by Rhillig – CD album

£10.00
When Two Rivers Meet by Rhillig – digital album download

When Two Rivers Meet by Rhillig – digital album download

£7.50
The Thought Expressed – CD Album

The Thought Expressed – CD Album

£10.00
The Thought Expressed – digital album download

The Thought Expressed – digital album download

£7.50
In the Footsteps of the Vagabond – CD album

In the Footsteps of the Vagabond – CD album

£10.00
In The Footsteps of the Vagabond – digital album download

In The Footsteps of the Vagabond – digital album download

£7.50
Traditional Music of the British Isles for Electric Guitar

Traditional Music of the British Isles for Electric Guitar

£14.99
101 Tips for Guitar

101 Tips for Guitar

£8.99
101 Tips for Fiddle

101 Tips for Fiddle

£9.99
101 Tips for Mandolin

101 Tips for Mandolin

£12.99
International Fiddle Method

International Fiddle Method

£19.99
International Mandolin Method

International Mandolin Method

£19.99
World Music for Flatpicking Guitar Made Easy

World Music for Flatpicking Guitar Made Easy

£14.99
World Music for Mandolin Made Easy

World Music for Mandolin Made Easy

£14.99

Latest Articles

Solid Session Tunes

Available on Kindle worldwide as well as PDF download, Solid Session Tunes is a series of collections of popular (mainly Irish) session tunes.  Each tune is presented in standard notation as ...

Boys of the Lough from Solid Session Tunes – Reels Book 1

The Boys of the Lough - double reel in two parts - 32 bars in all.  D major is the key. When it comes to reels, bowing is all-important in bringing the tunes to life.  So, bowings are shown ...

Down in the Park – cover by Phil Berthoud

Rewind back to 24th May 1979 and an episode of Top of the Pops that I'll always remember.  Along with Roxy Music's Dance Away, Boys Keep Swinging by David Bowie and Shine a Little Love by ELO ...

Road to Lisdoonvarna and Gravel Walks on fiddle and guitar

Here are a couple of my favourite traditional Irish tunes. First is The Road to Lisdoonvarna, a slide that's normally heard in the key of Em (or E dorian to be exact).  Here I play it in Am (A ...

Golden Brown on guitar, fiddle and mandolin

Here's my rendition of The Stranglers 1982 singie, Golden Brown.  I remember this coming out while I was still at school.  A lot of the kids at school felt betrayed by the distinct change of ...