Andrew Hatfield is a music teacher and contest flatpicker from Peoria, Illinois. He won the National Flatpicking Championship at Winfield, Kansas, in 2011 and 2017. He also won the National Mandolin Championship there in 2013. Winfield’s records show him in the top three six times between 2010 and 2017 across the two contests.
Why Hatfield matters
Hatfield is one of a small group of players who have won both the flatpick and mandolin contests at Winfield. He did it while teaching music full time in Peoria, not on the road. For a jammer, that is the useful part. His contest arrangements of common session tunes like Salt Creek, Dark Hollow, and Wildwood Flower are on video, and they show how a working teacher turns a jam standard into a contest piece.
Life and career
Hatfield is from Peoria, Illinois. His father bought his first guitar, a 1956 Martin D-28. He studied French horn in college and earned a Bachelor of Science in music from Bradley University in 2001. He has taught music full time in the Peoria area since 2003 through his own private teaching business.
He placed third in the Winfield flatpick contest in 2010 and won a Taylor baritone guitar. In 2011 he won the flatpick contest and a Gallagher GA-70. That same week he placed third in the mandolin contest. He placed second in mandolin in 2012, behind Jacob Jolliff, and won it in 2013 with a Collings MF5 as the prize. In 2017 he won the flatpick contest again, taking $3,000 and a Martin D-41 Custom.
Since 2020 he has taught most of his students online as part of the Lessons With Marcel teaching team, with students across the United States and abroad. He plays acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, and some fiddle.
Playing style
Hatfield is a teacher first, and his solo videos are built to be copied. He has posted solo guitar versions of Salt Creek, Dark Hollow, Wildwood Flower, and Bury Me Beneath the Willow, all jam standards, played at a tempo a learner can follow. He plays mandolin, banjo, and bass as well as guitar, and he has won Winfield on two of those instruments.
Influences and legacy
Hatfield came up through a college music degree, with French horn as his instrument, before guitar and mandolin contests. He shares the two-contest record with Bryan McDowell, who won flatpick and mandolin in 2009, and with Holten Doucette, who won both in 2022. His main legacy is his students. He has taught in Peoria for two decades and now teaches online.
Signature tunes and songs
Salt Creek Dark Hollow Wildwood Flower Bury Me Beneath the Willow.
Awards and honors
National Flatpicking Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, first place (2011, 2017) National Flatpicking Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, third place (2010) National Mandolin Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, first place (2013) National Mandolin Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, second place (2012) National Mandolin Championship, Walnut Valley Festival, third place (2011)
Watch and listen
Hatfield plays Salt Creek solo. Listen for how clear the melody stays at speed.
In this Lessons With Marcel episode Hatfield talks through what the Winfield flatpick contest is like from the stage.
What to learn from Hatfield
Learn Salt Creek his way. Play the A and B parts plain in the open position until they are clean at jam speed. Then write one variation for each part and play it on the repeat. The technique to steal is his restraint. Contest judges and jam partners both hear the melody first. Speed and flash come after. The tune has to hold together at full tempo first.
Sources
Winners archive, alphabetical, Walnut Valley Festival Andrew Hatfield, Pickers Paradise About Andy Hatfield, Andy’s Lessons Results from Winfield 2012, Bluegrass Today Contest winners at the 50th annual Walnut Valley Festival, Bluegrass Today
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Bryan McDowell and Holten Doucette also won both the flatpick and mandolin contests at Winfield. Roy Curry won the flatpick contest in 2012, the same week Hatfield placed second in mandolin.