hope for new players

[mcmando]

Hi all,

43 years young and 1 1/2 years of pickin' here so forgive my newbie mentality, but for those who can relate:


Software
Man,oh man do I like the Amazing Slow Downer! #For those who don't know, it's PC software that let's the user slow down a song from any source (mp3, cd, etc) without changing the pitch. #You can slow it down as much as you like and even set a "loop" to play the same few bars over and over until you get it. #Very cool!

Once you got the part down, you can set the karoake mode to eliminate the mandolin and take the place of your favorite pro mando picker.


Lessons
I struggled to find a local instructor but only found guitar players who thought they could also teach mando. I recently started lessons on line with Randy Torno (rantor@earthlink.net). #He's a real live mando instructor who teaches face-to-face via Webcam. #Randy's been helping me with being more "musical". #I can read all the TAB I can download (for the most part anyway!) but Randy's really helping me put together mando licks that make sense.


Camp
Niles Hokannen's Beginner Mandolin Bootcamp (Front Royal, VA) are not only a lot fun, but helped with learning the basics and how to begin to improvise. #Niles can play the absolute cr*p out of a mandolin!


Recorder
The Sony MZ-B10 minidisk recorder has been a godsend. I bought it to record the mando bootcamp and lessons with Randy, but I also use it to record melody and harmony parts to play along with myself (I live a sheltered life!).


Metronome
Randy said "Matt, you *really* need to get a metronome..."! #A quick search brought up www.metronomes.net, they had a great deal on a Wittner MT-70 electronic metronome. #I think Randy was right! #It's really halp me a lot. #Too many features to mention, but here's a few: dial type speed adj, various emphasis beats for all kinds of timing like jigs and skip jigs etc.. LED's simulate a pendulum-- which I much prefer to the single flash type, and an adjustable tone generator for tuning. #


Mando
Last but not least-- RIGEL mandos. #The neck on these things unbelieveble! #Tragically stricken with MAS, I've owned 5 mandos so far, and the Rigel is hands down the easiest to play.


Sorry for the long post. #I hope this list may be helpful to other old newbies like me! #Happy pickin'...

Matt

PS: #all the standard disclaimers apply-- I am not a dealer (perish the tought!-- and sorry to Dale, Ted, and Ken).

[jlb]

So since you're not a dealer, do you work for a software company, Randy Torno, Virgina 4-H, Sony, Wittner, or Rigel?

Kidding.

[mcmando]

no

not kidding

[John Zimm]

That's awesome McMando. It is exciting to see progress. I think I will give that slow me down another try. I have never been that great at learning by ear, but that probably makes it easier.

Keep up the good work. If I weren't at work I'd be running for the mandolin right now. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

-John.

[fangsdaddy]

hey matt
you're not alone. last year at the age of 45, i put my guitars down & got hooked on the mando. i've been thru 3 instruments, a rigei a nat'l, a 21 gibson a-2 & now a collings f5. (sold a bunch of electric guitars to pay for the collings!). & i know what you mean about those rigel necks. they're sweet. as fast as an electric guitar. & i just started working out w/the metronome & it's real sobering. please tell us more about niles camp. if my wife hadn't signed me up for the symposium i'd be going to one of his camps.
sam

[JeffS]

Thanks for the info Matt. I'll have to check out that software. I don't know how many know this but Windows Media Player 9 will slow down an MP3 and it is free. Sounds like the Amazing Slow Downer does more though.

[John Flynn]

mcmando:

Great post! I have been playing, and living, about a decade longer than you, but almost the same list of things completely re-vitalized my playing about a year and a half ago. At the bottom, I have some addtional suggestions:

Software: I do the same thing, only I use Transkriber for recorded music and Van Basco's Kareoke Player (freeware) for MIDIs.

Lessons: I too, struggled to find a good instructor, going through several of them. Finally, I found that my favorite mando player, Curtis Buckhannon (Ill-Mo Boys, Buckhannon Brothers) lived within driving distance. He did not teach mando, but I begged until he took me as a student. It has been going very well for over six months! The moral: If you find someone you like and can get to, get them to teach you. It may be a good alternative to a "teacher by trade."

Camp: I haven't been to a camp, but I go to every workshop I can, including Mike Compton (bluegrass), Lil' Rev (blues mando), John Carty (Irish GDAE instruments). At each workshop, I feel like I am "drinking from a fire hose" all day long and not keeping up, but days later I feel like my playing has really improved, I have some new ideas and some great recordings!

Recorder: Ditto the minidisc. However, I continue to be frustrated on the inability of it to upload to a computer without a workaround.

Metronome: Ditto. I had one for years, but never fully appreciated it until recently.

Mando: Ditto. My Rigel A+ is my third mando and I really feel like its excellent playability is a big factor in my improvement over the last year and a half. I have played a few mandos that sound better. I have yet to find one I enjoy playing more.

In addition to your list:

Jams: Find 'em, somewhere. Host them if you have to. They have been a big growth factor for me.

CDs: I find that my playing has improved in proportion to the increase of the size of my mando/old-time/bluegrass/celtic CD collection. Coincidence? I think not!

Performances: Find a place to perform. Old folk's homes, block parties, church, whatever. Performing will force you to grow as a player like nothing else.

Good luck and thanks for the starting the thread!

[mcmando]

John, Sam and Johnny- thanks for the replies and encouragement!

Sam, I'm jealous-- wishing I could go to the Symposium! It'll be great, I'm certain.

Johnny, I hear ya about the jams-- definitely a step I need to take. Thanks for the words of wisdom.

Matt

[POB]

All the tecnological gizmos are great - "The Amazing Slow Downer" is a total godsend. Instructional DVDs can be such an improvement over books. But, there is still no substitute for a good one-on-one instructor - it's good to see this also featured in the lists above.

I started playing guitar twenty years ago, mandolin a couple of years after that, bouzouki a couple of years after that again. I play mainly Irish music and I'm self-taught. This is partly because there was nobody playing Irish music on guitar near me when I started out, and partly because I was an cocky 14-year-old who reckoned I could figure it all out myself.

Now, I did a decent enough job, if I do say so myself #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif , except for one crucial thing - I developed a really bad right hand technique for flatpicking. Everything is fine and relaxed when I'm accompanying, but the minute I go to play a melody, no matter which instrument I'm on, I find myself clamping the heel of my hand way too tight just behind the bridge, and everything tenses right up. It's starting to hurt. Now that I've finally decided to stop doing this before I damage my right hand/arm, I find I'm trying to undo twenty years of bad habit. It's unbelievably frustrating. I'm pretty busy with family and job commitments and so forth, and it's hard to get the time to do the level of cold turkey practise that this needs, so I'm not making any sort of progress.

Sorry for being long-winded - my point is this: by all means use all the technological accessories you can to make learning easier, but if you're lucky enough to have access to a good teacher, take lessons! It will probably save you a lot of frustration down the line.

[frets1]

Is the "slow downer" like the "transkriber" software? I use TRASKRIBER v2 and it is wonderful. Its helped me more than anything except Jeff (my teacher).

Lifes short, PICK HARD~!~! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[randolin]

Thanks Matt, glad you are getting value out of our lessons.

[sailaway]

One of the things that helped me most was trying to learn the melody of a song 'cold', then add the simple chords, then listen to someone great play the same thing (like Josh Pinkham on fisher's hornpipe, etc. -- )then try to figure out just what different licks/runs/double stops that expert person has added to the basic melody. what a real eye opener ! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif Another thing is , scrape up some money if you can get to a mando camp like Niles' at Front Royal or Kaufman's or the upcoming Bluegrass week at Augusta heritage center in W. Va. the week of Aug 1 to 7. And also , quit your job and practice mando 7 - 8 hours a day like josh Pinkham ( just kidding, you need the $ for camps..) http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[chipotle]

Hey mcmando, I am 43 as well and I just took up the mandolin about 5 months ago. I started with Bert Casey's cd and book, but I also found a great man to actually teach me and show tecnique. I am still a raw rookie but I am learning by example rather than just trying to learn via book. I do not know any stringed instruments so this is a completely new thing for me. I love the mandolin, I am still learning to pick cleanly.