Beginner style

[MDSMITH]

I posted something that touched on this couple weeks ago. I love the sound of a mandolin and really want to pursue learning it. I've been trying to work through the Parking Lot Picker book, but I just can't seem to get into the fiddle tunes. They just don't grab me. What other style of music is good for a beginner to learn from. I realize from my previous post that you need easy tune to practice your basics, but does it have to be fiddle tunes? The style of playing I really like is the Thile, Marshall, Flinner style(whatever you would call it). Would classical or celtic be another option?

[Dan Johnson]

If you can read sheet music, see if you can't get into some Bach for violin... That will give you some basic harmonic stuff going... And it's a lot fun... I know that it has helped me out a lot, and I've only been going at for about 9 months... Have fun!

[D C Blood]

quote
but I just can't seem to get into the fiddle tunes. They just don't grab me. The style of playing I really like is the Thile, Marshall, Flinner style(whatever you would call it). Would classical or celtic be another option?

I think you're gonna find that learning the Thile etc style, is gonna go through old fiddle tunes as an intermediary step. I believe all of them spent a lot of time learning old fiddle tunes before they developed what they do today...

[Tim2723]

Classical and Celtic would both be good options. There really isn't any style of music that can't be played on the mandolin. There are a number of books available in both styles that are geared for beginners. I'd simply go to Amazon and check the Mel Bay catalog. Mel Bay Publications have gotten hundreds of thousands of musicians started out on the right foot.

Once you've found a style that speakes to you, spend some time in the various music forums here to find like-minded players of all skill levels.

People like Thile and Marshall are not only brilliant virtuoso mandolinists, but are also master musicians. They can move seamlessly from classical to fiddle tunes to The Beatles without missing a beat. I'm sure their backgrounds include the Parking Lot Picker's Book, but if that style doesn't excite you at first, don't worry about it. It's all about your musical journey, not theirs.

[Youda]

What kind of music do you like to listen to? A mandolin can play any kind of music...so the answer is in whatever bunch of CDs or tapes, or where your radio station is tuned, that you already have laying around! :)

[abuteague]

If you are getting a new book, get something that comes with a CD. Not too hard. The CD can be great because you can listen and listen and listen before you play and it makes learning so much easier even if you are reading the music. I like David Grisman so I got a book of his tunes and they were OVER my head. Not so useful for me when I was starting out. I like Chris Thile. I got one of his books and the tunes were OVER my head. I had to start out on something easier.

I remember having a difficult time getting into tunes myself. I was so slow that the notes and rhythm didn't show off the beauty of the musical phrases. I thought the tune sucked. Then when I met up with other players and they played the tune I would hear what it was supposed to sound like. At a rhythmically challenged 35 beats per minute it was not so good, but a decent player at 120 beats per minute it was great. What helped was hearing someone else play it. Then when I tried to get it myself, I would know when I was getting close and I enjoyed it more.

It might sound strange, but when I am in a hurry to learn a tune for a show, I'll listen to it on iTunes 23 times before I start to play it with the notation. Then I read it off the notation half a dozen times. Finally, I put away the sheet music and try to play without the notation or recording. By the end of the day I'll be able to play that fiddle tune from memory. If I like it I'll practice it from memory each day.

If you are just learning, that routine might sound extreme, but each step is part of the learning process. If you don't have something to listen to before you start reading the notes, it might be holding you back. Having the tune in your head before you play a single note makes reading the notes so much easier because your hands and fingers are already expecting where they are going to be sent to next. When you are reading the notation, it is just to verify where you are going. I'd check youtube or the internet for a recording of the tune you are trying to learn so you can get into it.

If it is the style you don't like, well, the internet is your friend. What do you like to listen to?

[abuteague]

Here are a few of my favorite book/cd sets. Your favorites are going to be different, I'm sure. Of the many books I've purchased, these are the ones I went all the way through. The top one I went through multiple times, but then I play Irish traditional music with a group so I was motivated.

The Irish Mandolin
by Padraig Carroll

Mandolin Blues: From Memphis to Maxwell Street
by Rich DelGrosso

A Smokey Mountain Christmas for Mandolin
by Steve Kaufman

[Ken_P]

If you like Mike Marshall, why not try some of his choro recordings and see if you like that? Choro tunes tend to have a little more meat to them than basic fiddle tunes, but aren't that hard to get the hang of. The book he published of tunes from his CDs is excellent.

[Tim2723]

Opps, I thought he meant Evan Marshall.