Warning! Once you can play that mando you might not want to put it down! I played lead guitar on both coasts in hard rock bands for over 20 years,heared Jeff Austin (yonder mt. string band)wail on a mando and it blew my mind! My jaw was dropped!Ran out the next day and bought a cheap one. I soon leaned it did'nt sound like the mandos in the recordings I was listening to.
Listen and learn Bill Monroe stuff if you want to play bluegrass. It's bluegrass 101, like hendrix to rock guitar, it will give you the fundimentals and finess to play good honest mando.Oh ya it's tuff stuff too! You will probably have to spend much time playing as many mandos as you can, and learning about mandos,just like guitars there are different ones for different musical styles,and what makes some sound better than others is the science you'll need to learn. Don't expect your first self made acoustic insrument to sound good,you'll go through a lot of trial and tribulation until you hit the nail on the head.
I hardly play my guitars anymore, now I just play mando, the fingering,technics,muscles used are totaly different than guitar and it keeps me quite busy. Those years of lead guitar did help put learning how to play the mando into hyperdrive.
Thile is so gifted! Also check out David Grisman.
Putting some of that rock attitude,technics into you're mando playing can make you unique and mind blowing if your good at it(rake picking arpeggois and 2 handed tapping on mando, good luck). I can't do alot of that kind of guitar stuff on the mando but I try sometimes,it's fun.Some of my guitar buddies were picking a Van Halen tune and told me to take the solo,so I did. 2 handed tapping and all,blew everyone away! Bill Monroe mixed blues and rock&roll licks into his traditional old world musical upbringing and it made him the most admired mando picker the world has ever known. God rest his soul! Ron
Shudup and play your mandolin!
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