Rank beginner technique

[pres]

Hi everyone, I got my mando, I'm having a bash, but I'm not too sure I'm doing things right.

I read through heaps of posts here and have carried as much across into playing as I can. What I am doing is picking out notes with a plectrum, from a fiddle book. A bit more detail:

Left hand:

I'm coming at the fingerboard more like it was a fiddle than a guitar, with the fingers pointing more up the fingerboard than across it. I am making no attempt to keep the line of knuckles parallel to the neck, in fact, I am deliberately putting them on an angle, and resting the neck in the V of the thumb and first finger.

I am playing only dead simple tunes, and the way they are, I am only using frets 2, 4 and 5 and open strings, so I am sticking to the rule and fretting them with first, second and third fingers.

Right hand:

I have a pick held in between the thumb and the knuckle nearest the nail on my first finger, the other fingers loosely curled up.

My forearm, near the elbow, rests on the edge of the body of the mando, not in a harsh way, but it does touch. I am trying to have a floating arm going right from the start.

I try to hold the pick at right angles to the strings at all times, as this seems to help cleanly hit both strings of a course as I pick. I am picking notes for now, not learning chords and strumming, just yet.

I'm trying to do down/up but I'm not being strict about it - if I have quarter notes I will just as likely do down/down and only alternate with eighth notes. So what about cross string picking(?), I presume that really strict down/up is not the go there because sometimes it would not make sense to be strict?

Anyway, that's what I'm doing, two days in as a mando player. All this stuff I learned from this board, but from many many threads. How's the plan? Is it going to work?

[Soupy1957]

It only "works" if you practice regularly...(my biggest fault is the lag time in between practice sessions and jams).

-Soupy1957

[pres]

It only "works" if you practice regularly...(my biggest fault is the lag time in between practice sessions and jams).

-Soupy1957

So, you reckon then, that this could work properly, with practice? The ingredients are all there and nothing is badly wrong?

[Soupy1957]

Pres: there are others in here who could probably add some details to your mix, but I am not the best source for that fill-in, since I am only about a year-and-a-half into playing the mando.

Having said that, I offered what I DO know, in that I realize that my lack of ability is primarily hampered by not taking the time to be "religous" about my practice time. (Life has a way of interrupting it).

Enjoy the ride, get together at local Jams as regularly as possible, find a local teacher who isn't too expensive and will teach you the music you like, and practice, practice, practice.

Try out different strings (round wound, Flat wound, etc..) and see what you like for sound and touch.

Be careful when getting "M.A.S." (Mandolin Aquisition Syndrome) that you don't over-extend your budget.

Hang with the folks who will patiently sit with you and go at your pace, while you are learning. (The impatient ones are easy to spot).

I heard Mike Marshall (a very respected mandolin professional) say:


Mandolin Tips

You'll do fine...just enjoy it!!

-Soupy1957

[swampstomper]

It sounds OK as you describe it. But perhaps you would benefit from either (1) a few lessons with a pro, just to make sure you don't have any bad habits, and to get some tips on the subtle points of hand position, pick angle etc., or if that is not possible (2) buy and follow a beginner-level DVD for the same reasons. Homespun Tapes haas lots of these and I am sure any of the ones marked for rank beginners would work better than nothing. Finally -- keep at it and enjoy it all the way!!!

[mandodan1960]

I have "John McGann's Sound Fundamentals (touch tone and technique for mandolin)" It's a very good lesson that you can review again and again. For 22.00 ish it is a great first lesson. (NFI) You will spend that in your first 30 min private lesson.

Mandodan1960

You are well on your way to success. Any less than perfect techniques you develop at this stage will be easily overcome when they become obvious to you.

For me the only hard and fast rule is that there are no hard and fast rules. What one person might consider "wrong" another would consider "personal style".

[PeaceandLoveCowgirl]

I'm only two years into it myself, but the advice I've always heard about learning an instrument in general is to get to know it; it becomes like a natural extension of your body after a while. I'm just starting to feel that groove; took a while for me but it was worth it.

[Alex Fields]

Sounds good as far as you described it, are you using wrist or elbow to pick with? You will have way more control (in almost every sense), precision, and speed and better tone if you use the wrist and not the full forearm. You may well be doing that already.