Re: Is mandolin technique harder than other instruments?
I dont think the mandolin by itself is harder to play than other instruments. Heck, I find it a lot easier to play than guitar, and look at all the lunkheads who play guitar with ease! I mean, the regular seven fret interval between strings makes much more sense to me than the way other instruments are strung.
I think you may need to take a look at some basics. Is your action too high? That could make even easy riffs a struggle. Lower your bridge as far as you can without causing fret buzz. Also, slow down your parts until you can pick them cleanly, then gradually bring them up to performance speed, dwelling at each speed where you have problems until you get clean there before increasing your tempo.
BTW, that 10,000 hour figure gets tossed around a lot, and I have no idea where it came from nor how close it is to the truth - nor how much it matters. It isn't like you put in that many hours and you will be good, automatically - if it were, I wish I had been keeping track. It's more like, you put in your time, work on everything, keep a sense of fun and enjoyment in what you are doing, and believe in your ability and how much you have progressed, and one day you'll realize you are where you wanted to be.
But that's just my opinion. I could be wrong. - Dennis Miller
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