What are you working on now?

**joni24** · Jun-07-2012, 7:32pm

Here's my current focus list:
1 - Learning more fiddle tunes (with festival season coming up I'm hoping that this will pay off to some extent at late night jams).

2 - Learning to play scales in closed position. I'm just starting out with the FFcP basic exercises as found in Jazzmando.com. Not yet ready for prime time, but I think it is worthwhile.

3. - Playing up the neck: I'm working thru Nile Hokkanen's Bluegrass up the Neck book. Got it over a month ago but still only up to about page 9. Lots of good info and practice exercises, if I can be patient!

4. Just having fun with old familiar tunes.... Working on singing a few leads and developing better instrumental breaks.

5. Trying to integrate a few double stops into my breaks. Starting with I am a Pilgrim and Kentucky Waltz.

How's about y'all? I find that seeing what other people are working on helps me as well. Thanks!

**joni24** · Jun-08-2012, 8:16am

So... is this list too ambitious? Or did I scare everyone away.

**belbein** · Jun-08-2012, 8:27am

You can't scare ME away.

I'm working on:

1. A Saga AM-10 "A" mandolin (in finish mode);
2. A Don Kawalek Octave Mandolin (starting this afternoon);
3. A P.O.S. Rover that I'm slowly taking apart to teach myself how to repair.

Oh. Did you mean what MUSIC?

**Adam Sweet** · Jun-08-2012, 8:28am

Wow these are great. How long do you practice every day?

Remember with scales/arpeggios, learning is incremental - you build up over time so 10 minutes a day, every day, is better than 30 minutes twice a week (just like weight training...funny how the brain works).

I've got mostly wedding gigs this summer, no new material. I am playing mandolin in a Klezmer Ensemble that I teach on Tuesdays. That's a lot of fun because I get to play rhythm. The rhythms are a lot of fun in Klezmer music!

I do have a couple bluegrass weddings in August and September. One I have the pleasure of playing with some old friends from College! Should be fun.

**Justus True Waldron** · Jun-08-2012, 8:32am

Lately I've been working on playing in a band type environment and actually something entirely non-mando: singing! I've found that learning the classic tunes in bluegrass has an added benefit though: Knowing how the melody is SUPPOSED to go for when you take a break or get asked to kick a tune. Me and some friends got asked to play a gospel set at a small local festival last week, so I've been pretty focused on practising for that for the past month or so... Now that it's over I can go back to focusing on just playing alone, which I find to be a totally different thing. One is concentrating on blending and supporting, the other is just pure tone and fluidity. I practiced for a couple hours on technique the other night, and played a couple easy classical duets (Bourre in EM, etc) with my dad... lots of fun!

Here are some videos from our gospel set

I wish I had taken the time to tune before this one... I was kind of in the zone!!!

**Justus True Waldron** · Jun-08-2012, 8:33am

A couple more... Had a lot of fun working up a couple tunes rather than just jamming all the time!

**tree** · Jun-08-2012, 9:16am

Trying to learn the lyrics to Head Over Heels, and also that nasty lick in 3rds in Vassar's jazzy little break. Can't wait to bring that to the group!

**Denny Gies** · Jun-08-2012, 9:49am

Looks like you guys have fun, that's the best part of this insanity.

**joni24** · Jun-08-2012, 10:31am

Hey Justus, great playing and singing! There's a lot of talent in that little band of yours. I had to chuckle when I heard that old gospel favorite, Whiskey Before Breakfast, nestled in there among the fiddle tunes. Nice job.

**pickloser** · Jun-08-2012, 10:47am

I'm working on knowing and using the harmonized major scale in various permutations, especially arpeggios; working on being a better rhythm player (chord inversions, extensions, shapes, patterns, staying on the front edge of the backbeat); building my lick vocabulary; and increasing my song repertoire (learning lyrics--aauugghh).

**Mike Scott** · Jun-08-2012, 11:17am

Scales? "I don't need no stinking..........." Seriously though, I used to play scales all over the neck back when I was starting up, but never a fan of that kind of thing gave it up. I more recently was doing some pentatonic scale work but have drifted away from that as well. I guess I just like picking out tunes. I need to get back to working on both scales and pentatonic scales. Thanks for the reminder.

**lenf12** · Jun-08-2012, 11:43am

The Grisman tunes "Janice" and "Dawg's Bull". Lot's of fun (and frustration). Trying to find someone to play them with has been more difficult than learning the tunes.

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

**joni24** · Jun-08-2012, 3:10pm

Originally Posted by Adam Sweet

Wow these are great. How long do you practice every day?

Remember with scales/arpeggios, learning is incremental - you build up over time so 10 minutes a day, every day, is better than 30 minutes twice a week (just like weight training...funny how the brain works).

I try to devote at least 20 mins each day to scales/exercises, 20 mins to new songs & tunes and another 20 mins or more to just having fun playing songs with my hubby. Would love to spend more time, but as for all of us, life sometimes gets in the way!

**joni24** · Jun-09-2012, 6:24am

My fiddle tune of the week is Cherokee Shuffle. Still trying to figure out the best chord shape for the F#m.

**lenf12** · Jun-09-2012, 9:27am

Originally Posted by joni24

My fiddle tune of the week is Cherokee Shuffle. Still trying to figure out the best chord shape for the F#m.

I like the 6-4-0-2 shaped F#m in CS. It maintains that chop chord shape and allows you to "walk" down from the A to F# on the D string. Good luck!!

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

**joni24** · Jun-10-2012, 9:36am

Originally Posted by lenf12

I like the 6-4-0-2 shaped F#m in CS. It maintains that chop chord shape and allows you to "walk" down from the A to F# on the D string. Good luck!!

Thanks for the F#m chord suggestion... it's one I haven't seen before.

Actually, something that I really need to add to my practice list is improving on chords and quickly moving from one to another. I find this aspect isn't nearly as much fun as learning leads, so I tend to put it on the back burner. The 4-finger chop chords are still a struggle, sigh...