My FFcP Progress Report

[Ken Olmstead]

Been working on these a lot lately! Tonight I was improvising while my buddy was playing the guitar and I was really focused on running the 3rds and 4ths. WOW! Lots of fun there. I was feeling soo...ah...Jethro! The 3rds almost always work on any given progression in that key, the forths were a little more picky but it wasn't long and my ear began to hear where they could fit. I was really struck how much I kept thinking of Jethros sound when doing it. He must have used it in various ways pretty often. I will be listening for it with a more critical ear thats for sure! FUN, FUN, FUN!!

[Evan Mahoney]

Originally Posted by Jkf_Alone

Ted, how do you suggest progressing through the book? I have around 80 minutes a day of practice time, and want to spend 20 minutes of it on the exercise portion of your book, with the remainder on songs and tunes, as well as singing. Any ideas about how to break up the exercises so my hand doesn't feel like cottage cheese in a glove, and still get something out of it?

I don't understand your question...didn't Ted just say in the post previous to yours breaking the exercises up any way you want is beneficial? You are excited right now over these exercises. they are only exercises, relax, in a couple of months you will be trying to forget them, break them up however you wish. And maybe use more "conservation of energy(?)" while playing to help with your dairy problem.

[swampstomper]

I've been an enthusiastic FFcP'er for about two years. Here's a tip that keeps me motivated to keep it up. I enjoy listening to jazz and try to play a little, but I am mainly a bluegrasser. I now can play along with Flat & Scruggs recordings in the original keys. Remember, they tuned a half-step sharp most of the time. Try these:

-- Foggy Mountain Special, Randy Lynn Rag in Ab
-- Gonna Sleep with One Eye Open, You're Not a Drop in the Bucket in Eb
-- Your Love is Like a Flower in Bb (w/o the open strings)

you get the idea.

[Jkf_Alone]

Evan,

To be honest, while I do enjoy the exercises, idle chatting about them, and mandolin in general keeps interested. I want to be excited about what I do on my free time, and get better as a musician. I suppose I should have added a smiley after my last comment, so it could be taken as a mild (and poor) joke.

( Forums are basically good for three things, gathering specific information, pleasant idle discussion, and venting. I choose to use them for the first two.)

Thanks for the ideas swamp, sounds like an interesting way to apply closed scales. I don't spend near enough time playing along with recordings.

[pickloser]

Hey again, pinkie people. I finally made it to the Dorian exercises. I love the sound of these! As I progress--ever so slowly--thru the book, I find that whatever in it I am not currently practicing tends to deteriorate. For example, after working hard on the arpeggios for a number of weeks, I found my ability to play the initial FFcP exercises had deteriorated significantly. Similarly, when I moved on to the Lydian and Dorian exercises, the arpeggios got very rusty. I'm definitely past the point where I can practice all of it every day. What I've been trying is not completely satisfactory, but has helped. I practice one or two of the initial FFcP exercises in a rotation immediately after warming up with a couple easy to play tunes. Then I play one of the arpeggio exercises or the Gravity exercise, rotating thru them every 5 days. Right now, I'm keeping the Lydian exercise in top form, but spending most of my (FFcP) time on the Dorian exercises. Once I have a newer section mastered satisfactorily (almost there with the lydian stuff), my intention is to put it in the rotation, coming around to it every 6 days. When I get the Dorian stuff down, I'll have a 7 day rotation. I still break up the GiJM work with tunes and breaks I'm working on.

I can see that this can only last so long. I'm hoping that as the "in rotation" line gets longer, I will need to practice any particular exercise less frequently. How are you guys handling this? Do you find that the GiJM exercises you don't often practice deteriorate markedly? I am a bit concerned that perhaps I'm not "getting it" as good as I thought I was the first time thru, since I don't have this problem with tunes and songs and breaks. I can leave those alone for weeks and not have to shake much dust off. Any suggestions? What are you doing?

Laura

[LKN2MYIS]

Laura -

I'm kinda / sorta doing what you're doing, but differently.

As I move along in the book, I'm not practicing the earlier stuff as much. My belief (and I may be wrong) is that the stuff is becoming embedded subconsciously.

I think this is true because other stuff I play seems to be more, I don't know, 'fluid' and makes a bit more sense.

I'm starting (yes, starting!) to see the relationships on the fingerboard a bit more clearly.

I work on an exercise until I feel comfortable with it, no matter how long it takes. Then I practice it until I don't have to think about it. Then I move on.
When I go back to revisit it, I may be a little rusty with it, but I notice it comes back to me real quick.

I'm guessing this is what Ted had in mind. I can't conceive of practicing every exercise every day. I'd have to quit work!

Hope this helps.

[Doug Hoople]

Originally Posted by pickloser

I am a bit concerned that perhaps I'm not "getting it" as good as I thought I was the first time thru, since I don't have this problem with tunes and songs and breaks. I can leave those alone for weeks and not have to shake much dust off. Any suggestions? What are you doing?

Hi Laura,

Letting things lie for a couple of days or weeks, and then pulling them out and shaking the dust off is an essential step in acquisition.

Letting things lie for a couple of months, and then pulling them out and knocking the rust off is also an essential step in acquisition.

You'll find that if you go back periodically and put things back under your fingers after they've slipped away, that less and less will slip from your fingers.

It's something that the Pimsleur language people make a big deal out of. They call it 'Graduated Interval Recall.' You start out by doing things often, and then start increasing the gap between iterations. When the intervals get bigger (days instead of minutes, weeks instead of days, months instead of weeks), you have to pull from further recesses, but rebuilding something that has nearly slipped away will go a long way toward reinforcing the neural pathways you've built for that something.

But this is a process that takes months and even years. Don't expect your progress to be permanent from the moment you first master something. Especially if it's something you don't already know how to do, you have to keep after it, and it will constantly be slipping awy.

Your rotation plan sounds eminently sensible, and it seems like you're working your own 'Graduated Interval Recall' scheme already!

Good luck! Stay with it! And let us know how you're getting on.

[Jkf_Alone]

that's a good point Doug, similar to body building. you can't expect your muscles to get bigger if you work the same ones every day. As a matter of fact, you will probably find yourself getting weaker.

[OldSausage]

I'm going to print out Doug's post and tape it on my wall. Otherwise I'll never remember it.

[Ted Eschliman]

No rest for the wicked. Introduced something new today:
Dorian/Minor FFcP

Up and at 'em!

[mando.player]

I finally got around to clicking on the Dorian link. I didn't realize that it was the minor version of the Mandology sheets. Excellent work Ted. Now I can work the other side of my mando brain.

After I get through this holiday/birthday (I turn 38 on the 12th) weekend, I'm going to be revamping my practice routine. This should fit the bill just fine.

[Rick Cadger]

Excuse me resuscitating this thread, but I'd also be interested in Ted's suggestions regarding the last poster's question.

I just ordered the book from Amazon UK and I have limited time for practice. Ted's advice on how best to use 20-30 mins a day on the book would be very helpful.

I'm really looking forward to getting into it.

[Rob Gerety]

I can see this is something I am going to have to do. Oh lord, here we go again. Countless hours buried in the basement music room!

[pickloser]

Hope no one minds my reviving this thread. But I've given the Berklee Drills a lot of time, and I'm ready to move on to the next frustratingly difficult, time sucking - just kidding, Ted - exercise. I took the month before Kaufman Kamp "off" from FFcP in order to work on repetoire polishing. After working on materials from Kamp for a while, I turned seriously again to GiJM. It returned to my fingers surprisingly well.

I'm now practicing the earlier exercises trying to increase speed without too much sacrifice of tone. I'm also trying to play the arpeggios with a greater awareness of what the chord tones are and where they are falling in each pattern.

My pinkie is on board with the rest of my fingers now. I'm extremely pleased about that. I think I must credit GiJM. It's not that I couldn't have tried to use my pinky while playing other things; it's more that I would have avoided using it, if not consciously, then sub-consciously.

I'm interested in how other folks are using the accompanying CD. I think I've only listened to it a couple times.
I'm not very clear on what exactly I was learning with the Berklee drills. I appreciate them as "sounds." They certainly are a workout and have improved my technique. But I think I missed something in the explanation.

Also, just in general, I'm interested in how others are progressing thru the book.

Laura

[Ted Eschliman]

Glad these are working for you, Laura. I'd also like to know what people think of the CD. One common question is, "Am I supposed to play these exercises at THAT speed?" The answer is these are more to give you an idea of what they sound like later, not as "play-along." The "Berklee Gypsy" drills are a way of combining the Altered Scale with intervals of 4ths. It's really an advanced bit of finger gymnastics, and in retrospect, probably should have saved it for a later book. Still if you can get it in your fingers and your ears, it can be a helpful tool later.

If you like the arpeggios, check out the August MandolinSessions.com article on the Mel Bay website. Here's a better downloadable version you can print off: Diatonic Arpeggios. This morning, I just finished a minor version of this for the October column. Anyone who wants a sneak preview, email or PM me.

[Rob Gerety]

I just ordered the book. I'll be down in the music room for the duration!