Sticking to it

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

I have a history of having a red hot obsession for a new hobby or interest, to the point that I go through a phase where I don't want to think about, talk about, read about anything else and I live and breathe that hobby for several weeks or months, then I burn out or switch to a new obsession. This is just something I know about myself. I don't want that to happen with mandolin. It has already happened on ex with mandolin where I hardly touched it for several months after I got discouraged with my slow progress.

Besides sinking a lot of money into a really nice instrument and finding these forums, making sure I play every day, listen to lots of mandolin music, and go to jams and play in a group, what can I do to keep the passion alive long term? I suspect that maybe the key is moderating my passion a bit so that my life is more balanced, but that's not something I have been good at in my life. I suspect I am not the only one who goes all in and then burns out. If this is also you, how have you overcome it?

[Grommet]

Hi Misty- Here are some suggestions from my own experience. I know we have all felt the same feelings you expressed at times! You might want to set some easily attainable goals for your playing and achieve them through regular playing and practice! Want to learn tunes? Collect a bazillion .tef files to learn. Want to read notation? I found Joe Carr's books great. Want to learn the fret board? Do 30 minutes of FFCP (all four finger positions in each of their keys) for a year. This is actually more fun that it sounds. Lessons would be a great way to get enthusiastic if you can find a good instructor. Right now for me it's learning a little jazz comping hopefully for mandolin and guitar from internet sources. Good Luck!

Scott

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

Thanks Grommet! Here is what I'm doing so far.

1. Working through the Jack Tottle bluegrass mandolin book slowly. I'm stuck on the double stops right now!
2. Learning tunes from the Mandolin Fakebook and tabs I find online. I can read notation really well but tab is harder. Right now I'm learning Cherokee Shuffle, Gold Rush (in honor of my new mandolin), and just started Sugar Hill from the Song a Week group
3. I play in a small bluegrass / folk band of mostly ukuleles, one guitar, me, and my husband on double bass. I just do chords and rhythm so far but will be doing a simple break at our "gig" tomorrow, just melody of the chorus from "When I'm Gone" by the Bankesters.
4. I work on chords every day. I can play a lot of the three finger chords and learning the 4-finger shapes.

I do need to do more with scales and ffcp. Thanks for the suggestions. I struggle with the 6th and 7th fret.

[SincereCorgi]

If you want to make sure you keep playing, the best way is probably to further entangle yourself in your band or running a jam or some other activity where you can't just stop without it bothering anybody. Playing regularly in public with a band and trying to build repertoire/ability will make you progress the fastest, in my experience. Regular lessons are also good, since nobody likes that feeling of showing up to a lesson without having practiced.

Also, just recognize that you're going to run hot and cold on mandolin to a degree. You can learn other instruments while still playing mandolin, and often you'll be a better mandolinist for it.

[Michael Bridges]

Misty, to me, the most important thing is to keep it fun! I have tendencies to get a bit obsessive about things, and if "life gets in the way", and maybe I don't get to pick up my mando on a given day, I have to remind myself that it'll be waiting patiently for me tomorrow. Focus on the end goal, making music. I've found with mandolins, it's easy to get caught up in minutiae. Picks, strings, straps, new mando (not an issue for you!). They're all just a means to the end of making music. If a piece is frustrating you, drop back a bit and concentrate on something else for a while, maybe something you know well. Helps sometimes to remind yourself what you're capable of playing. Enjoy every victory. The first time I played Jerusalem Ridge all the way through, (yeah, it was slow, and not really perfect, but I finished it!) I felt like popping a bottle of bubbly. I guess to sum it up, just remember to enjoy!

[Pete Jenner]

Misty, I can relate to your obsessive nature. In fact you could have been describing me. I've been struggling to learn to play mandolin for over 20 years and I never seem to get any better. My obsessions can last from days to months but my current obsession of building mandolins which stemmed from an on again and off again obsession with playing them, has been going for over three years and is sending me broke. :)

In the periods when you feel your obsession waning or you feel you are not progressing, it's important to force yourself to pick up the mandolin every day, even if only for 5 minutes. Keep it out of the case and put it on a stand where you can see it.

What is the name of your band?

[Bertram Henze]

Sounds like beginning to read a thousand books and finishing none. This habit makes you miss out on all the good parts of life, and an instrument is a good companion to break it. Listen to accomplished players an see the fun they are having, remembering that it took a long journey to get there.
It's like the Irish saying: to know beauty, one must live with it.
If you stay on the fast lane, you can never take an exit to a destination.

[Beanzy]

To stay in it for the long-term then I find it helps look at myself in the long term.
Not necessarily too specifically as those very defined goals tend to fit better as short and medium term objectives.
So as the mandolin will be something you will invest a decent chunk of your time in then you should try to imagine who the Misty S-J you're investing in will be in future years. I try to paint a general picture of what I'd like to be able to do and how I'd like to be seen by, fit in with and contribute to those I'll be involved with, then I work back from there to see what would make good building blocks for that.

I've found I can then set those mid-term objectives more easily and have a context for what each area is building towards. This means that when things get rough I've got the bigger picture to help me over any lack of enthusiasm and can re-focus more easily. As there are loads of different paths being followed I can swap to give more emphasis to another one, but rather than being a total diversion I know it's all helping to make the future player. Obviously I continually re-assess and re-work the long term picture as I go.

Sincere Corgi's point about embedding yourself into something you can't easily drop is really useful for pushing through any doldrums that may best you. Just make sure you choose one that really is where your road lies and not something you do 'because I shoud' or because that's what people do'. It'll be very much your own road to travel.

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

Misty, I can relate to your obsessive nature. In fact you could have been describing me. I've been struggling to learn to play mandolin for over 20 years and I never seem to get any better. My obsessions can last from days to months but my current obsession of building mandolins which stemmed from an on again and off again obsession with playing them, has been going for over three years and is sending me broke. :)

In the periods when you feel your obsession waning or you feel you are not progressing, it's important to force yourself to pick up the mandolin every day, even if only for 5 minutes. Keep it out of the case and put it on a stand where you can see it.

What is the name of your band?
Thanks Pete! We are called the Bumsteaders, because we are an offshoot from BUMS, the Brisbane Ukulele Musicians Society.

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

And thanks all for your feedback. Very helpful and encouraging. I think part of it is trusting myself that I will stick with it. I like the idea of thinking about myself in 10 years and how much fun I will be having and how much better I will be!

[Tim Griffin]

Find one song or tune you really like and play it over and over until you got it. Then pick one in a different key. Learn that next but kept playing the first one.

[Astro]

I think this is normal for most humans and even more common with instruments. Instruments can be a cruel passion. We go through stages where we get very little positive feedback from our efforts and phases of seemingly little progress. I have given up many, many times in my life and have packed it all away for years. Then about 10 years ago I started back to fill a void in my life and because I have always been drawn to music.

This time it seemed I needed the music as much as wanted it. I finally went over a hump from which there was no return. It was no longer about the instrument and in fact I switched from nice electric guitars to nice acoustics and then 2 years ago to mandolin. The instrument is no longer the focus. My focus now is the music. I cant wait to play now and have to pace myself from over working my fingers and voice. I hear nuances in music and lyrics that really turn me on and have rekindled a long held need to write.

Short answer-- the music will either take you over or it wont. No right or wrong here. And if you move on, dont be surprised if you come back to it years down the road. It has likely already made in roads into your genome.

Finally,

PLAY WITH OTHERS !!!! It took me many years to get over my shyness and I played to myself, by myself for way way too long. Thats what motivates me now when I need it. Dont wait to get better. Do it now.

[lenf12]

Pick up a guitar (or any other musical instrument) so while your passion for mandolin may ebb, you can continue the musical journey and learn some valuable insights that can later be applied to playing mandolin. Just a thought....

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Jim]

Pick up a guitar (or any other musical instrument) so while your passion for mandolin may ebb, you can continue the musical journey and learn some valuable insights that can later be applied to playing mandolin. Just a thought....
I go back & forth between Guitar & Mandolin (and flute) and this keeps them both fresh. Now when I obcess it's usually about working out a new piece of music on one or the other. Also other activities that are not musical in nature( for me it's bicycling ,sailing and windsurfing) can divert you and make playing music fresh and interesting when you return to it. Make a little time for different activities in each day.

[yankees1]

I have a history of having a red hot obsession for a new hobby or interest, to the point that I go through a phase where I don't want to think about, talk about, read about anything else and I live and breathe that hobby for several weeks or months, then I burn out or switch to a new obsession. This is just something I know about myself. I don't want that to happen with mandolin. It has already happened on ex with mandolin where I hardly touched it for several months after I got discouraged with my slow progress.

Besides sinking a lot of money into a really nice instrument and finding these forums, making sure I play every day, listen to lots of mandolin music, and go to jams and play in a group, what can I do to keep the passion alive long term? I suspect that maybe the key is moderating my passion a bit so that my life is more balanced, but that's not something I have been good at in my life. I suspect I am not the only one who goes all in and then burns out. If this is also you, how have you overcome it? Yes, I can relate to you !! We are twins !

[bart mcneil]

I have that problem too...

My solution is to play religiously for one to three hours per day so that it becomes like a real commitment. Simply the commitment to play is enough for me., If I don't progress then it becomes really boring. so I learn a new pattern of picking or a new chord or two. Without the commitment to learn something I tend to get bored and quit. This system has worked for me for over ten years. and I also figure I have enough money tied up in instruments that I would take a terrific beating by quitting.

[Mickey King]

Sometime I get frustrated because it seem I'm not making progress. But I have to realize that I have made progress and I keep raising my expectations of myself. I probably should record or video myself to watch later on and evaluate my progress.

[Bertram Henze]

I probably should record or video myself to watch later on and evaluate my progress.

Videoing yourself is giving you a challenge if you need one, BUT: when you doubt your progress, make sure you store that first video in a safe place and don't watch it until MUCH later on... ;)

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

Again, thanks to all for your awesome feedback!

[Jonathan Reinhardt]

Choose just a few of your favorite songs (whether you play them with others or not doesn't matter) and slowly refine them - make them your own - continually polish your personal arrangements of them, and take satisfaction in the results of your efforts. No time limits necessary, the process itself WILL yield positive results. This helps keep you appreciating the mandolin (and what it can do), which you must in order to stick with it.
Do you sing as well? The interplay with your vocals and mandolin should become like a duet. When added to a larger group effort, this has tremendous potential. In a world of so many instruments (and methods of creating music) the simplicity and joy of getting better and better on the one you have chosen (mandolin) is a special reward.

[Andy B]

Four things that helped me stick with it for the long haul: lessons with a great teacher who taught me the Monroe style that I loved and really wanted to learn, playing with other people, playing in a band, closely listening a lot. And one more--If you don't already know how to read music for treble clef instruments like the mandolin, learn how. It's relatively simple--a teacher or a good book like "How To Read Music" opens up a lot of material that isn't otherwise readily available. But I did all these things because playing bluegrass mandolin became something that I had to do. If you can come to feel that way about it, you will want to stick with it.

[dang]

If you haven't already, and your climate permits, get a wall hanger for your mando so it is always at the ready. Just seeing it will inspire you to play, and since your gold rush is a work of art it will fit right in anywhere. It will call to you when it is lonely, but in a case that call can be harder to hear.

Another thing I have found that helps is creating a mando part for songs that you really wouldn't expect yourself to play. You could do this by yourself just playing along with the radio on a non-standard mandolin genre. I often participate in a local open mic night that a friend of mine hosts and he always ropes me into playing with people I don't know on songs I don't know and have to learn on the fly (80's music, hip hop, Funk, 90's music, Solo piano, Rap?!?... all thrown at me). Unencumbered by any previous knowledge of how OTHER people play the songs on mandolin, I am forced to use the techniques i have learned and stretch all of my mando skills into something more than I have ever done before. And if you are lucky you will meet a few new friends along the way, (or you will have that mandolin lick for "Don't stop believing" you learned in you living room ready at a moment's notice) :mandosmiley:

[stevedenver]

I too am like Wind in the Willows Mr Toad at times, with new passions.

Life is a banquet, enjoy it. But, no one eats ice cream 24/7.
I immersed myself in BG and mando exclusively for the past 5 years.

I am now interested in gypsy jazz, and back to jazz and rock, and guitar a great deal more than mando right now (due in part to a mando related finger issue-and a lovely new martin that rocks my world LOL).

Many great suggestions above, band, alternative instrument, etc

Be gentle with yourself. Patient. Allow yourself to take a break and feel ok about it. Its ok to be YOU.

Take lessons. An outside task master will help you stay fresh and directed when you cannot do it
alone. Not unlike a trainer at the gym for those days when you are happy to simply do it, even if you cannot feel like Rambo (Rambette???-sounds French....LOL)

Understand that things ebb and flow, including musical interests. Even a hiatus can be enormously beneficial, and I have had a few in my life due to other obligations. If it is part of who you really are, a 'need' it will always need nurturing from you at some time, but perhaps not all the time.

However, mindful consistent practice WILL yield skills that can be enjoyed the rest of your life. Theres a reason we all admire a fine player. No one gets there in a year or so.

[allenhopkins]

From my point of view, the way to "stick to" activities is to let them evolve from passion to ongoing interest -- even routine. Playing obsessively every day, going to jams several times a week, spending chunks of time thinking "mandolin," and other such things lead to burnout, at least in my experience.

The suggestions of acquiring an ongoing mandolin-related responsibility, such as band practice/performance, helping run a jam or sing-around, meeting regularly with people you like to play in a "no pressure" environment, seem quite helpful to me.

You want to make music a regular part of your life. Doesn't mean you have to play every day, set goals and worry about reaching them, drive yourself to improve and expand and perfect your skills. It should be comfortable, giving you pleasure, something that you naturally do as an alternative to watching TV, gardening, reading, performing open-heart surgery -- you know, your regular routine activities.

You'll know you've arrived when you acquire another passion -- needlepoint, white-water kayaking, motocross, whatever -- and keep playing your mandolin anyway. Because it's not a "passion," it's just what you do. Passions fade, interests persist.

[Bertram Henze]

Passions fade, interests persist.

If it has to be real, the playing must be your very own. Interests fade, life persists.

[Marc Ferry]

Great question! I'd highly recommend varying things up. Passions fade away when they get repetitive. So, when you find that you're not enjoying the mandolin as much as usual, try doing something different with it. Explore another genre. Compose a song. Experiment with different ways of taking solos. Learn new songs. Play songs you already know differently. The possibilities are limitless!

[Johnno]

Hey hi Misty, thought I might ad my 2cents worth. You know I was introduced to mandolin three years and a bit ago and many times I felt like puttin her in the case and taking up Kazoo or something. The reason is because I cannot count. Oh I can count alright but I cannot count in time with the music no matter what I try. I swapped over to 3/4 time thinking if I could get a waltz goin then I could step up again to some bluegrass. Well I still cannot count and I am still trying but I am not goin to punish myself if I don't get it in twelve months because what I am playing sounds good to me and I am only doin this for me know one else.
I also found taking a break for a couple of days or a week helps get the wanting to play back.
Hope to see you at the bluegrass festival .
Cheers

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

Awesome. And dang, I do have a stand for my mandolin. It's the prettiest thing in the house, I've gotta look at it! It's right next to my husband's double bass. We have strange decor in the lounge room.

[mtndan]

Misty, I can totally relate. I started playing mandolin in college and only now 20ish years later have I really committed. I never had much structure or discipline for it then - it was just ornamentation. Now however I've figured out that I'm not getting any younger, and that I truly WANT to play well. I have young kids and want to set an example for them in practicing something, sucking mostly, and then getting better bit by bit.

Two things have helped me immensely. First was signing up for the Artistworks Mike Marshall School of Mandolin. Second, I also used a tool called Beeminder (http://beeminder.com) to help me stick to a commitment and goal. It sounds a little draconian but it really was helpful. This article by a budding guitarist using Beeminder was what inspired me to try it - http://blog.beeminder.com/j2j/

Anyway best of luck!

[JeffD]

How often do you get together with others to play. Band practice or a jam.

I think once a week is the minimum to keep the motivation. More frequently can only help.

Another thing is to find a way to make it stupid fun. You have the kind of music you love, sure, but try playing stuff you have no feeling for on mandolin, just for the ridiculousness and perversity of it. Different for everyone, but we all have music which we are indifferent about. I like to pick up old commercial jingles or old pop tunes I preteneded to hate as a kid. Just little melodys that can make me smile playing them, even though they may not have ever made me smile hearing them.

It can be sustaining to see your mandolin as a source of goofy amusement as well as serious artistic endeavor.

[Marcelyn]

Remember all you went through to get those calluses? Whenever you feel them wearing thin, just think about the hours of fun you'll enjoy getting those back again. I have the same tendencies you describe, but once I made it through the mandolin's break in period, I told myself I'd try my best to keep that set of calluses to the end.
If mandolin is to be the instrument you focus on, find a way to let your personality come through the playing. I have a room full of fun instruments, but I truly focused in on mandolin and fiddle when I settled on old time as the style I enjoyed most. Finding a favorite genre that really speaks to you helps you hone in on where you want to go. When you play with your own personality as opposed to playing notes on a page, you'll stick with that instrument because you find your voice on it.
And when you see your voice developing on a certain instrument, you'll naturally wind up meeting other musicians who enjoy the same style. Like someone else said, finding people to play with is probably the biggest factor in keeping you on track. The group I'm fortunate to play music with is great friends and my niche with them has become fiddle/mandolin. Because of this, I'm motivated to work hard at it.
One other huge tip in sticking to it is to record yourself. You probably won't see progress without this because it's so gradual. Listening to one of my recordings from a few months back though and seeing how far I've come is always enough to get me motivated again.
Have fun with this week's tune, Sugar Hill. I'm workin on it too.

[bobby bill]

Another thing is to find a way to make it stupid fun. You have the kind of music you love, sure, but try playing stuff you have no feeling for on mandolin, just for the ridiculousness and perversity of it. Different for everyone, but we all have music which we are indifferent about. I like to pick up old commercial jingles or old pop tunes I pretended to hate as a kid. Just little melodys that can make me smile playing them, even though they may not have ever made me smile hearing them.

I endorse this. I'll often buy a new book of music to help me get out of a rut. And sometimes further from your comfort zone is better. Your comment made me think of the book of TV theme songs I got. Nothing like I Love Lucy or the Johnny Carson theme to get you out of the doldrums. Oh, and we still play the Munster's theme song every Halloween.

[farmerjones]

Seem like every endeavor has three stages: The initial novelty or passion. Then it becomes burdensome. Then to take it to the next level, finally, it becomes second nature, if one has an affinity. Lots of great advice here. My advice is trust that it will happen, if it happens. My second tidbit; Everybody knows, there's two kinds of practice: Polishing and refining, and then there's actually learning new technique. I say, you can't throw yourself a curveball. Take a chance to jam with strangers, or purchase some master class time. Discomfort seems necessary for growth. Best of Luck, FJ

[Misty Stanley-Jones]

More great stuff. Jeff, my band meets once a week and we go to a jam about once a month. I would love to find a way to make it more often though. I am also signed up for ArtistWorks and find it great but I don't feel like I take enough advantage of it. I am having heaps of fun with these Tabledit files though and want to do a post about it!

[Bob Clark]

Hi Misty,

Here's what works for me. I take advantage of the great diversity inherent in the mandolin family of instruments. Over time, I have built up a small collection of mandolins, each of which sounds and plays quite differently from the others. These now include an arch-top, an Army/Navy flat top, a nylon-strung flat top, and an OM. When my interest in whichever one I have been playing starts to diminish, I put that one away, take out another and play a different genre or style of music. I find that change in style, sound and touch perks my interest back up and I am back at it with enthusiasm. It works for me, maybe it could help you as well.

Best wishes,

Bob

[fatt-dad]

It's a collector's hobby. I'm always collecting new tunes to play. Irish, Shetland, Old-Time, Classical, etc. I love trying new mandolins too. So, I buy one or two, sell one or two. Keep in my budget.

I also found a duet partner. We are having lots of fun building tunes to play.

f-d

[sgrexa]

I can relate to this and have plowed full steam ahead into some hobbies that didn't last. Brewing my own beer is one that comes to mind. I spent all kinds of money on equipment and read everything I could get my hands on. After a couple of batches that turned out to be undrinkable due to contamination, I lost interest. I can say that after almost 20 years I am almost as enthusiastic about the instrument if not more than I was at the start. One of the things that I find exciting is the range of music that works on mandolin. It is an incredibly versatile instrument, much more so than I originally thought when I started. I find I can play along to just about any type of music, and some songs can be arranged and played as if they were written for the mandolin. Funk, blues, classic rock, disco, reggae all find their way into my playbook. It helps to try to discipline yourself and learn at least one or more new song a week. I did go through some phases where I kind of put the mandolin on the back burner but I don't think I ever went more than a month or two without pulling it out of the case. Jimmy Buffet said it best "there's something so feminine about a mandolin, the way that they feel, the way that they ring" and the best line "when that bug bites you, you live with the sting" So true!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqBw0ztIqc8

Sean