Mandolin training progression

[Megaphone]

I'm hoping to get some suggestions from you all as to good ways to train on the Mandolin. I studied both Piano and Violin for several years but both were under an instructor. I will be underway on a ship for a significant portion of the next year so I will most likely be going solo when it comes to training.

As I have quickly learned, an instructor allows you to be lazy when it comes to practice in that he or she tells you what to do and you execute with little thought! Now that I am fiddling around solo on the Mandolin I'm finding that it's a little difficult to set up my own progression plan (eg. songs to work on, should I focus on chords, melodies, etc.) As violin is similar in many ways I have actually considered just reopening my old violin music and trying to play to that. Bottom line, I don't want to train inefficiently if I don't have to, especially when much of that training will be done on a ship. I appreciate any help in this area and look forward to your thoughts.

[Gelsenbury]

Would you consider a tutorial book? And are you after a particular style or tradition of music?

[Megaphone]

I would definitely consider a tutorial book, in fact I'm currently going through a "First lessons" book to start out. I am primarily trained classically but I would really like to look into bluegrass eventually as that's what brought me to the mandolin in the first place.

[Peter Coronado]

Just a thought... Crossing over from violin, the pick and picking hand is a big change. Get some picking exercises and work those. Mike Marshall has a Homespun video (NFI) with some. Jim Richter has a book with some (again NFI).

[SincereCorgi]

This is an excellent question. Unfortunately, there isn't really an well-known path for mastering mandolin efficiently the way you can with lots of orchestral and band instruments, or even something like the seven volume Mel Bay guitar method. Your best bet is probably to get a few different methods, like Mandolin for Dummies and maybe Greg Horne and Tottle and Hokannen, and then use those in conjunction with your violin music. I totally agree with Toyon Pete about those Mike Marshall DVDs, too, as I think those are my favorite mandolin technique DVDs and I got a ton of use out of them.

[zedmando]

As I have quickly learned, an instructor allows you to be lazy when it comes to practice in that he or she tells you what to do and you execute with little thought!

When I started playing guitar I found it was the other way around.

[Gelsenbury]

I am primarily trained classically but I would really like to look into bluegrass eventually as that's what brought me to the mandolin in the first place.

Unfortunately I'm not very familiar with those genres. You may find Don Julin's "Mandolin for Dummies" useful because it covers all musical genres for which the mandolin is commonly used. On the other hand, it is more an encyclopaedia than a tutor. I think Jack Tottle's "How to play mandolin" has a good reputation for beginners, but I'm not sure how much of it is bluegrass.

[Tobin]

I am primarily trained classically but I would really like to look into bluegrass eventually as that's what brought me to the mandolin in the first place.
I hesitate to say this, as I usually take the opposite approach. But it may be better to tackle the mandolin in exactly the opposite way you were taught in your classical training. Piano and violin are two instruments that take a very rigid approach to teaching fundamentals, and I can see how you'd want to apply the same process to the mandolin. But the mandolin, especially as played in bluegrass style music, needn't be looked at in the same light. Bluegrass is very much a folk genre, and the playing style is much more loose, imaginative, and free-style. If you already know music theory (which you should if you've studied both piano and violin), then you already know everything you need to know from tutorial books. The rest is just a matter of listening to bluegrass and learning the style. Break down the chord progressions and solos and learn what gives it that bluegrass sound. Obviously, learn chop chords and practice the rhythm. But since you already know music theory inside and out, and the fingering of a mandolin is the same as a violin, all you really lack is adapting to a particular style of music and adapting it to a fretted/picked instrument.

[JeffD]

.. Unfortunately, there isn't really an well-known path for mastering mandolin efficiently the way you can with lots of orchestral and band instruments, or even something like the seven volume Mel Bay guitar method. Your best bet is probably to get a few different methods, like Mandolin for Dummies and maybe Greg Horne and Tottle and Hokannen, and then use those in conjunction with your violin music..

In addition to the above, there are various mandolin method books that are well known in classical circles. Bickford (http://www.amazon.com/The-Bickford-Mandolin-Method-Book/dp/0825802679), Pettine Mandolin Method, Calace Mandolin Method, and others. Some of these can be found on line and downloaded.

The method book I really dug into and used, and one that is not irrelevant to any genre of music, is Marilynn Mair's The Complete Mandolinist (http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bay-presents-Complete-Mandolinist/dp/0786677260).

I was not a beginner when the book came out, but I benefited greatly going through it, and even now I might dip in for different exercises.

[outsidenote]

What I would do, considering you background and your goals to get a couple of bluegrass repertoire books for mandolin. Steve Kaufman has some nice ones with easier and more difficult versions. Another nice book - although not bluegrass is the New England fiddlers repertoire. I would then learn a bunch of bluegrass fiddle tunes and variations on the melody in different keys, practicing both the melody and the chord back up. I would also play along to bluegrass recordings and try to transcribe some mandolin parts from the recordings. I would try to make my own variations to some of the simpler melodies.

In fact that is what I am doing and I am finding it helpful.

[Beanzy]

Being on board ship is going to be like the ultimate woodshed experience. I think I heard Sammy Lind from the Foghorn Stringband went to Germany for a year and basically spent all his time off locked in his room practicing so he came back home as a total fiddle monster. So it could be a great opportunity for you if you can keep your motivation going.

Many parts of what make bluegrass work are dependent on the interlocking rhythm set up with the other instruments, so you'll need to figure out some good system to play along with if you're going to maximise your progress. People on here often recommend many systems like iReal Pro etc, so that's one thing to sort out.
Another issue is that you need to be able to knock out a few tunes for your shipmates too. So learning some easily recognised tunes you and they can sing to may be good, especially around times like Christmas etc. it could be motivating to learn tunes from places the ship may be heading, so a bit of a rummage before you go could pay dividends later.

Best of luck as you go.

[bigskygirl]

I'm hoping to get some suggestions from you all as to good ways to train on the Mandolin. I studied both Piano and Violin for several years but both were under an instructor. I will be underway on a ship for a significant portion of the next year so I will most likely be going solo when it comes to training.

As I have quickly learned, an instructor allows you to be lazy when it comes to practice in that he or she tells you what to do and you execute with little thought! Now that I am fiddling around solo on the Mandolin I'm finding that it's a little difficult to set up my own progression plan (eg. songs to work on, should I focus on chords, melodies, etc.) As violin is similar in many ways I have actually considered just reopening my old violin music and trying to play to that. Bottom line, I don't want to train inefficiently if I don't have to, especially when much of that training will be done on a ship. I appreciate any help in this area and look forward to your thoughts.

Hi Megaphone,

I would get some DVDs from Homespun or other vendors. Steve Kaufman has some good ones and he's a good teacher. If you have the ability while on the cruise you can go online with individual Skype lessons or online classes, Matt Flinner offers online learning.

Maybe your classical background or prior bad experience leads you to so easily dismiss the value of instructors but I too have found the opposite. There are poor ones out there for sure but the opportunities today are tremendous with Skype and other online offerings. The ability to get feedback is great, a slight adjustment can make the world of difference.

I've been Skyping with Emory Lester for a year now and im able to get feedback on technique or theory and such and it pushes me to learn, I get material and if I don't practice for the next session I don't learn anything. There are times I wish he could just transfer his speed and skill to my mandolin but it's all me....

You want to know a good learning progression, I recommend you touch base with an instructor before you go and then have a progress lesson once a month or quarter while you're underway.

[Kevin Stueve]

I hope you aren't sharing quarters, or that you have forgiving shipmates. Heck I was doing picking drills last night and I thought my wife of 30 years was on the verge of doing me harm :grin:

[Megaphone]

Thanks for all of the advice! I will definitely look into some of these books. I have the "Mandolin for Dummies" and I think it will be a great start. I am approaching the instrument as a complete beginner and certainly haven't mastered musical theory so I think the books and DVDs mentioned should get me off to a great start.

Please don't misunderstand me about instructors, both of mine were great (one was my mom so I have to say that!) and I would definitely prefer having one if I could I just don't think its a great option right now as work is really busy and I will be "out of town" for quite a bit of the rest of this year. When things slow down at the end of the year I will probably look into getting one. I'm also currently stationed on the West Coast but there is a good chance I will be heading back to Virginia once I am done with this tour and I suspect it may be easier for me to find an instructor there..

I am in fact sharing a stateroom with a couple of other guys but they will just have to deal! They are lucky, I could always bring my banjo instead! Thanks again to all for the help, great community.

[mandocrucian]

I studied both Piano and Violin for several years but both were under an instructor. \
How long, and how far did you go on them?

For technique get out your old violin exercises: Sevcik, Kayser, etc. (if you got that far). Same arpeggios, scale patterns etc. etc. that you'll find in any decent book for almost any instrument.

[Megaphone]

Piano was for a couple of years but I was very young. Violin I studied for about two years and was just starting the second movement of the Back double if that puts it into some perspective. Wohlfarht and Kreutzer exercises were often on the table as well. Did not get to Sevcik or Kayser.

[mandocrucian]

Well, if you made it into Kreutzer, you should be able to handle Bluegrass Up The Neck (http://elderly.com/books/items/46-14.htm) (book/CD) which will simultaneously give you bluegrass vocabulary, mandolin position playing and some improv skills.

Niles H.

[Stacey Morris]

The method book I really dug into and used, and one that is not irrelevant to any genre of music, is Marilynn Mair's The Complete Mandolinist.

Thanks, Jeff. I ordered Marilynn Mair's book. I have been using Dix Bruce's You Can Teach Yourself Mandolin, but Ms. Mair's book looks really good based on what Amazon would let me preview. I think Dix's book is good also, and he really focuses on learning chords first. I am sort of considering Mike Marshall's on-line lessons, but think maybe just more practice would be more beneficial. I am a real beginner, even though I am an old guy :). Never too late to learn.

[hjforsh]

Hi Megaphone -- I'm another beginner, with less than 3 weeks under my belt. I live in a pretty isolated rural area, and need to drive quite a distance for mandolin lessons. I've managed to do a couple of in-person lessons with Pete Martin in Seattle, and now we will use Skype or FaceTime to continue.

So if you have internet access, even sporadically, it may still be possible for you to work with an instructor, and there are tons of mandolin instructional videos on YouTube.

Hope you will have as much fun with the mandolin as I am!