TBI & the Mandolin

[Maquissar75]

Greetings and Salutations to you all!

I'm happy to say I am now the proud owner of a new beginner mandolin and I've no skill to speak of. To make matters worse, I have a TBI (traumatic brain injury) from my time in the U. S. Army, and a pretty good sized tumor sitting up there too. The tumor is scheduled to come out March 7th of this year, but it's done quite a bit of damage to my head and my body. With that said, I'm a slow learner. One of my therapist at the VA hospital recommended learning an instrument as a way to help me. I chose the mandolin for a couple of silly reasons really. First, I love the mandolin playing on Battle of Evermore by Led Zeppelin. Second, I'm a huge Dungeons and Dragons player and my main character has always been a bard named Maquissar who carries one.

Anyway, I was hoping someone here could point an old wounded warrior in the right direction as to what I should be doing to learn how to play and where I should go. What songs to start with. Something. LOL I've memorized three chords so far G, C, and D. I've learned to slowly pluck out You Are My Sunshine. I just need to know what else I should be doing at this point.

I would appreciate any help you all can give. Oh and I'm sure the nurses who have to listen to me pluck away in the hospital in March will appreciate the help too. Haha!


Sincerely,
Maquissar :mandosmiley:

[Seamus B]

Hey Maquissar - well, so far you are doing everything right. G, C and D is definitely the way to start (you can basically crack out Man of Constant Sorrow!) and learning basic tunes is also good. My advice right now is simply to put in time, if you have it going spare, to learn tunes and get used to moving your fingers around the board and finding the right frets. Play slowly - if you make an error slow down. Also, you might want to take a look at hand positions.

I hope the surgery goes well! All the best, and welcome.

[KGreene]

Maquissar ... First, thank you for your service and your sacrifice, I wish you the best with your surgery and Welcome to the Café.

Sounds to me like you're well on your way...We all began where you're at (basically) ... Lots of knowledgeable people (WAY more than I), and tons of good information here on the café. YouTube also has quite a bit of information for those starting out. Just keep at it and things will begin to click for you.

Best Regards,

[Skip Kelley]

Welcome to the cafe' and thanks for your service! There is a lot to learn from the good people on here!

[HonketyHank]

Welcome, Maquissar. Have you found the series of beginner lessons (free) at http://www.mandolessons.com/lessons/all-lessons/? Good stuff to get you going on the right foot. We're here to help if you run into a snag, too.

All the best on the upcoming surgery.

[Torpedotom]

Mandolessons is one of the best and Baron is a member here. Also, thank you for your service and sacrifice and welcome. Great folks here.

[mbruno]

Thank you for your service sir. Good luck with your surgery too!

Aside from "being a slow learner" what impacts have the TBI had? Short term memory issues? Motor skill issues? etc. I know a lot of music therapists - a few that specialize in military veterans - and I'd be happy to ask them if there's any specific practices that will help.


From a general standpoint, I always suggest starting with chords (unless motor skill issues prevent this). When starting with chords, it's a good idea to start with learning the One, Four, Five (or I, IV, V) of some common keys. Below are the 4 most common keys for Bluegrass (and many other genres) which I'd suggest starting with.

G = G C D
A = A D E
D = D G A
C = F F G

You can find how to play these chords online - here's a good PDF for ya http://www.kenb.ca/share/msop/mandolin-handy-guide.pdf

By learning chords, you can play with people and sing along with some tunes. As a beginner, this is most important IMO.

From there (or if chords are difficult due to motor issues), learning individual notes is really helpful. I'd suggest two things - first play / learn the major scale for the main keys used in bluegrass (or whatever) - like G, A, D, C scales. Then, in conjunction with practicing the scales, start playing some kids songs that you know by heart (i.e. Mary had a Little Lamb, Twinkle Twinkle, etc) in those keys. You'll probably be able to pick them out by ear (or you can find the sheet music / TAB online) and will know if you're playing it "right" or not either way. Here's a simple Mary Had a Lamb with Mandolin TAB (it's in the key of A) - https://goo.gl/images/VCxQ9G. (BTW, I make all my students play various kids songs no matter their skill level. Beginners should try to pick them out by ear - advanced players should try to make them sound more interesting by adding / removing notes but ensure you can still "hear" the song.)

You'll need to learn to play individual notes / lead lines at some point. This may be good to start with, but it depends on how you learn and what your near-term goals are. If this is difficult at the start - just try to play the major scales but focus on chords.

Battle of Evermore is a favorite of mine too. Good news, it's relatively easy to play the mandolin lead lines :) If you can read TAB, this is a good one https://www.mandolincafe.com/tab/evermore.txt. Note: there are 3 different parts listed in each block phrase - those represent multiple instruments. You can get away with just playing the first or middle sections in each "block". If that is too tough there are videos like this that can help https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93DydiKsBic


I would be happy to "meet" you via video chat and give you pointers as needed. The least I could do for someone that's served for all of us.

[FLATROCK HILL]

Welcome to the Cafe and THANK YOU for your service!

[BrianWilliam]

You're awesome Maquissar! Welcome to the club. It'll be fun :)

[NursingDaBlues]

Welcome. And thank you for your service!

[Zach Wilson]

Thank you for serving, sir.

As well as the advice given above. One thing that has really helped me learn new tunes and become an all around better player is listening to lots of mandolin recordings... like on YouTube. It helps me get familiar with fiddle tunes and songs I don't know.... I've found that if I can sing/hum it without thinking of how the song goes it's easier to find it on the fretboard.

That and scales. Lots of scales 🤓

[Louise NM]

Have you played an instrument before, or is this your first rodeo?

Finding a local teacher and taking even just a couple of lessons—more if you can swing it—would be good. There are all sorts of mistakes you don't have to make, and a teacher can keep you out of your own way. If you read music at all, read tablature, or would like to learn, there are plenty of books around. Look at the mandolin books on the Mel Bay website www.melbay.com and see if anything whets your interest.

In any case, welcome.

At the top of the page here, click on Learn/Listen, then on Social Groups, and find the Newbies group. Lots of help, support, and commiseration there from others of us who are at the beginning of the mandolin journey.

[Jeff Mando]

Just take one day at a time. If I know a song and can sing along or at least sing it in my head that will show you where the changes come when switching to the next chord. YouTube is a great learning resource, IMHO because all levels are represented.
Good luck!

[colorado_al]

Hey Maquissar. Welcome to the cafe and the crazy world of mandolin!
I also have TBI from a bad bike accident when I was 25 (22 years ago). I had been a guitar player before then and it helped me to play after my hospitalization. I had aphasia and I couldn't speak, but I could still play guitar. It was a really strange, and disturbing experience to not be able to communicate with words, but it was a great outlet to be able to express myself through my hands with music. Once the swelling went down, the aphasia slowly went away and I was able to speak more and more each day, but ever since I've had a stutter. I found out, however, that when I sing, the stutter disappears. I was told by my therapist that music and singing are centered in a different part of the brain than where my injury is. I also took up mandolin not too long after my accident and though it was slow going at first, it really made sense to me in a way that guitar never did. I've been playing mandolin more than 20 years now and it is a real source of joy and pride that I can take with me wherever I go.
Best to you with your surgery and on your journey!
Al

PS- Keep in touch and let us know how it goes and if you have any questions.
Also, I'm a fan of Don Julin's book and videos.
https://www.amazon.com/Mandolin-Dummies-Don-Julin/dp/1119942764
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEYFasIvQwG1tM-cEvtzxmf-nRCEpuWlE

[Frankdolin]

Welcome!!! Your on the right path, simple chords and You are my sunshine are what I always start people with. And IMHO there is no better path to wellness than the one that a mandolin can provide. I've been there too. Enjoy and know your in the right place here amongst friends.:mandosmiley:

[Maquissar75]

This is amazing! I'm simply blown away by all the help and support from everyone here.

I do have some issues with memory and motor skills. I'll play around with your suggestions over the next few weeks and see how things progress. Thank you so much for your help, and thanks to everyone else for all their help. This site is so wonderful.

I started picking out the lessons you sent me about 7am this morning and I'm moving along. I'm sticking to scales at the moment and slowly trying to build some speed, but I'm in no hurry. I like the idea of picking out kids songs because well they are instilled in our minds from so far back that they are second nature. Now if I can get my fingers to move along the strings to make playing them second nature. LOL.

Thank you again for your help Mbruno! I'll be contacting you latter to take you up on your offer of a video chat lesson. In the meantime, back to scales.

Maquissar:mandosmiley:

[Maquissar75]

I played the guitar a little back in the early 90s. However, when I suffered my first TBI I spent three days in a coma and woke up with complete amnesia and I don't remember anything. So it's as if I'm picking up an instrument for the first time now. Not getting discouraged though. Gonna push through and keep at it until I master this fine instrument.

Maquissar :mandosmiley:

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Cafe and thank you for your service. Best of luck with the surgery and recovery. The season is past but I found learning Christmas Carols to be some of the easiest and most satisfying tunes to learn. I already knew how they should sound and there are plenty of resources for the music or tablature out there that start easy. I felt better when I played a song that sounded like it should that people could recognize. You can always embellish them, too, as your skills advance.

Jamie