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This is just one approach. Solos don't have to reference the melody. If you ALWAYS start with the melody, you will NEVER engage your inner voice.

It's not a Bluegass or fiddle tune, but it's well...

So Thiele got a Genius Award and spent it on an overpriced mandolin?!😬

If your studio or teaching fee is advanced and the rest of the royalties are gravy, isn't it a no brainer?

I asked around and one source said "advance their studio rate against royalties of 15% of wholesale."

In case anyone else is interested.

My son is a professional jazz bassist. When he was starting out at about 12 years old, he would learn the melody and chords, and then his teacher would ask, "What do you hear inside?" Then my son...

I use Natural Metronome. It seems to provide regularly spaced clicks just fine.

If your goal is to solo more confidently, practice doing that.

Just like anything else, you manage it by slowing down and working on small sections.

It is important to shift up the neck so the folks at the jam session see that you can shift up the neck.

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This has everything other than "chop" chords that you are ever likely to use.

Sure. It's great to be well rounded. But to get good at something, practice that thing. To get good at improvising, practice improvising. I think it is challenging for teachers to teach creativity,...

My son is playing jazz with top pros in the LA area, and has never learned a tune by ear or sung a line. His teacher would give him some changes, show him various note collections that would work...

I think the most efficient approach is to use an outside resource to explain the tools that are commonly used in your genre, be it a teacher, a book or a video. Then spend a lot of time experimenting...

Something to think about as you get more advanced is creating a structure to your solo.

Does it have a beginning, middle and end? Is there tension and release? Are you developing any motifs? Is...

They seem to come from the factory set up for slide.

Lower the action.

The key to rapidly learning to improvise is to spend a lot of time improvising. (Shocking!) I say this because many players will look for non-improvisational things to "master" before they feel like...

Starting young and having a gentle, nurturing teacher is a big plus. When a little kid does a crappy solo, they still get a standing ovation. When an adult does it, it's... awkward.

Been there....

I don't know where you are in Southern CA, but here are some resources for the area.
http://socalbluegrass.org/
http://sandiegobluegrass.org/
http://www.northcountybluegrass.org/link/SDBS

Going...

At the end of the day, you get good at what you practice. If you spend a lot of time playing "patterns", you will get good at playing patterns. If you use arpeggios to create interesting musical...

The main thing with The Mandolin Pickers Guide... is to put in the time creating with the tools he gives you until you can do it fluently. Don’t just play his examples and move on.

The IRealB app...

You will become a better mandolinist if you complete the Horne book. But, for me, it covers too much material in too little depth. For example, there are two cross picking exercises, which are really...

Chicken thighs with Lebanese spices.

“Bollywood Party” playlist on Spotify.

Americans are paying billions in tariffs and risking a recession partially in an effort to protect intellectual property rights.

All intellectual property owners should be paid for the use of...

It appears you have a good foundation, so explore what interests you. Even if it doesn’t become your go to system, you are sure to expand your creativity.

Rather than practicing scales, practice using scales to make musical lines.

In other words, practice what you want to do.

At first you might just use one scale over a whole tune, but you will...

While Holdsworth is widely admired and respected, his approach hasn’t been widely adopted. This makes it neither good nor bad, but indicates that most people believe another path is more effective...