Search:

I feel like I'm missing something... what is the difference between tremolo and just picking really fast?

Thought this might be kind of fun.... I've been using the mandolin as assistance for my weight loss. When normally I would eat out of boredom or stress, I now pick up the mandolin. Also, my belly...

I had figured that violin traditions would have the kind of thing I'm looking for, more than mandolin traditions, given that classical violin has a larger body of formally published technique than...

I find myself interested in the art and science of fingering as an intellectual discussion. I admit ahead of time that I'm looking for an excuse to "overthink" the subject, rather than expecting...

I've been actively getting into arpeggios, myself (finally got to that part in the FFcP book :)

I think I'd apply the taxonomy more like this:

Remembering: Remembering the actual notes of the...

I have the Mel Bay Bach book and I'm working on "Bouree Angloise" (that's how the book spells it). I'm not sure what level it is, but I'm picking it up at about half speed and with unwanted pauses...

This is what I'm hearing: An angled pick allows you to engage both strings at the same time (the leading edge is engaging the second string while the trailing edge is leaving the first), which...

When I was playing with a tight grip and stiff wrist I couldn't dig too deep or I'd get hung up... initially I was playing with the tip to compensate... My pick would bounce off the first string and...

I also concentrate time each practice just on pick technique, and specifically on getting a loose wrist and loose grip. I use some of the open string picking exercises in Mike Marshall's "Finger...

Aha... just had the little lightbulb go on over my head.

Obviously, I've been messing around with ornamentation. With so many ITM tunes being long strings of 8th notes, I've been trying to...

I played smallpipes for several years before picking up the more apartment friendly mandolin. When I'm singing a tune, I seem to naturally come up with smallpipe articulation.... lots of doublings...

I'm looking at some tunes in "The Fiddler's Fakebook" and am trying to get a better handle on the suggested ornamentations. Specifically, I see two grace notes then a melody note, something like...

I have the KM-172 and I love it.... once I fixed the setup I loved it even more :)

I'm considering one simply because I have so much belly to deaden the sound. I'm losing weight, but it will be a while before I'll be able to pull the mandolin from my tummy without getting a...

I've notice that a lot of subjects have an "Intermediate" gap... There's tons of literature for beginners and for experts, but there is a wall you hit as beginner where the books are either too easy...

I also think you need to know why you're doing an exercise. What are you hoping to gain? Doing exercise because someone else said it was a good idea isn't very useful. I tend to use an exercise...

I can read abc, tab and notation, but I decided to learn to play pennywhitle by ear, as I was playing ITM. I started by putting the instrument away and listening to recordings of the tune I wanted...

Today is 14 days of playing the mandolin, and I've gauged my ability by the fact that my wife didn't come in the room, roll her eyes and shut the door when I practiced last night. :)

I got a Kindle recently, and it turns out that it can display PDF files quite well.... Well enough that I'm using it to store sheet music that I'm trying to learn. Kind of geeky, I admit... but I...

Well... I didn't think of asking for a strap, to tell the truth. :)

I went into a local shop to try out some mandolins rather than purchasing blind from the internet. I felt like my belly was making it difficult to hold the instrument as I wasn't using a strap. I...

I'll bite, Scott... Please change my name to Ryan Zerby.

Are violin/fiddle tunes the same difficulty level on a mandolin? That is, are the same tunes beginner on both instruments (or intermediate or expert)? I had assumed they were, but thought I'd ask :)

That's what I'm looking for.... the kind of obsession to threaten my marriage and give my wife thoughts of coming to bed wearning nothing but d'addario so I'll touch HER that way....

I've been listening to ITM for years, and have picked up a couple of instruments (never gotten really good at them)... scottish bagpipes, tinwhistle, guitar, tenor drum.. and now I've gotten the bug...