When is a newbie no longer a newbie?

[mandroid]

When you answer questions, rather than ask them?

[foldedpath]

Newbie is a term that implies social interaction, because who the heck else is going to call you that? The term implies being judged against others.

So I think you lose the newbie status at the point where you can start playing music with others, at any level. Slow jam, group class, whatever. If you can make music with others, you're a musician and not a newbie.

P.S. I know this doesn't apply to bedroom shredders, YouTube uploaders, and others not interacting with other live musicians, but that's my personal criteria as an old codger who grew up around amateur musicians and not YouTube "influencers." Get off my lawn, etc.

[Al Trujillo]

When the neighbors quit throwing rocks across the fence at you to stop [I'm almost there]

[Gary Leonard]

When your wife says "you are not a professional musician" as reason to stop you from adding another mandolin to your collection.

[DavidKOS]

1. When you start playing fiddle tunes from the intermediate section of a website?
............

2. When you can finally call that mandolin with the curlyque thingy by it's proper name?
.......

3. When you finally tried heavier strings, and they don't hurt too bad?
........
4. When you think you have an opinion good enough to reply to pretty much any thread?

1. Are any of the "fiddle tunes" from the classical violin repertoire?

2. That " curlyque thingy" thankfully does not exist on my bowlback and flatback European style instruments.

3. My bowlback and flatback mandolins only use extra light strings. Who needs tight thick strings on a mandolin, those strings are for guitars.

4. If you have a technical question that does not pertain only to Bluegrass or Oldtime music, I might respond correctly.

As for naming mandolininists, you get points if any are Italian.

Now to answe the question -

When are you no longer a newbie?

When you can actually PLAY the mandolin.

[Jess L.]

If there's ever any doubt as to how much progress you've made since first starting mandolin, try this simple one-minute test to instantly revert to newbie mode:

1. If you're right-handed (and not ambidextrous), hold the mandolin the other way around and try to play it left-handed (or vice versa, if you are left-handed). Two or three random notes are all that's required for this test - no need to try to play a scale or a tune.
   
   
2. So... is the tone worse than usual, and is everything suddenly awkward and hard to play? Do the fingers not want to cooperate in pressing the strings down? Is the pick all of sudden ridiculously slippery and keeps falling on the floor? Is there a new loss of coordination between picking hand and fretting hand, you know the thing you take for granted if you've been playing a while? Does it now suddenly seem nearly impossible to play even one note cleanly and clearly? Does the instrument itself keep slipping around and it won't stay in place and you can't figure out what angle to hold the instrument so you can reach everything? If the answer to any of those questions is now "yes" (whereas previously it was "no" when playing normally), then congratulations! You're not a newbie!

Note: Don't take that 'test' too often or you'll get used to (good at) playing other-handed so the test won't work as well as it did the first few times you tried it.

But sometimes it's good to have a reminder of just how far we *have* come, to keep from getting discouraged.

Occasionally listening to old recordings/videos serves a similar purpose. If you notice a bunch of 'new' flaws in something you recorded months/years ago, that's a sign of progress. That means your playing and/or your musical tastes/abilities have gotten better than previously. It's not a 'negative' thing (not nitpicking looking for flaws), rather more a positive thing (recognizing better ways to do stuff).

... I like the idea that we're always newbies in the sense that there's always something new to learn.

"Always something new to learn," yes most definitely, music wouldn't be worth messing with if that were not the case.

Who wants to spend all their time copying themselves, i.e. playing too-familiar material with no new twists, that would be too easy, no fun.

Although it hadn't occurred to me to associate the word "newbie" with the preference of always seeking out new stuff to learn... I guess there are different ways of interpreting/defining that word.

[LadysSolo]

"But sometimes it's good to have a reminder of just how far we *have* come, to keep from getting discouraged.
"Always something new to learn," yes most definitely, music wouldn't be worth messing with if that were not the case.

Who wants to spend all their time copying themselves, i.e. playing too-familiar material with no new twists, that would be too easy, no fun. "

I will say that after I have been frustrating myself working on something new, it is nice to go back and play something I find "easy" to make myself feel better, so HAVE made SOME progress, because some things are easy now.

[jesserules]

Because of all the sand which is there.

[zedmando]

Hmm, in a way I still am one...
Don't know how much that really matters though
I'm having a blast

[Bertram Henze]

The answer is blowing in the wind...

[JeffD]

When someone asks you to slow down.

[Steve Ostrander]

As a newbie, you're on probation for a year. If you acquire more than one mandolin, you get time off for MAS treatment. If you sell your mandolin, you go to the wall of shame. Don't disappoint us.

[Br1ck]

Ok, here's the lowdown.

Two years, four months in, I've owned four mandolins and still have three. Started on an Eastman 505 to test the waters. Bought my Silverangel four months later. Sold the Eastman. Bought my Michael Kelly on the 199.00 blowout, mainly to practice setup. Liked the MK for it's bright tone, but wanted a better F style so bought an Arches kit which I just completed. Compliments the SA very well.

Started playing fiddle tunes, careful to use a metronome and concentrating on playing cleanly with good tone, including even up and down strokes. A year or so ago started playing major scales in every key, all first position except for the D flat. Playing the basic scale exercises too. As cleanly as possible, again using a metronome.

I can now learn fiddle tunes in a couple of days. Play two to three hours daily.

Oh, and Ican play a G chop chord cleanly most of the time!

The next step is trying to find people to play with and expanding my chord vocabulary, and going back and learning to comp to the fiddle tunes I know. I can play solo and have six or eight songs I can sing and play, and have no problem taking the mandolin to open mics. But I think the next step is playing with others like I can with guitar. That and improvising, which is where I can see all the scale practice paying off.

I can lay down tracks to play to. Have a decent studio.

So at this point goals are: chord vocabulary, expand up the neck, especially double stops, and learning to improvise. I do try to vary the fiddle tunes while playing them. Varying degrees of sucess there.

And yes, mandolin has made my guitar flat picking cleaner. But now I'm needing to learn all the fiddle tunes on guitar too. So these days I'm not thinking newbie much anymore. I think once I'm fluent in two or three keys and can wing a solo or two, I'll be over the hump.

[MikeZito]

It sounds to me like you have at least graduated to the 'Intermediate' stage . . .

It was nice having you as a Newbie - please turn in your membership card as you exit.

Have a nice day.