Beginner !

[yankees1]

Okay, my new mandolin ( Eastman 505) will arrive this next Tuesday! I am 63 years old with very little if any musical ability! But, I am extremely enthusiastic and can keep beat with music by tapping my foot! I am interested in learning to play chords with songs ( old time) such as Grandfathers Clock, Big Rock Candy Mountain, etc and to play beginning bluegrass. So, should I begin with tablature or notation ? I have ordered Marshall's beginning mandolin dvd. No instructor in our area (South Central Illinois). I can practice several hours each day and probably more! Suggestions?

[Steve Etter]

I'm not much more than a beginner myself, so I know what you mean about wanting to get started by playing chords to familiar songs. If my experience is anything to go by, I think you will quickly find that becoming reasonably decent at chording will come quickly and that very soon you will want to move to picking tunes, too.

If you don't already read music you will probably want to continue down that road as much as possible - this will open up many opportunities to play songs you can't find re-written in tablature. If you don't already read music, then I would imagine you want to start with tablature. Why, because it shows you exactly where to put your fingers and gives you some immediate gratification.

Welcome to the mandolin community and have fun! I picked up my first mandolin at about the age of 40 and now it is an obsession. I have no doubt you will love yours (good choice on the Eastman, too, by the way.)

Steve

[f#54]

Most important first step...
Buy a tuner, like a $14 intelli or such.

P.S. Like Steve said, excellent choice on the mandolin

[buckles]

Hi Yankees1.... I'm a bit of a mandolin newbie myself and I'm about your age. I also have been going through Mike Marshall's first DVD. I think you'll find it's a foundation DVD, in the sense that you can begin to build good technical skills. However, it doesn't go into tunes, at all.

To get started playing tunes, I'd go to the web and search out some chordfinder software and learn some open position, two-finger chords, say G, C, D, and get going with them.

Didn't you say that you'd played violin?

Ed

[Pete Martin]

I have several Utube videos on basic ergonomically efficient ways of playing the mandolin. You can find them from the link on my web site, listed below. Best of luck.

[yankees1]

Hi Yankees1.... I'm a bit of a mandolin newbie myself and I'm about your age. I also have been going through Mike Marshall's first DVD. I think you'll find it's a foundation DVD, in the sense that you can begin to build good technical skills. However, it doesn't go into tunes, at all.

To get started playing tunes, I'd go to the web and search out some chordfinder software and learn some open position, two-finger chords, say G, C, D, and get going with them.

Didn't you say that you'd played violin?

Ed

Yes I did many years ago and played using tablature ! Could only play satisfactory! I did have a good ear for music in that I didn't like the way I sounded so I quit! I could play several songs and did play at a dance or two!

[billkilpatrick]

first thing we gotta' do is win the pennant ...

[Alex Orr]

This is a can of worms every time it comes up. Personally, I think learning how to read sheet music is completely worthwhile. I think this is especially true with old-time and fiddle tune stuff. Maybe you have an idea of how to play a song but are still having dificulties in certain areas. Your tab options will be more limited but there are gobs of things printed in standard notation. The Fiddlers Fakebook alone is worth the time it takes to learn some basic sheet music reading skills. Do you need to be able to sight read at 184 bpm? No, but being able to use sheet music as a learning tool is a terrific skill that helps in so many areas of your playing.

For fiddle tunes, I would recommend Steve Kaufman's Parking Lot Picker books. They're a tad pricey, but I think they are an invaluable resource. His teaching is deeply thorough and the beginner versions of the songs are VERY easy. The music is in tab and standard. To help learn standard, I would cut out strips of paper and tape them over the tab, thereby forcing myself to learn from the standard.

[yankees1]

first thing we gotta' do is win the pennant ...

Seventh inning and getting closer!

[billkilpatrick]

Seventh inning and getting closer!

... most gratifying ... on to philly'

first thing is to learn four-finger-closed-position (fccp.) rediscovering your little finger will be a strain but after that you'll be able to play anything in any key.

tuning in fifths is so much more logical that 4ths - once you figure out the basic ffcp note patterns, you'll be able to pick out melodies very easily.

from these patterns comes basic chords. double stops (two note chords) will jazz up the melody - three and four finger chords will follow (i'm happy with three.)

re: pick - as my father used to say: "when all else fails, follow instructions." a big, fat "thick" or "extra thick" celluloid pick in the attached shape is the only way to go. held in the so-called "power-grip" ... you can't fail.

this is beginner to beginner advise but i think it will pass muster with the more advanced players.

enjoy your eastman - they look and sound like beautiful, well-made instruments.

- bill

[hooboy]

The Fiddlers Fakebook alone is worth the time it takes to learn some basic sheet music reading skills.

I'll add my recommendation to this. I just started the mandolin in July and began with the Mandolin Picker's Fakebook, which has tab. I found myself unable to avoid relying on the tab if listed, which was hindering my efforts to (re-)learn notation (it's been 20 years since I last read music). So I bought the Fiddler's Fakebook, which is a big, spiral-bound tunebook in standard notation only. I am really enjoying going through it and pleased with the breadth of tunes. Generally, if I hear mention of an old-time or irish tune, there's a version of it in there.

While tab makes it easier to play closer to speed much more quickly, and therefore "hear" the tune while practicing sooner than the many run-throughs it may take just reading notation, my guess is that will even out with time, and I envy you the hours you have available to devote to playing!

[Sparkydog]

Buy and use a metromone. It will help tremondously with your timing.