Beginners Thoughts

[Purdy Bear]

I've been playing for 1 month and 1 week, so now play 10 notes with another 5 getting there. I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it, so much I just can't wait to be able to really get down to playing a decent solo.

I am so excited I just had to tell someone. Yes my playing sounds awful, but I don't care, I'm really really enjoying the whole process.

I'd love to hear how others feel about their playing. Do you still find it exciting after years of playing? Have you just picked up the instrument to learn with the flush of enjoyment that goes along with that.

I'm almost bouncing off the walls, don't prescribe depressants get them to play the mandolin!

[Denny Gies]

I have been playing for about 40 years and still get smiles on my face when playing. When you progress some, get out there and find someone to jam with. It will really spike your desire to improve and learn more tunes. But.............remember you will suffer from sore fingers and frustration when you can't quite master a tune or a run. But...............keep at it and it will come if your motivation stays high. Good luck, and remember this is supposed to be fun........and it really is.

[Robert B]

Yup... Been at it almost 40 years on guitar, and the last couple of months on mandolin. Still loving it and constantly learning, no matter which instrument I pick up.

[montana]

Good for you!

[JeffD]

I've been playing for 1 month and 1 week, so now play 10 notes with another 5 getting there. I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it, so much I just can't wait to be able to really get down to playing a decent solo.

I am so excited I just had to tell someone. Yes my playing sounds awful, but I don't care, I'm really really enjoying the whole process.

I'm almost bouncing off the walls, ..

Yeee hah. That is what I love to hear!

I have always understood what you are saying. I enjoy playing the mandolin much more than I enjoy any particular genre of music I play on it. Just to hold it and make sounds and work on things, even exercises, even just scales or noodling, is a transcendent joy. Knowing I can and will get better, and to watch what I can do and how far I have come - its an adventure and a journey.

I hope you never lose that feeling. It makes life wonderful.

[k0k0peli]

Yes, it's still exciting after since forever playing string instruments. Over a half-century (intermittently) on mountain dulcimer but finding new fingerings for SURF CITY still knocks me out. Almost as long (intensely) on guitar but adapting git-fingerings to oddly-strung 'ukes raises a sweat and my spirits. Three decades (less intensely) on mando but overcoming each challenge is still a triumph. It's all fun fun fun whatever the tuning.

And all these feed each other. I apply the modes+drones I learned on dulcimer to the other axes. I apply guitar fingerpicking and mando flatpicking / crosspicking willy-nilly. I treat one detuned mando like a blues guitar and my mandola like an 8-string tenor guitar. I retune another mando and play it as a chromatic dulcimer. They're all like an integrated system. I'll never run out of possibilities.

[Jackgaryk]

I been pickin the mandolin a little over a year and a half. Never had one in my hand before that but I did pick some guitar and banjo. Lost interest in those mainly because of my shoulder pain while picking. I have to say I have had a lot of fun with the mandolin since day one not only picking but trying out different picks and strings.
I have been retired for nearly 4 years (time flies when you're having fun) and pick the mandolin daily. Pickin the mandolin always brings a smile to my face. I do believe the mandolin is more fun for me than any instrument I have played before. I wish I had started playing when I was a kid. The Mandolin Café has been my go to site for all things mandolin. btw just ordered a couple more café caps. makes me sound better when I have one on. Thank you Scott and the gang for this great website.
now...go get yourself a mandolin café hat and get pickin..

[Randi Gormley]

Picking up my mandolin always makes me feel good. when everything is working well, I can astound myself at what my fingers are doing and the music that emerges. Smiles indeed! I've been playing probably 15 or more years and playing out in public for more than a decade and it's still a delight to make music of any kind, even if it's just two-finger chord progressions or arpeggios.

[Mandoplumb]

Been playing over 50 years and yes the excitement is still there. Been working on cross picking lately and when all goes right I hear this wonderful sound and think " did I do that" then I think YES I DID. It don't get no better than that.

[pointpergame]

I'm with the crowd here. Playing anything with strings for 60 years, I still get a juicy charge out of the mandolin. Same for the piano. It does require that I have returned to fluency if I've taken time off.
I'd add two notes. Like many of us, I just love mandolin hardware. A lazy afternoon spell in a great music store is a trip to dreamland for me, moving my latest repertoire from box to box to taste the differences. Compared to sitting at the industrial machine of a piano or holding a suitcase-sized guitar, it's like cuddling a baby, or a friendly calico cat.
And, when I had a job ( now retired ), I took an hour once a week to sit on a bench down town, doff a pair of headphones, and play along with a local college radio station that played bluegrass/country/Texas Swing, etc. I remember these hours with great affection. It added to how easy and relaxed the Mandolin has been for me ever since. I highly commend you to learning an open-stringed scale ( "G" ) and you can easily noodle around with a lot of this kind of music since it is often in G, D, or A...all which, as I'm sure you know, use the same fingering.
And don't forget, you can always shift over to the fiddle when you want to give your body a second point of view.

[slk]

It is a rush when things start to click. I too am a beginner on mandolin. Been playing guitar ever since I can remember, and still have ups and downs learning something new. I can only tell you my experience which I am sure is somewhat true for a lot of people. Number one is to toughen up those finger tips. Trust me when that is accomplished you will start to play better. Number two, practice practice , practice, but only to the point it is still enjoyable to you. You want it to be fun. Trust me when you get a song in your head you want to just sit there for ever and sometimes you get frustrated. That is when I set the instrument down. Now that being said it does not mean you just quit on something. Once you more or less master that fingerboard even though you have set it aside you can still see it in you head. Many times I have set my guitar down, and slept on things and that entire night I can see/dream of what I need to do, and by the next day you will sit down, and the music will just flow, and you say wow I have it.

That my friend is when a person enjoys music. I won't suggest it is better than sex, but the rush will last a lot longer. I am so glad that people in this mixed up world we have today are still wanting to learn to play an instrument. Keep up, and my hats off to you. You will do just fine...

Steve

[Stacey Morris]

Hi Purdy Bear.

I am a beginner also, and am enjoying the learning like you are.

[Gelsenbury]

Good for you! I still remember the magic sound of those first notes on the mandolin. It's easy to keep going with your practice when the instrument just sounds so nice!

I've been playing for 6 years now. If you would like a suggestion: Don't rush the process of making those first few notes sound good. At the beginning, tone is all-important. Speed will come in time. Hitting the right place between the frets, getting a good attack on the strings, working out the timing between your left and right hand - all of these are essential skills. Don't feel that you need to be a master at them before learning other things, but do revisit them and give them the time they need. You'll keep the magic in those notes for a long time.

[bbcee]

+1 to Gelsenbury. Take the time, make sure your basics are solid. I've been playing since July, and after years of being lazy on the guitar, endeavoured to really get the foundational stuff right. It's paying off. When you start doing fiddle tunes (you know you want to...), if you've learned proper fingering, it will all fall into place so easily.

If you don't have one, I'd really recommend a basic mandolin book. I use the Julin book, but there are others.

What a great scene, eh? I love guitar, but I'm totally encompassed by this little bitty instrument and may never look back!

[Ivan Kelsall]

You've found a new set of skills & you're enjoying the process - that's the way it should be !. Finding that you can actually 'do' something new,especially if it's something that you really enjoy, becomes addictive. You'll find yourself improving all the time,& each step builds on itself & makes the next step easier (sort of !). I can still remember teaching myself banjo back in the 1960's. All i had was records to copy & i remember distinctly, the time when i first got 'the sound' spot on. It's a wonder i didn't go into orbit !!. After that,each tune became easier to learn & i made a lot of progress in a very short time. I will say that i was putting in around 4 hours a day into it & almost all day at week ends after i'd done my chores at home ( i was 17 at the time).
Enjoy the journey,it'll probably last a lifetime,
Ivan

[MysTiK PiKn]

I can suggest you want to learn proper ways of holding it and placing fingers. Posture is important. I ignored that, and it all started attacking me. So I have returned to guitar and also bought a dobro. The mando talks to me; calling me back.

On the dobro, I am doing exactly what you are doing. I can't play it. So I practice noise for about 10 minutes a day; and every time I do that I learn something new. It's amazing. So I hear you. Be where you are and grow from that place.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

If you need help with pretty much ANYTHING - come here and ASK - and you shall receive.

Cheers.

Myst.

[Petrus]

This article is about guitar but it applies just as well to the mando ... also a good video that shows some of the benefits of playing an instrument (especially as we get older.)



http://www.guitarworld.com/10-reason...and-body/25533

[Purdy Bear]

That's very interesting about the brain and music. I know they say playing musical instruments and also doing crosswords/suduko helps prevent dementia and the like.

I just know I enjoyed it. Now I also play the Ukulele and along time ago the Flute. The Flute I did enjoy but had problems with some notes giving me a bit of depression, while the Ukulele relaxes me down. It's very interesting to note that the Mandolin energizes me.

[JeffD]

I would like to say I play music for medicinal reasons, but truth is, I would do it even if it was bad for me.

[Willie Poole]

Ivan says it will last a lifetime...Well after you progress to where you don`t think you can learn any more things happen that sort of make you slow down a bit...some days I just can`t seem to get it sounding like I know it can and should sound like (depends on the weather I suppose) so I just lose interest that day but I always go back and pick some tunes another time...Most of my enjoyment playing the mandolin is performing in front of an audience (if they are enjoying it, that is), I love getting good comments about my playing and that spurs me on and makes me even try harder to play different styles although I haven`t had much success in learning any style other than bluegrass and country...Keep playing and I hope you don`t get burned out like some pickers have that I have known, they say they got bored with playing and just quit...I hope everyone can keep picking and like what they are doing...I even have talked to some professionals that say the only reason they keep playing is because that is their living and they haven`t any other skills or profession, that is sad to say the least...And there are some that should retire before they embarrass them selves in public but they can always play at home and for friends.....

I am not trying to be negative, just saying some things that may happen to you since they have happened to others...

I wish you all of the luck in the world....

Willie

[kurth83]

I just got mine two weeks ago, also still in the excitement phase too. Tiny, cute, and a bit loud sums up mandolin for me. This site is fun too, nice to hang out with others who play this unusual little instrument.

As a guitar player I have been approaching it like a guitar, that seems to work for everything except my fretting hand isn't in the right position yet, my fingers still want to be parallel to the strings, working on that.

I got the parking lot pickers book, some more method books, a few chord books and charts, bought Sam Bush's rhythm DVD, and the lessons on this site and others have been helpful.

For starters I am learning to strum rhythm in all the keys guitar players commonly use, G, A, C, D, and E, and E is giving me troubles.

Finding chord fingerings that allow hammer-ons and offs (open chords with some fingers free) was surprisingly easy for most keys except E.

I admit I was surprised to find that C is a really strong key for this instrument, great for playing with piano players. :-)

Next steps will be scales and melodies, moving up the fretboard, and chopping.

[jaycat]

I've been playing for 1 month and 1 week, so now play 10 notes with another 5 getting there. I am thoroughly enjoying every minute of it, so much I just can't wait to be able to really get down to playing a decent solo. . . .

Wait a minute . . . there are ten notes?!??!

[Mark Wilson]

I'd love to hear how others feel about their playing. Do you still find it exciting after years of playing? Have you just picked up the instrument to learn with the flush of enjoyment that goes along with that.:

Last night I woke at 2am and could not sleep. I found myself in the garage with my mandolin playing 'turkey in the straw'. Just that simple little tune in the quiet of the night and instead of a restless night I was enjoying the moment. I am fortunate to have found the mandolin

[Purdy Bear]

Jaycat
I'm including flats and sharps in that, so plenty to go yet, as well a doubles for the strings so I've learnt F#, G# A, B(high), E (string), B(middle) C# D, E (note) and A (string), now I've started to learn D (string) E (note), F#(low), G#(low) and A(low). There are of course lower middle and high of each notes so it starts with C lower moving through to C middle then C # high (although I'm not sure if a Mandolin goes up that high, the flute certainly does). You have both the note of the string with just the strum, and then you have the fret finger position note.


Here's an image just showing the basic notes, you would need to add the flats/sharps to that:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c8eqjjg_Oc...+and+notes.png

[jaycat]

Thanks much Bear, actually was just kidding around, that other Bear that's on here knows I do that sometimes.

I know what you mean about the enthusiasm, I have been messing around with the harmonica lately and play it at the bus stop in the morning while waiting for the bus to come. I used to get impatient when it was late, now I'm irked when it's on time, cutting short my practice session . . .