Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 55

Thread: Tips for Learning - Beginners

  1. #26
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    North CA
    Posts
    5,013

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by JonZ View Post
    I played dozens of tunes well before learning any scales.

    Learning scales can help with learning to play by ear, because it tells you where the likely notes are, but if you can sight read, it isn’t necessary. I know my scales now, but it still takes about the same amount of time to learn a tune.
    My bet is that you could have played the scales involved too - but you needed to play tunes, which is a very valid reason to learn mandolin.

    I do differ in that my comments did not refer to reading music, just learning the fingerboard and ear training, but even when reading it helps to have had the fingering training that the FFCP system and similar approaches offer - great tools for the musical toolkit.

    By the time you could play hundreds of tunes, you could probably play any other scale as needed, too.

    Scales aren't tune, just a building block. I do understand your point, but I also have seen where just learning tunes only teaches how to play the tunes you learn, not necessarily how to really play the mandolin.

    It's a catch-22 - we learn the instrument to play music, but have to spend time learning these non-tune musical "things" so we can play whatever music we want.

  2. The following members say thank you to DavidKOS for this post:


  3. #27
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    North CA
    Posts
    5,013

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim N View Post
    ...... OK, this might be largely limited to the keys of D & G and related minors, but, well, for me, that is what I want to play, and I 'm not personally interested in other styles, or becoming a mandolin master or all-rounder.
    .........
    I'm not saying it's necessarily the best way to learn - obviously that is not true, because I will never go very far as a mandolin player. However, I beg to defend that for some of us it may be sufficient and give us enough challenge and room for growth for the rest of our lives. I'm getting a lot of joy out of it - which is also what it's all about, and I'm hopeful that it's doing a lot of good for my little grey cells
    You make a great point from the "other" side - you have no desire nor need to learn mandolin technique per se - as you mention, you do not wish to be a "master or all-rounder". I respect this.

    So, for you, it's tune and genre specific. Joy is wonderful, I'm all for playing music and having fun. I know a wonderful Cajun accordion player that really admits that she is not an accordion player - she plays Cajun music and accordion is her instrument. It's a subtle but useful distinction.

    As for as " never go very far as a mandolin player", well, maybe not in terms of that overall master mandolinist all around thing - but with your approach you may already have or will have a great depth in your chosen style.

  4. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to DavidKOS For This Useful Post:

    Jess L.Tim N 

  5. #28
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    South of Cleburne, North of Hillsboro, Texas
    Posts
    5,083

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    It's really cool, because there is always so much to learn and explore. No two people have to (nor would it be possible, I suspect) take the same track.

    Musical journey in a nutshell: Grade school, you learn the basics of music theory and treble clef reading so you can play cornet in the school band. Later, you discover that you can step up to an xylophone, or a piano keyboard and pick out Jingle Bells or When The Saints Go Marching In. In Jr. High you start playing the guitar hoping to be cool, and it becomes a lifelong friend. You can step up to a piano keyboard and figure out the chords to Let It Be by feeling for triads that "sound right" together.

    40+ years in, you pick up a mandolin and figure out a couple tunes you know on guitar immediately - though they don't really sound mandolin-like, then you're hooked on another instrument.

    No two people are on the same exact journey. We all have opinions about what we find important, and a lot of our opinions are based on our own experiences and on those who've taught or influenced us.

    The OP question was about tips for a rank beginner. In my opinion, the best tip is have fun. Learn some songs or tunes; learn what you need to know to get a tune or three out of the instrument. Then learn some more. Don't worry too much about "proficiency" - as a beginner, how are you going to judge your "proficiency"? You don't have any, and have no real idea what it takes to become "proficient."

    Have fun. Then, when you come to a point where you feel, "I'm stuck - and I suck," it's time to figure out and begin work on some new goals.

    In my own journey, I find great value in learning about and practicing scales, arpeggios, chord voicings, extensions, inversions, rhythms, clarity, speed, dynamics, etc. etc.

    There is too much involved to do it all at once, or to find a "one-size-fits-all" answer. Best tip is to have fun, and if you feel you need to improve something, or want to better understand something, go for it. Just buckle down and do it. All you have is a lifetime to learn about it, practice and enjoy it.
    WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
    ----------------------------------
    "Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN

    ----------------------------------
    HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
    Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
    The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
    - Advice For Mandolin Beginners
    - YouTube Stuff

  6. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Mark Gunter For This Useful Post:


  7. #29
    Registered User Al Trujillo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Southern Colorado
    Posts
    694

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Structure. My failing is that I practice without a structured pattern. I guess if I was a young beginner my instructor would have most likely built a structured curriculum that I would have followed. Failing that my playing remains unfocused.

    It sounds like you've got a great plan.

  8. #30

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidKOS View Post
    It's a catch-22 - we learn the instrument to play music, but have to spend time learning these non-tune musical "things" so we can play whatever music we want.
    I just ask myself what would be the best thing to do for the next five minutes, and if my goal is to learn tunes, the answer is “Practice another tune”. Especially so for a beginner.

    I practice scales, but I think they are kind of overrated, and often not practiced effectively. I became a better improviser when I practiced scales less and used them more.
    Object to this post? Find out how to ignore me here!

  9. The following members say thank you to JonZ for this post:


  10. #31
    Out of tune HappyPickin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    NE 10EC
    Posts
    76

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    I bought my first mandolin this summer. I started out playing tunes from some sheet music I had of jigs and fiddle tunes. I lacked tone and accuracy so I backed up and started playing scales and slowed them down until each note was clean with good tone. I noticed yesterday that I can now pretty much play what ever melody that I can hear in my head. I really haven't started on chords other than two fingered G, C, D, Em and Am. I'm trying to find a local instructor that isn't strictly Bluegrass. That has turned out to be harder than I thought.
    Out of tune and out of time.

  11. #32
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    North CA
    Posts
    5,013

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by JonZ View Post
    I practice scales, but I think they are kind of overrated, and often not practiced effectively. I became a better improviser when I practiced scales less and used them more.
    Perhaps by using the scales you were practicing them. Application is a big part of using tools in music.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by HappyPickin View Post
    I'm trying to find a local instructor that isn't strictly Bluegrass. That has turned out to be harder than I thought.
    Well if you ever get to North CA, look me up.

  12. The following members say thank you to DavidKOS for this post:


  13. #33
    Gibson F5L Gibson A5L
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    2,523
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    1. Learn both open and closed position scales and arpeggios.
    2. Take lessons from a mandolinist in the style you want to play.
    3. Every time you pick up your mandolin tune it.
    4. Play everyday … a lot of what you are learning is muscle memory.
    4. Keep a loose wrist and fingers. Tension is both a short term and long term problem.
    5. Hold your pick at 90' to the side of your thumb.
    6. Do a lot of active ,with mandolin in hand, and passive, while doing other things , listening to mandolin players.
    7. Learn fiddle tunes. Then learn to play them in odd keys. Not to befuddle your jam mates but to really learn the fingerboard.
    8. Find a jam to play with folks. It's the best way to dive in to playing.
    9. Start practicing tremolo and crosspicking early on. Right hand control is crucial to tone production as well as keeping your play interesting.
    10. If you don't already know basic music theory, learn it. It will help you evolve as a mandolinist and as a musician.

    Enjoy the process .... R/
    I love hanging out with mandolin nerds . . . . . Thanks peeps ...

  14. The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to UsuallyPickin For This Useful Post:


  15. #34

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by DavidKOS View Post
    Perhaps by using the scales you were practicing them. Application is a big part of using tools in music.
    If you broaden a term to include everything, the term loses meaning. I think the OP, and most people, mean playing a set pattern that includes all of the scale notes, when they refer to “practicing scales”.
    Object to this post? Find out how to ignore me here!

  16. The following members say thank you to JonZ for this post:


  17. #35
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    North CA
    Posts
    5,013

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by JonZ View Post
    If you broaden a term to include everything, the term loses meaning. I think the OP, and most people, mean playing a set pattern that includes all of the scale notes, when they refer to “practicing scales”.
    In a sense you are practicing scale fingerings, not so much scales per se.

  18. #36
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    South of Cleburne, North of Hillsboro, Texas
    Posts
    5,083

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Semantics to an extent. The old question, "What is practice?" Jonathan Harnum ran into the issue when researching his book The Practice of Practice. Some great musicians claimed that they never practice - when in actuality, of course, they do. He decided that a more apt way to question them would be, "What do you do to get better?"

    You are indeed practicing scales (and numerous other things) when you play a scalar tune, whether or not you call it that. And there's no reason you have to call it that. The term "practice" does not become meaningless when you broaden the definition. Doctors practice medicine, attorneys practice law, musicians are practicioners of music and the good ones practice music daily.

    You have to narrow the term in order to hone in on more specific meanings and methods - you have to limit it. As in "practice scale fingerings in Bb" or "practice first positions scales" or "practice closed position scales" etc. etc.

    In my own world, how could a scale be overrated? Can't be, any more than a brick can be overrated or a 2 x 4.

    And using scales for improvising is indeed practicing with scales in my world. Further, how does one do that if he hasn't learned scales?
    WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
    ----------------------------------
    "Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN

    ----------------------------------
    HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
    Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
    The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
    - Advice For Mandolin Beginners
    - YouTube Stuff

  19. The following members say thank you to Mark Gunter for this post:


  20. #37
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    South of Cleburne, North of Hillsboro, Texas
    Posts
    5,083

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by Seamus B View Post
    I have to say I struggle to learn scales. The pentatonic scales are throwing me completely but I am trying my best.
    A specific item mentioned in OP. Some may say, "Don't worry about learning pentatonic scales, just learn more songs." And that's ok. Not necessarily bad advice. But in case OP does want to learn pentatonic scales and has trouble understanding them, maybe this video from a fellow beginner can help or encourage him. This is Henry Stevens (HonketyHank) who is just sharing his own ideas as a newbie studying through the Mandolin Master Class e-book by Brad Laird. Henry is not a teacher, not a pro musician, but he's learning about pentatonic scales. If you think it's helpful to study this kind of stuff with fellow newbies, consider joining the Woodshed Study Group.



    WWW.THEAMATEURMANDOLINIST.COM
    ----------------------------------
    "Life is short. Play hard." - AlanN

    ----------------------------------
    HEY! The Cafe has Social Groups, check 'em out. I'm in these groups:
    Newbies Social Group | The Song-A-Week Social
    The Woodshed Study Group | Blues Mando
    - Advice For Mandolin Beginners
    - YouTube Stuff

  21. #38
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    North CA
    Posts
    5,013

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by Mark Gunter View Post
    The term "practice" does not become meaningless when you broaden the definition. Doctors practice medicine, attorneys practice law, musicians are practitioners of music and the good ones practice music daily.
    Good point, except to add to the semantic issues, a musician "plays" music.

  22. The following members say thank you to DavidKOS for this post:


  23. #39
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Upstate New York
    Posts
    24,807
    Blog Entries
    56

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by Al Trujillo View Post
    Structure. My failing is that I practice without a structured pattern. I guess if I was a young beginner my instructor would have most likely built a structured curriculum that I would have followed. Failing that my playing remains unfocused.
    Just for perspective, getting behind the mandolin every day, whatever you do, is gigantic. The difference between the perfect practice routine, and a lack of structure in practicing is small compared to the difference between getting behind the mandolin every day, and not getting behind the mandolin every day.

    The structure of your practice is important, and there are lots of ways recommended. But in the grand scheme, its a refinement, compared to practicing at all.

    A practice routine that is, say 75% perfect, gets you doing some challenging stuff, gets you working on stuff you want to play, allows you to feel good about playing and to enjoy the fun of it, and can be done every day - is much much better than the perfectly structured practice, (focusing exactly on what you can't yet do or need to work on, tracking your changing needs, and covers everything, melody, chords, strumming, left hand, right hand) - but bores you, or you just can't get motivated to get to, or isn't fun and doesn't get done.

    The way I noticed that my practice routine was too structured was when I found myself looking at the clock. Not because I had an appointment to get to, but because I wanted to see how much more of this I had to do. That was the epiphany. Mandolin playing shouldn't involve clock watching.

    Perfect is the enemy of good.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

    The entire staff
    funny....

  24. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to JeffD For This Useful Post:


  25. #40
    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Upstate New York
    Posts
    24,807
    Blog Entries
    56

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Scales are important because they glue together two or three things. Behind the scenes. Behind your eyes, the sound of a key, the scale degree, the finger placement, the dots on the page if you are reading, all of that gets glued together unconsciously. This glue will help making tunes easier to learn, help with improvisation, help with working things out up the neck. Just everything.

    I took a workshop with Ekaterina Skliar (name dropping ) and she pointed out that learning a tune teaches you the tune. Learning a scale teaches you all the tunes. Ok its not literally true, but the scales give you the muscle and ear memory that make learning any other thing easier.

    This isn't an argument, nobody is wrong in doing what they want. Just, these are the benefits of doing scales. If you want them, they are available.
    A talent for trivializin' the momentous and complicatin' the obvious.

    The entire staff
    funny....

  26. The following members say thank you to JeffD for this post:


  27. #41
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    NC
    Posts
    4,781

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    "I do understand your point, but I also have seen where just learning tunes only teaches how to play the tunes you learn, not necessarily how to really play the mandolin."

    David, I'm representative of this approach. I came to mandolin from saxophone and a few years of guitar, and wanted to jump right into playing. If I have the time and motivation, I can learn to play most tunes/songs, pyrotechnics of the masters excluded. But, I tell people often that I can play songs on multiple instruments, but that I only really know the sax (which, ironically, I sold to buy a banjo years ago and don't play anymore)...I'm in the process of changing my approach so that I'll learn to play mandolin, not just tunes on the mandolin.

    "Practice makes perfect, so perfectly I practice." Heavy D knew it all along
    Chuck

  28. The following members say thank you to CES for this post:


  29. #42
    Scroll Lock Austin Bob's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Austin, Tx - some call it heaven
    Posts
    1,183

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Here's my somewhat logical way to approach music:

    • Learn a song - Happy Birthday in the key of G
    • Focus on the right hand first, then the left hand fingering, don't worry about the naming the notes, just the tablature.
    • Next , learn the notes in Happy Birthday. Notice the F is sharp.
    • Learn the G scale, again notice again the F is sharp.
    • Look at Happy Birthday written in musical notation. Again you will see one sharp in the key signature.
    • Study the Circle of Fifths. Look, one sharp again in G!
    • Next try to play Happy Birthday in A by moving everything up two frets.
    • Notice the key signature of A for reference where to sharpen a note.
    • When in doubt, learn a new song.
    • Focus on your right hand.
    • Someday it will all start to make a little sense.
    A quarter tone flat and a half a beat behind.

  30. #43

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by CES View Post
    ...I tell people often that I can play songs on multiple instruments, but that I only really know the sax (which, ironically, I sold to buy a banjo years ago and don't play anymore)...I'm in the process of changing my approach so that I'll learn to play mandolin, not just tunes on the mandolin.
    My experience relates here. I grew up playing woodwinds - my first instrument (along with gtr). As is typical among school band students, my sax time was playing from scores/ensembles. My gtr study was also under formal tutelage, but still very little theoretical training at that point. I put the horn down for many years, then when my kids started in band I began playing again. Thereupon I had under me years of jazz theory (scales ) and applying theoretical training to an instrument on which I formerly possessed only mechanics and rudiments was like night and day; in my 'second life' I could improvise and solo - something I had little facility with previously; i could always cop licks, but putting it together in context, style, etc suddenly made perfect 'sense.' So as with any tool depending on how you intend to use, methodology varies.

    *Btw, if you know theory, learning other instruments is *only* a matter of mechanics, technique, (*stylistic wherewithal, etc - for example, was just posting on accordian fora - theoretical musicians are often able to execute ideas on a keyboard instrument, yet expressing musical feeling, rhythm, form, dynamism, etc, is another aspect - working the bellows may take some practice ..)
    Last edited by catmandu2; Nov-13-2017 at 3:08pm.

  31. The following members say thank you to catmandu2 for this post:


  32. #44
    Eternal Beginner Seamus B's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Leicester, UK
    Posts
    119

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Thank you all for your wonderful tips! The point about enjoying playing is most important - learning scales for me has been really enjoyable because it leads to better playing.

    My tutor is not a mandolin specialist - he is principally a guitarist but teaches four mandolin players. He is always very well prepared, has loads of material and understands a lot of the initial nuances of mandolin playing (hand position, strumming, chords). I mainly play Irish folk, and he does some of that, but also gets me to play blues, bluegrass, and even some Spanish tunes. It is giving me good flexibility.

  33. The following members say thank you to Seamus B for this post:


  34. #45
    Jim1Hays
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Location
    Loveland Colorado
    Posts
    69

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    There is a Book that is Watch and Learn Mandolin Navigation that comes with a DVD. Brad Laird is the instructor. I think you will find this very helpful for what you are needing. It teaches patterns for pentatonic scales and chord progression. I am using it now and it is superb. Give it a try! $29.95 on-line or at a Music store.

  35. #46
    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Location
    North CA
    Posts
    5,013

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by catmandu2 View Post
    My experience relates here. I grew up playing woodwinds - my first instrument (along with gtr). As is typical among school band students, my sax time was playing from scores/ensembles. My gtr study was also under formal tutelage, but still very little theoretical training at that point. I put the horn down for many years, then when my kids started in band I began playing again. Thereupon I had under me years of jazz theory (scales ) and applying theoretical training to an instrument on which I formerly possessed only mechanics and rudiments was like night and day; in my 'second life' I could improvise and solo - something I had little facility with previously; i could always cop licks, but putting it together in context, style, etc suddenly made perfect 'sense.' So as with any tool depending on how you intend to use, methodology varies.

    *Btw, if you know theory, learning other instruments is *only* a matter of mechanics, technique, (*stylistic wherewithal, etc - for example, was just posting on accordian fora - theoretical musicians are often able to execute ideas on a keyboard instrument, yet expressing musical feeling, rhythm, form, dynamism, etc, is another aspect - working the bellows may take some practice ..)
    When learning one's first instrument, not only do you need to learn the mechanics of the instrument, but you need to learn intonation, timing, dynamics, phrasing, articulation, etc.

    After you learn all those other thing, switching instruments is indeed more about learning each instrument - but you already have learned music.

  36. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to DavidKOS For This Useful Post:


  37. #47

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Well my experience is kind of the other way round: My (i assume typical) early/formative years involved acquiring rudiments/mechanics/technique - fingering, intonation, reading.. But latent stages of learning wrought the musicality - phrasing, articulation, rhythmic nuance, dynamics, style - enabled largely through more theoretical study (and lots of listening/experience) - scales et al. It's this latter aspect that can be applied universally; the former - mechanics - is just nuts and bolts/physiognomy/techne particular to each instrument. In a nutshell, I could play songs and tunes early on, but it took quite a bit more to begin to play music expressively.

    *Er, reading your post again, I think you said the same. https://youtu.be/wznjAhZ0eWc

  38. The following members say thank you to catmandu2 for this post:


  39. #48

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    You have many experienced responders, so what I have to say is probably preposterously simplistic, but here's how I started: I was struck by the 5ths tuning, and the related similarity/consistency in playing in different keys. I just picked the simple tunes in my head (literally, like Mary Had a Little Lamb and She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain) and tried them starting on different strings. Actually, I probably started finding scales on different string-starts right off the bat, too, and that helps me find the tunes later. I don't read a note, nor use tabs....just two big ears.

    Anyway, I took 5 lessons at the Irish Catskill Arts week about a year in (this past July) with the fantastic teacher and player Mary Coogan. She basically had us play by ear (if we could) with the dots as backup. While I was way clumsy, she and the more advanced students were very tolerant. Now, with the luxury of post-retirement discretionary time, I play for an hour or more daily, and still just "find" the tunes in my head. However, the ones I dwell on (Irish, mostly) are coming up to session speed, albeit without lots of ornamentation. But, for a year and a half, it is the most rewarding instrument I can imagine. I don't care about chords, so my simple melody quest is just that: simple.

    And a tip, if you like: Take any cheap soprano ukulele, and get a 6 dollar set of Aquila Soprano 5ths strings (I think it's 30U or 31U) and voila, a poor-person's practice mandolin, with easy quieter practice potential. In fact, I have lots of instruments all tuned to GDAE, including two larger and lower units, a tenor banjo and a baritone uke tuned as a tenor guitar. The point is that all the practice uses the same fingering, albeit with different stretches, and when I put one down for another, the stuff learned on one translates very well to the next, and it keeps me from getting in a rut with one.

    Most of all, give yourself time, time, time. I am an old rookie, and therefore in a hurry, but I need to remind myself that my 18 months of experience sits next to 20, 30, 40 years experience in sessions. I don't sound that bad, when I keep that in mind.

    Have a blast!

    David

  40. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to David Colpitts For This Useful Post:


  41. #49

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Quote Originally Posted by Seamus B View Post
    Hey all - I thought I might pick your brains about good, interesting, or less well-known tips and tricks for learning the mandolin for a relative beginner.
    ...

    So, it's a general question, but is there anything that beginners can learn or try out that helps with overall playing in your experience?
    Sounds like you had an important revelation, and you'll have more to come that'll provide yet more inspiration.

    As for thoughts aside from all the technical/pedagogical bit..

    I'm like David above (and I guess contrasting early formal didacticism with innate, intuitive "ear" training is relevant here as well): the flow of natural feeling, combined with technical study, is the equation. Those simple tunes we all carry in our heads and hearts are, after all, scales of all types. Adult learners have ALL that to draw from - resources abound. One key is unlocking, or connecting with that musical sense within you - just as everything around us is education. Instruments/songs re the heusristic - music is you. Find, and refine, the route of expression, give yourself permission to play, sing, and dance

  42. #50
    Registered User John Van Zandt's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Mobile Bay
    Posts
    50

    Default Re: Tips for Learning - Beginners

    Great thread!

    As someone that enjoys playing other instruments as well, mandolin is new to me. I’ll add that part of my active approach to practice is certainly focusing on right hand technique. Among the techniques for regular practice: string crossover, double stops, chop, and tremolo.

    Bluegrass (BG) led me to chop practice, and tremolo seems to be important very early on, for any of us that want to incorporate it in our playing.

    Mostly, I’ve learned right off the bat to turn on the metronome if there is no backing track, recorded song, or video playing during practice. Also, to slow down enough to play each note of a melody or chord using good/ proper technique.

    Practice part of a song, or an entire song every day following a warm up.
    Last edited by John Van Zandt; Aug-21-2019 at 11:59am.
    Kentucky KM-380

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •