Re: Essential Mandolin Techniques.
Originally Posted by
derbex
The real value with Leone to me is in the picking exercises ups and downs, across the strings, patterns &c.
Yes -- the instruments of Leone's day are like nothing any of us have, unless you've had a historical repro made -- and so the value of Leone's technical instruction always must be reconsidered. Also note that Leone doesn't always agree with the other 18th-century tutors; Paul Sparks has done a comparison in his book "The Classical Mandolin." With the level of detail folks are discussing in this thread, that book should be helpful.
Agree, there's huge value in Leone's ornate picking patterns, much of which did not survive to the next generation of instruction books. Working through his patterns are a different direction, which I find inspirational for composing new mandolin music.
Seems as if this thread is comparing pick grip and RH technique across traditions -- the grip with pick on side of index finger (rather than on the pad) is clearly illustrated in the influential Bickford method, which is nearly 100 years old, so it's not only the bluegrass-oriented players who use this.
Exploring Classical Mandolin (Berklee Press, 2015)
Progressive Melodies for Mandocello (KDP, 2019) (2nd ed. 2022)
New Solos for Classical Mandolin (Hal Leonard Press, 2020)
2021 guest artist, mandocello: Classical Mandolin Society of America
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