If you only knew it back then...

[David Lewis]

I’d have learned mandolin or banjo before guitar.

I’d have worried less about technical playing and more about technique. So instead of trying to dazzle actually tries to play.

I’d have learned more about chords and chord tones than scales I think.

I wouldn’t have listened to people who told me I couldn’t play when my gut told me I could. I’m still gigging. Most of them aren’t anymore.

[T.D.Nydn]

That less is almost always more.

Less is not more,,,less is less and more is more....

[Jim Bevan]

No huge revelations, but hundreds of little "Whoa, that's easier!"s.

This week's: I've been playing a Mann SEM-5 in an air-conditioned theatre for a year and a half, playing five tunes in an hour and a half show. At the end of three of the tunes I can check my tuning, and at the beginning of four of them I can check my tuning. When I pick it up, it's always gone sharp. I don't want to tune down 'cuz it'll go flat once the tune gets going, so I've been stretching the strings, with mixed results. This week I discovered that if I lay my bare forearm along the strings for just a second, the strings absorb enough heat to snap back into tune (two seconds, and it'll go quite flat). How convenient! I sure wish I'd known that a year and a half ago!

[jshane]

Less is not more,,,less is less and more is more....

tell that to the guy who is blazing away at lightning speed doing nothing of interest either rhythmically or tonally , followed by the next... and the next... and the next...

[William Smith]

To be honest with everyone I would've maybe took some lessons! I'm not a bad player just would've been easier if I was shown more, members of my family gave me pointers and showed me some chords and I took it from there? They were pro pickers and not around! I also would've played much more as a kid instead of drinking beer "party boy for sure-and all that goes with it!!!!" so if any young pickers read my post get away from that crap and concentrate on playing music! Partying may seem like a fun thing to do at the time with friends and plenty of girls but ya know something once you grow up a bit you don't see any of those people you grew up with! You may think you will, maybe a few of them from time to time but trust me you all go your separate ways!

[fatt-dad]

play with people and learn fiddle tunes.

okay. . . That and a bit of practical theory.

f-d

[MikeZito]

I took up the mandolin just as the long-time acoustic band I was playing in began to fall apart. I have little doubt that, had I taken up the mandolin sooner, I would have had the chance to play with the band both on stage, and in the studio . . . but I missed it, and opportunities have been almost non-existent since then.

[T.D.Nydn]

tell that to the guy who is blazing away at lightning speed doing nothing of interest either rhythmically or tonally , followed by the next... and the next... and the next...

How about the guy who is blazing away at lightening speed and doing VERY interesting things both rhythmically and tonally,,

[Zeb Williams]

there are 2 things that I would have done different; First before moving on ensure that I am competent at the song or exercise practice until I got it, second focus on the importance of chop chords. 90 percent of playing will be using choir chords.

[jshane]

How about the guy who is blazing away at lightening speed and doing VERY interesting things both rhythmically and tonally,,

I'd say, "wonderful". I guess I see less of that than you do.

But in any case--

the OP asked--"What do you know now that would have made learning so much easier had you known it from the start?"

What _I_ know now, is that dexterity is not musicality. That Miles Davis was right when he said, "Dont play what's there, play what's NOT there" ---And IF I had known that from the start, I would't have wasted so much time being obsessed with speed BEFORE being able to apply that speed thoughtfully and in an appropriate manner. And THAT would have made MY learning "so much easier".

It's just an opinion. A response to a question about opinions.

[Jeff Hildreth]

I started playing mandolin a year before I started playing guitar back in 1961.

I was teaching myself to read music and play the mandolin (a gift from a great aunt) and along came the "folk scare".

I left mandolin for a 1939 Martin 00-17 and began fingerpicking and playing a fleeting style of music.

Had I stuck with mandolin I would not have had to restart so many times and been an infinitely better player.

I may have still played guitar but mandolin would have been my first, and more important, instrument.

[yankees1]

Practice and playing are and should be two separate strategies to improve your playing performance . As Pete Martin finally got through to me years ago !

[JPS]

The best thing about this thread is that half the responses are "I would have spent more time becoming technically proficient, instead of just doing whatever caught my attention," and the other half are "I would have focused less on technical proficiency and spent more time just having fun."

[paulspafford]

Improvising is 50% theory and 95% ear, and pretty much equal in importance.

... and math is hard.

[j. condino]

Leave the mandolin alone and start playing the upright bass immediately!!!!!

[JonZ]

The best thing about this thread is that half the responses are "I would have spent more time becoming technically proficient, instead of just doing whatever caught my attention," and the other half are "I would have focused less on technical proficiency and spent more time just having fun."

There are two types of mandolin players.
Don’t be one of them.

[wormpicker]

"If I could go back in time to 1976" (when I played trumpet in 9th grade), I would have picked up fiddle and mandolin, instead of waiting 3 and 4 decades, respectively. And I'd be a lot better at them than I am now!

[Bob Clark]

"If I could go back in time to 1976" (when I played trumpet in 9th grade), I would have picked up fiddle and mandolin, instead of waiting 3 and 4 decades, respectively. And I'd be a lot better at them than I am now!

Yup, worm picker, I am right with you on that one. I'd have to go back just a few more years than to'76, for HS. It would have been a lot of fun in college, though. I, too, played trumpet as a kid and had a great time with it. Learned a lot. Piano too (I still play piano). But how I wish I had discovered mandolin sooner.

Of course, the opposite way of looking at it is, I might not have discovered it even yet. I am grateful that I discovered it when I did. It really has become a big part of my life.

[Mark Gunter]

Mid- to late-60s, guitar ... What would I do differently? I'd spend more time listening and learning the licks and the tone from all those records, instead of just figuring out chords and vocals. And I'd come to the mandolin long ago instead of waiting my whole life to start it up.