Re: Playing level
I've been hitting the mandolin in a serious way for the three years I've been playing one. Three hours per day, mostly fairly task oriented playing. It is exciting times for me because in the last three months things are starting to click in the middle of the fretboard as I have been finding all the chord inversions and arpeggios up the neck and how they relate to actual songs. Not to the point where I can improvise too well, but there are a few songs I'm asked to play regularly with singer/guitarists, and I've worked out several lead breaks for them. I'm also finding myself playing unintentional licks that work, the path that leads to improvisation.
I've also been getting tips from a pro, whose teaching is pretty conceptual. He doesn't want me playing licks but says stuff like figure out when it makes sense to start an arpeggio lick on the third or fifth and where the chord you want to go to lies in relation to where you are on the fingerboard. Also we are studying solos from major players, not to parrot them, but to understand the underlying theory. Copping the licks is fun too.
All this is exciting, and I feel sorry for all the people my age who are stuck playing stuff they have known for forty years, over and over. There is something to be said for anyone, especially older folks, ditching their comfort zone. Taking up a new instrument at age 65 and playing it in front of people while you are singing too, will stimulate your brain for sure.
Time is a gift, squander it wisely.
Silverangel A
Arches F style kit
1913 Gibson A-1
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