Mandolin lessons :(

[Yeti]

Hi. I'm a guiltiest and I decided to start playing mandolin a few weeks ago to help give our jams a different sound. So late one drunkn' night I set out to find a mandolin on the web. I came across a $45 Rogue. I bought the Rogue thinking if I don't like it I could nail it to the wall or something. Anyway I got it a few days later took it out of the box and at first look I was a little overwhelmed by the tiny fretboard. I tuned it up looked up some chords and "BAM". What a sweet instruments (I'm not saying Rogue but the mandolin in general). I'm hooked.

Ok here is where I am trying to get at. I decided to take some lessons. I didn't want to go through the problems I had when learning the guitar(self taught). I would get into ruts and my progress would crawl to a stand still. SO I sighed up. Yesterday I went to the lesson and after sitting in a waiting room with a bunch of kids I was finally herded into a room. The instructor went straight to a lesson book w/cd. He told me I need to get this book ASAP and proceeded to teach me TAB. I know TAB. I've known TAB for many many years. I told him that but he still pressed on. The sadness started to set in. I was really bummed out. I was really looking forwarded to taking these lessons. I know how to read If I got that book/cd why do I need to pay him to read it to me? I guess I am going to go the way of the guitar and be a self taught mandolin player. If anyone has any suggestions of book or what not I should read I am all ears.

If you made it this far thanks for letting me rant.

[Pen]

Sounds like you have a bad teacher (or at least one that's bad for you). Get another one. Before signing up for lessons, interview the potential instructor. Any teacher worth their salt will be able to tailor the lessons to suit your skill and learning style.

Also, be open minded. Sometimes what you see as wasted time and instruction can actually be worthwhile in the long run.

I happen to agree with you though. Handing a CD and a book to a student is hardly much of a lesson. You can do much better.

[Bob A]

Sounds like you ought to look for an instructor who knows how to listen. One size does not fit all.

[Brad Weiss]

A good teacher makes a big difference, and shouldn't be hard to find. So does a bad teacher - go get a good one!

[Greg H.]

Fortunately you're in a great part of the country for mandolin teachers. I'm not sure who's all in Winston-Salem, but if you're willing to make the drive to Siler City, Jerry Stuart would be a good choice (no financial interest here, just know he's a good option). Then Southwest of Chapel Hill Charles Petty and Joe Sykes are both teaching mandolin. I'm sure there are also a number of good teachers in the Winston-Salem/Greensboro area as well so just keep looking.

[Greenmando]

My wife and I took some guitar lessons. After the first night one of the students came up and asked him if he taught "grid". My wife, Bill the teacher and I looked at her and each other silently asking what the heck is she asking. I asked her if she meant tab? No, she wanted grid!

After a few drawings and pictures she relented grid and tab were the same.
Thankfully Bill taught music. Funny watching some students with their cheat sheets of tab.

[Elliot Luber]

Find someone who actually enjoys teaching. Teaching is like playing guitar, everyone thinks they're the king, but the audience makes that decision.

[Frank Russell]

Why are you a guiltiest?

[James P]

Wait 'til you run into the "teacher" who wants you spend your $40 hour running thru changes while they jam. # #
Not that it wasn't worth it! #

[mandomadman]

If you don't find another teacher for a spell. Log on to Mandozine.com, go to tabledit files and download tabledit. After the download you will have access to an incredible amount of stuff to learn from beginner to pro and everything in between!

If you like bluegrass indulge yourself in Bill Monroe,he's the Hendrix of bluegrass except he does'nt burn his mando on stage.

Surf this site through the search option,you'll find tons of information and welcome to the cafe. I'm a guitar player too and your gonna love the mando,it's the little insrument that could! Just be sure to dust your guitars off once in a while.

[Phil Goodson]

Also, don't forget to check out musicmoose.com for the free lesson videos.
http://www.musicmoose.org/compone....emid,32

Also, there's a music store down the road in downtown Mocksville that I believe gives mando lessons. I don't have any direct experience with them.

Phil

[Yeti]

Nice . Thanks for the replys. Im going to go do some downloading.

[mandomadman]

On the Mandozine.com tabledit search page,go to catagories and scroll down to and select 'exercises' that will keep you busy learning all the scales etc. Then check out all the tunes in the library. So many tabed midi files and so little time.

[Joe Mangio]

I too had an experiance as yours. Save your money; if
Bluegrass is your thing, pick up a copy of Andy Statman's
book; "Teach Yourself Bluegrass Mandolin". This will get you
on your way, and between the Internet and books, you'll
be pickin' an grinnin' in no time.

[Smyers]

There's certainly no substitute for a good mando teacher... and the one you described ain't it! Learning from a book or CD is OK, but it means slower progression with more bad habits picker up. And don't settle for a classroom setting. Get private instruction where they are concentrating on just you.

Best of luck finding someone. I'm sure you will soon.

[Tom C]

I knew somebody who is a very good guitar and mandolin player. All self taught. When he went for mando lessons, his up strokes and down strokes were all over the place -not on the right beat. This is the first thing one is taught when playing mando. This got him very frustrated as he felt like a beginner again and would have to re-learn the correct way. He never went for another lesson. I've been in many intermediate+ classes that ended up being like beginner classes because of this. I would advise on taking 1 on 1 lessons with somebody who's main instrument is mando.

[PseudoCelt]

If good teachers are too far away for regular lessons, you could always have occasion, one-off lessons to stop you getting into bad habits, while teaching yourself the rest of the time. Many teachers are willing to give single lessons.

Patrick

[Dfyngravity]

I have had two teachers, the first one was a classical guitar and mandolin player and taught at several universities. When it came time to teaching, boy was he a drill sargent and could tell any time you hadn't practiced enough. Anyways my best friend was also taking classical guitar lessons from him too so the hour before my lessons he would be taking his and I was just sitting there listing. I actually learned a lot just from sitting there, such things are being the most efficent you can be on the fingerboard by using the correct fingering and using pivot fingers and such. The biggest thing I learned during the lessons was timing and rhythm which helped my playing tremedously. This being said, learning classical music actually really helped my playing averall including playing bluegrass. So it might be worth it taking a couple or a series of lessons from someone like this.

My second teacher was Pete Frostic of Old School Freight Train and again my playing made vast improvments. Not only is Pete a great player he is a great teachers as well.

So I say keep looking. A great teacher will ask you what you want to learn and will develop steps for you to acheive this. I believe if I walked into a lesson and the guy pulls out a book/cd I would have walked out because the reason a cd or dvd comes with a book is because you don't have to have an instructor there with you....otherwise you are just paying double.

[Alex Orr]

...or just buy a copy of the Greg horne DVD/book on Beginning mando. I'm very happy with it.

[tryinghard]

Second on the Greg Horne books, just got one and very impressed, bought some other ones, but so far I prefer his. I also have an excellent teacher and it keeps me from getting into bad habits. Just because I'm playing like a kid, doesn't mean I should be taught like one. Look around for another teacher.

[Rick Schmidlin]

When I was a kid in NJ in the 60s I went to music store in Hackensack on Main street for drum lessons,I wanted to be Ringo. The owner and teach was father of owner of Robbies Music. He taught every instument there was in the store but drumms where just page by page and I lost interest,my parents were please.

Now when I play mandolin for my mother she is happy.

[Doug Edwards]

Yesterday I went to the lesson and after sitting in a waiting room with a bunch of kids I was finally herded into a room. The instructor went straight to a lesson book w/cd. He told me I need to get this book ASAP and proceeded to teach me TAB.

I ran into a simular teacher. We were talking and mandolin came up. He said he taught mandolin, so I asked him about his mandolin. He did not own one! He said he used one off the wall and taught out of a book. He went on to say he just stayed a week a head of the student with the book for each lesson.

Self taught is way better than a untrained teacher.

[Tim]

I took lessons from a guy who told me I'd never learn to play. #I came home, cancelled the mandolin I had on order and put the ones I owned away. #I did eventually take them out of the closet and give it another attempt. #Ironically, he probably takes the fact that I never came back to him as proof that he was right.

[Belew]

I get lessons from David Via in Greensboro. He ask what I want to learn and thats what we work on. He's an easy going guy. If you want to give it a try, send me a PM or an email and I'll give you his number.

[Yeti]

Thanks for the replies. I decided to get some books for now. I've been grinding away learning the fret board. I'm trying not to use any tab. I seem to be picking up on it well.

Belew, I might be shooting you a PM about David Via soon.