I have been playing 2 years now about 1 year doing a weekly jam. some basics I have learned. Get a tuner check your mandolin at the 7th & 12th fret to make sure it was setup. Even twinkle little star sounds bad if you are not in tune. Try out lots of picks till you find one that is comfortable I use about a 1mm If your going to learn to tremalo hold your pick as loose as possible. Get on the Internet and find some moveable 4 finger chords. First thing I was told by bands dont use 2 finger chords they are only good for solos and will not work very good for chop chords. # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #


finally find other people to play with 3 months of playing with others you will learn more in 1/4 of the time. #If you dont live where this is p[ossible play along with tapes or cds. also record your playing so you know what you need to work on . Happy pickin #