Matt Flinner's Old Time 101 Class

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  1. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I just started this online class last night. It's the first time I've taken a group class of any kind, and I'm pretty excited about it. Out on the main forum, Sheila Lagrand referred to his classes as "drinking from a fire hose" and yeah, it appears to be a good analogy. Pretty intense, but yet laid back at the same time. Video and audio for the participants were shut off, but one could communicate and ask questions via a chat box. I didn't try it.

    There was written music, but he encourages learning by ear. The written music came about 15 min. before class started, and I scrambled to print it out at the last minute. I might not bother next time. I didn't really look at it during the class, and it might be more useful for later practice. In the future I might download it and look it over on the screen for a few minutes while I wait for the class to start.

    The class was advertised for beginner to intermediate level, so there were people with various skill levels there. I'm guessing I'm in the bottom third. I feel like it is going to be quite challenging for me, but not over my head. I hope I am able to put the time into it that I would like to. The potential is there to advance a fair amount in a short time.

    He went over two warmup exercises and three songs in about an hour and a half. The first song, "I Wish I Was a Mole in the Ground" was ostensibly the easiest, and he spent the most time on that one. First he taught the basic melody. It wasn't too different than a mandolessons.com presentation, except it was live so you had to catch it within a few repetitions. I am not that quick. Somebody wrote in the chat box that they got 80% of it, and at first I felt inadequate, as I was lucky if I got 25-30%. But he was very encouraging, and so I think that might not be unusual at the beginner/advanced beginner level.

    The second iteration of the song included added open strings, and the third had chord strums interspersed. The idea was to work on a fuller sound. Even though I couldn't keep up (as I didn't have the melody down yet), it was very eye (ear?) opening. I anticipate a good amount of fun practicing in front of me before the practice session on Saturday morning.

    The 9PM Eastern start time was a little tough (I'm not a night owl), but it's overall fair as the practice session will be 7AM on the west coast (10AM for me). Also, everything is recorded, but I'd rather particpate live.

    Was anyone else there?
  2. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    I found the learning by ear teaching technique daunting, too. But I intend to keep on with it in hopes (and expectation) that I'll get better at it. If that is the only thing I get better at in the course, I'll still be happy.

    Start time was 6pm for me. No supper till 7:45 last night. But I'll live. 7am on Saturday is going to be a bit rough though.

    I was pleased with the lesson. Well organized, well thought out, very professional. I plan to take this seriously - he has my respect.

    ps: I was disappointed to learn that I still don't have my pinkie under control -- or that it has backslid since my work on it last summer.
  3. NDO
    NDO
    That sounds fun! How much did it cost?
  4. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    I think it was $175 for the whole series of, what, 10 weekly lessons and review sessions. I think you can still sign up at his site and get the first lesson on 'instant replay'. www.mattflinner.com .
  5. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    The $175 was an early sign up discount. It's $225 now. I feel like it's well worth it, and you have access to the materials even after, so you can continue to work on stuff. For example, he encouraged you to work on the song you found easiest or liked best in depth vs. skimming on all of them.

    Henry, 7:45 for dinner isn't too bad, especially if someone else is making it
    7AM might be tougher than 9PM.
  6. Ellsdemon
    Ellsdemon
    I can't even count how many of Matt's classes I have taken. They are so worth it on so many levels. I've grown as a player because of him and I'm grateful that I found him so long ago. I was actually thinking of taking that class, but I've finally commited to taking in person lessons that start tomorrow and I want to focus on that.
    My advice for you, ask questions during class and in the forum on the website that he creates for the class. Also, even though he says the lesson is an hour, I've never seen him do that. He is usually 1:30-2 hours because he just really enjoys it
  7. Southern Man
    Southern Man
    Sue wrote:
    There was written music, but he encourages learning by ear. The written music came about 15 min. before class started, and I scrambled to print it out at the last minute. I might not bother next time. I didn't really look at it during the class, and it might be more useful for later practice. In the future I might download it and look it over on the screen for a few minutes while I wait for the class to start.


    Nobody is asking for my advice, so take this with however many grains of salt you wish, but if I were interested in improving by ear, I would look at the written music before class started (so I could hopefully follow-along better), but then never again. After class, assuming you have the instant replay available, I would work on learning by ear and replay those tunes as much as needed. I haven't taken his class, but in my practice, being able to watch is also pretty important, and in video classes is highly dependent upon camera angle, much more with the small mandolin fretboard than with a guitar, for example. I really improved learning by ear/sight when I stopped having any written music to look at, didn't have any choice at that point.

    My next in-person sessions start tonight, 12 classes. It starts at 6:15, I think we are going to try to eat dinner prior.
  8. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I agree with you, Southern Man, but I only got the music 10 min before the class, and I went to print it, because I didn't want to be flipping between two screens. I went through most of the video recording of the class again last night. (Ha ha, it was nice to be able to stop him and go back.) Anyway, on the recording, the relevant music pdf was displayed on the right hand side of the screen. ( He said something to the effect of try not to look, but if you can't stand it any more, it's there.) I did not have that during the original zoom presentation, so I don't know if I had my zoom settings wrong or what. I only looked at the music a couple times, I'm trying not to
  9. bbcee
    bbcee
    This may not sound like it, but because I’m a working stiff, I found the many Flinner classes I’ve taken gradually got away from me as the courses progressed (that’s my excuse anyway!). That made me pay more attention in the moment in the live classes, but best of all, the downloaded material is still a constant source of reference. I just finished an older Bluegrass 101 for the second time. He always picks great tunes as well.

    +1 to Ellsdemon’s suggestion to participate - you’ll be glad you did.
  10. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    bbcee, I can see how the classes could gradually get away from one, and I expect it to be so. I've put in a good amount of practice time in the two days since the class, and I just about have the whole melody for the first tune under my fingers (but I've hardly looked at the music at all!). Though practicing's been lots of fun, I'm fretting a bit about falling behind, and I know that when next Monday comes, it's going to be hard to move on to the new music (because I'll still be working on the first lesson).

    It's reassuring to think about having the material available, and even being able to work your way through the entire class at a future time.

    I really like the way he teaches so far, telling you how to play it and reinforcing the way it should sound with his mandolin and his voice.
  11. bbcee
    bbcee
    Glad you're appreciating it, Sue, he's an excellent teacher. I'll bet your F4 is going to get a workout in these next weeks!
  12. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    This morning after the practice session, I am feeling very frustrated. He's playing at 80bpm and I just can't keep up at all. I've never made it past about 65 with my metronome, ever. I practiced alot this week, too. Over an hour per night, wish I could put more time in, but really can't right now.

    I thought I was doing pretty good, but maybe not so much, if I can't get the speed up
  13. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Well, I struggled today, too. But I know I did better today on my chording than I did yesterday. I think the main problem with me on the tunes is that I am not really familiar with them. So I have to learn the tune in my head before I can learn to play it. Speed is an issue, too, but I think I can get there eventually.

    As a newbie who has not yet graduated from that classification, I know that those initial days of seeing rapid improvements are getting rarer and rarer. But the improvements do come. So I keep on keeping on.
  14. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Thanks, Henry. It took me until last night to get the tune down, and I was just starting to work on the added open chords and rhythm. If there was another week to work on the same music, I might feel better about it, as I'd have a whole week to work on speeding it up, the chording and other stuff. I guess I'm feeling kind of old and slow.

    I think for me I might have to end up dropping off the live presentations and going at a slower pace. And I'm not happy about that prospect, either. I guess we'll see.

    Other people have worse problems than not learning music fast enough, though, so I need to focus on feeling grateful.
  15. Stacey Morris
    Stacey Morris
    Have patience Sue. Your experience is basically why I prefer working along at my own pace. I am learning for fun. As far as your frustration, I understand just about perfectly. Cut yourself some slack!
  16. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Thanks for that, SOMorris. I'm over my funk and back at it. I'm learning for fun, too, but, being no spring kitten, I also want to get to a certain level of accomplishment before I start to dodder. I guess I need to find a way through my "speed limit". Ha ha, I guess I won't worry too much about learning those chop chords until I figure it out.
  17. JeffLearman
    JeffLearman
    > I guess I'm feeling kind of old and slow.

    Yeah, I know how you feel. Such a huge difference from 40 years ago, when I felt young and slow.
  18. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Somehow, it's easier to see how one gets past "young and slow" than "old and slow". Only a few get to be "young and fast". Am thinking about Tristan Scroggins, who I've been following on Instagram. Or Sierra Hull. But when you pick up the instrument at the age of 61, you have to work with where you are.

    Second class was last night. Again, the printed music arrived 15 min. before class. I downloaded it to my drive and looked at it, but did not print it out. There were two new picking patterns and a strumming pattern that looked a little intimidating on the page, but when it actually came to him teaching it, it was not bad at all. I am liking the concept of learning more by listening and watching. I'm nowhere near quick enough when it comes to learning the tunes, but I believe that will get faster by the end of the class. If I can get to where I can mostly pick up a tune in the first go-around, that will be a significant accomplishment.

    There was quite a bit of practice time between dinner and the start of the class at 9, so that is a benefit to the late east coast start time. There is so much practice material available. I discovered that the medium speed practice mp3 of last weeks song was just what I needed to work on playing along. It was kinda like the Saturday practice session but slower and without the pressure. If I can get the new song down by the middle of the week, then start with that medium mp3, I'll be in a better place on Saturday.

    I do really like Matt's teaching style and enthusiasm. And I don't mind being pushed along some, either (despite my whining last Saturday). Going into the second week of the class, I am taking the attitude of "no pain, no gain."
  19. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Hmmm. I thought he was a little bit out of his groove last night. I hope his cold is only a cold - maybe that distracted me. But I thought we lost a fair amount of time to retuning and coughing that could have been devoted to the "show and tell" of the tune's phrases. I got pretty lost after the second phrase. But maybe I just had a curmudgeonly spell and I allowed myself to be distracted. I'll catch up.
  20. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Well, I also noticed he was a little under the weather. Was last week, too. Yeah and his mando wouldn't stay in tune (I couldn't hear it, though; my ear's not that precise.)

    I got bits of each phrase. I think these are a bit more complicated than last week's tune.
  21. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Maybe he is "blessed" (or "cursed") with perfect pitch. I didn't hear the problem either, but my ears have been much abused over many years.

    Sometimes I don't even hear my lovely wife when she gives me helpful hints about my behavior.
  22. JeffLearman
    JeffLearman
    > it's easier to see how one gets past "young and slow" than "old and slow".

    Yeah, when I was young I at least had the (false, as it turns out) hope that I'd get fast. Now I'm facing the truth that there is a limit, and that limit keeps getting slower (especially as my essential tremor kicks in, and that gets worse every year.)

    No, the good part is that for any given tune, I can start out practicing painfully slowly at say 60 BPM and working up to maybe twice that (still way below what shredders achieve.) For the last few days I've been woodshedding on Manzanita (on guitar, though hopefully I will finish my mando soon). My goal is 75% of Tony Rice's speed, but I have a long way to go yet. I'm well over 50%, though without the swing. And I'm enjoying it, and feeling good about every little bit of progress, which is what I find is a key to improvement.
  23. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Jeff, I enjoy pushing for the ever-elusive "better", regardless of what the current level of goodness is. Being a striving Newbie is a heck of a lot more fun than being a bored Oldie, at any age.

    And 50% of Tony Rice ain't at all slouchy. Onward and upward!
  24. TTT
    TTT
    Class sounds great! Sounds similar to the one I’m in, where we get new music just before class.

    Sue, I know what you mean. There’s people in my current class that have experience playing guitar, so they can strum a song with ease. I just have to remember I’m racing myself not anyone else.
  25. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    I have been focusing on the rhythm exercises more than the tune(s). I always feel a bit of envy when I see guys playing backup and talking to each other at the same time. I don't think I'll get there, but I do want to get to the stage where I can put my backup chords on "Auto". And, as Sue noted, I find my problem is still having to think about what I am doing.

    Workshop is tomorrow AM, bright and early. Well, early anyway.
  26. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    I survived another 6am Saturday wakeup call. Good workshop zoom today. Flowed a lot better.

    I bet Matt needs to open up his A string nut slots a smidge. Should eliminate his tuning and retuning problem.
  27. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Yes, I thought it went better, too, even though I wasn't able to get as much practice time this week. One is, I knew what to expect. Plus, he did more at a slower speed.

    I agree with you about his nut. I had a similar problem with my Morris, solved it temporarily with powdered teflon, then got the nut tweaked. No more issues.

    Sounds like there's a lot of nice old mandolins being played in that class!
  28. Don Grieser
    Don Grieser
    Glad the class is going better for you. I'm in the advanced fiddle tune class and am focusing on the exercises more than the tunes themselves although I did learn this week's tune because it was such a good one. He pulls the tricky bits out of the tunes (usually string crossings/rhythmic things) and creates exercises that help you in those parts of the tunes. I've neglected those in the past, so I'm trying to spend equal time on them in this class.

    I find the sooner I can get away from the sheet music/tab, the better the tunes will stay in my memory. If you go to the class syllabus, you can start listening to the tunes for the next week so you have a sense of how they go. You can usually find them on youtube. That really helps me to at least have heard the tune before.

    While he doesn't answer instantly, you can use the forum on the class website to ask questions or post your concerns/problems with the class & tunes. He will get back to you, and other students will offer help too. I've found Matt's students to be a great group of folks.

    I hope you're happy with your decision to take the class and you get a lot out of it. Sorry to intrude in the newby group, but I thought I'd pop in since I feel a bit responsible for you signing up. In my journey learning the mandolin, master teachers have played an important role and there aren't that many of them. Matt fits that description IMHO.
  29. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Hi Don,
    Thanks for stopping by. You know, I don't think we have a syllabus, or if there is, I don't know where to look for it. I think it would be great to listen to the tunes ahead of time. Maybe I will ask about that. I don't know if you took a peek at the adjacent thread on speeding up, but for me, I am trying very hard not to look at the music, for just the reason you describe. If I can get better at picking up a tune by ear, plus learn a little backup rhythm, I will be happy. And I'll certainly be working on this stuff for awhile. I'm glad I signed up; it's a bit of a kick in the butt, in a good way.
  30. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Welcome, Don! As an old goat, I have been enjoying your "palatable" CD.
  31. Don Grieser
    Don Grieser
    Thanks, Hank, so happy to hear that! Sue, it's more of an outline than a syllabus, but he lists the tunes for each session here: https://www.mattflinner.com/2021/11/...lum-1-11-3-12/ You can see what's coming up and do a little pre-class listening. The only thing is that he doesn't say is which tune will be the main focus of the class.

    I peek at the sheet music on my screen during class if I can't grab a phrase by ear, but hide it again once I get it. I use the sheet music when reviewing the individual videos he posts on the website for each handout too till I get it in my brain and fingers. That's what works for me.
  32. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Wow, great! Thanks for pointing that out, Don. I'll definitely be listening to those week 3 tunes today and tomorrow.
  33. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Third class was Monday. Exercises were double stops and using bass lines in rhythm playing. Mostly I made attempts and listened. It's not that I didn't understand what he was demonstrating, it's just that I couldn't get it under my fingers that quickly. I did not feel discouraged, though, I felt challenged. I worked on the double stop exercise yesterday, and it is going to take me awhile to be able to make the finger movements quickly and smoothly. I doubt that I will be able to play along with it on Saturday, but I have decided that's okay. I have a direction to work in, so that's good for now.

    I've established for myself that Tuesday through Friday I will work on the new material; Saturday, Sunday and Monday before class will be review. That way I can keep everything moving forward. I might not have renewed ArtistWorks if I'd known that I was going to take this class. It will be enough to keep me busy for quite awhile. If I could spend more time every day, it would be better, but it's not in the cards until at least the end of the summer.
  34. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Sue, it sounds like you and I are running about the same speed. I really want to be able to do all that bass-line with chords stuff smoothly - it's the main reason this class interested me. But Monday I got distracted with a technical problem with my hearing aids and when I got back to actually trying to play along, I was lost. I should have practiced yesterday but just didn't, so today I need to dig in with the pdf's.
  35. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I didn't work on the bass line stuff yesterday, just the double stops and the tune. I'll look at it this evening. I feel like if I could recognize the notes and intervals more readily, than I'd be able to pick up things by ear more quickly. Thats why I signed up for the AW Ear Training class. Hah, I haven't had any time at all to spend on that; this class is taking up pretty much all my available mandolin / music time presently.
  36. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Well, week 3 is in the can, now that the lab session is done. Here is my take on things so far.

    Matt seems to have everybody from absolute beginner to decent players in the class. He wants to keep all interested. So he has to present a bit of good stuff to each student. No student should be expected to be able to master every lick and technique in every lesson every week. And no student should expect that either. So, depending on what level one is at (and only he or she knows), one should participate as well as possible during the Monday lesson and then select what part of the lesson is most closely related to the reasons he or she signed up for. So, for me ...

    I signed up for two objectives - to help develop my ear-learning abilities and to have structured learning of back up chords and technique. Tunes? Well, yeah, that's nice, but I can pick up tunes pretty easily even if my ear-learning ability right now is not great.

    So, this past Monday, I played along as best I could on the double stop exercise and the bassline and rhythm exercises. Not enough to "learn" them, but enough to get familiar. On the basic tune, I did focus on trying to learn to pick the tune. But when he started adding the rhythm and bass and chords to the melody line, I focused on my basic "bumm chicky bumm chicky" backup - just trying to make my chords free and easy. Maybe throw in a walking bass leadin to a chord change. For the two more advanced tunes I didn't even try to pick them, I just continued my focus on the chords and rhythm.

    For the week's practice, I hit the doublestop exercise. I also wrote down a little bassline melody with walkins to the chord changes in the key of G. Also one in the key of D. I spent a lot of time practicing them. I pretty much ignored the tunes except to play backup to the basic tune of the week (When the Springtime Comes Again).

    In the lab today, I noticed that Matt pushed the metronome up a bit higher for the double stop exercise. Pretty soon we'll be doing that one as a tremolo before we even know it!

    Right now, I am encouraged. I can hear the improvement in my backup technique even though it is still very ragged. I think I detect a bit of improvement in my ability to hear chord changes in the melody without having to see the chord name written down on a score. Of course we are still working with I, IV, and V so far but I look forward to learning more keys and modes and progressions. So I am happy.
  37. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Man o man. Those double stops in A are killers. I am focusing just on that for the time being. Maybe for all week.

    It was a pretty ragged lesson for me last night. Gotta lotta work to do to get ready for Saturday.
  38. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Me too. I wasn't able to practice yesterday, either

    Planning to work on those double stops today. I expect that may be all I get to as well, tho I really enjoyed those tunes in A. They'll keep, however.
    I love that I will be able to re-do the whole class later. I can focus on one or two things now and something else on the next go-around.
  39. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    So how did you do today, Henry? I could do the first set of double stops at the slowest 2 tempos, and could sort of strum along with the tunes. I only started on the second and third sets yesterday, and am having trouble with the E chord. Boy, what a lot of buzzing is coming out of my mandolin as I try to move two fingers at a time with any speed at all! The original schedule had a break this week (I believe he had a gig - must've been cancelled) and I was really hoping for an extra practice week in the middle. I also have a big graphics deadline coming up soon, so that is cutting into my mandolin time .

    (Still having fun, though)
  40. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    I just never was able to keep up today, even on the slowest speed stuff. Practiced that double stop exercise a lot this week but still very muddy and chunky. But I think I am making progress.

    I have come to believe somebody else's quote "it's like trying to drink from a firehose". His material is aimed at beginners to maybe advanced. To me as a beginner, that means it is ALL advanced. So I pick one or two things I want to focus on and try not to be discouraged about not keeping up with the rest.
  41. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I think I might be the newbiest newbie in the class, so it's all advanced to me, too. That's okay, though, because it's stuff that I want to be able to do, and at least now I see how to get there. The rest appears to be practice.
  42. E.R. Villalobos
    E.R. Villalobos
    Hi everyone, I’m a newbie in Matt’s 101 class. It’s great to read all of these comments. The mandolin is my first instrument and I really like his calm, low key style and approach of mixing technique, tunes, rhythm and melody in each class. They do move fast, and I often go back to review exercises and songs from the first classes. I put in practice time during the week knowing that we will be moving on come Monday, but its never enough! I guess that’s the beauty of learning an instrument at middle age! I also started printing out the music when it arrived 5 minutes before class but gave up and now just look at my tablet. When I get lost during class- especially the last 30 minutes or so, or when he picks up the pace- I stop and watch his playing, which is amazing. He clearly likes and feels the music.
    I stumbled upon his twitter feed which is great. He practically composes and plays a song a day and has been playing the banjo the last few days. I’m on the east coast so the time works well for me, but I’ve eliminated a glass of wine with dinner on Mondays. I’m having a great time and I’m glad I followed the recommendations on the forum.
    Gene
  43. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    Hi Gene, good to have you with us. I also have been pretty much listening the last 30 min or so because it's too fast and my brain is full, hah hah.
    I decided to change it up today in my practice and got out my Strad-O-Lin, which hasn't had any attention lately. I thought a change in mandolin might help those double stops along. I'd almost forgotten how good it sounds

    Do you have to sign up for twitter to see a feed? It sounds cool, but I'm not sure I need any more social media to distract me from practicing
  44. E.R. Villalobos
    E.R. Villalobos
    Hi Sue- yes, you need Twitter to see his feed. I completely understand about distractions. I’m glad I’m taking this class in the dead of winter- it’s nice and sunny out but cold and after a walk I’m ready to come back in and get back to it.
  45. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    It looks like a bit easier practice week this week (compared to last week). But I am still trying to get last week's doublestop exercise into shape.

    Funny thing about Matt's comment that a friend sang "The Blackest Crow" at his wedding. The first verse is about a guy lamenting the fact that he knew his lover was going to eventually leave him. The rest of the verses are more appropriate to a wedding, so maybe the singer skipped the first verse.

    The other thing about that tune is the chord progression is quite unusual. I think this progression comes from Bruce Molsky or maybe Molsky's source, Tommy Jarrell. My thinking is that the whole tune could be played entirely in E minor pentatonic using Em and Dm chords and I am betting that way back when, maybe four or five hundred years ago, that's the way this tune began. That's just a guess - I didn't try to trace the tune back beyond Molsky and Jarrell.

    Matt's chording shifts back and forth between minor and major and even seems to flirt with a bit of the "inbetween" modes, making the mood considerably brighter and more modern.
  46. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I can now play the doublestops all the way through albeit v e r y s l o w l y. I feel like it's good progress. I'm going to keep working on those, plus the original picking exercise, which I have up to a blazing 65 bpm

    I haven't looked at the new material yet. I have this dang graphics deadline next week and it's going to take everything I've got to finish it on time and get it in my rear view mirror. Once it's done, I will probably try to start practicing twice at day, morning and evening.

    I wish Matt would publish the lyrics. I know you can look them up, but that's one more thing to do. i asked him about it early on, but he must have forgotten about it; I feel like he's got alot on his plate, too. I also wish there was a suggested discography, besides scribbling stuff on a piece of paper when someone mentions something. I'm learning about this music at the same time I'm learning to play it. It's all new to me, but I like it.
  47. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    Discography = anything by Bruce Molsky. I think adopts and adapts a lot from Bruce (who plays fiddle). I don't know what Matt has recorded.

    I can play the exercise, sorta. The problem is that several of those fingerings are beyond where I normally expect to be playing. So I have to direct my fingers to go there and they fight back at me. But if I keep at it, I think they will eventually admit that they can do it. I just gotta convince them who is boss and then keep reminding them. Good luck with the deadline. If your graphics stuff is anything like your catnip mandolins, I am sure the client will be, like, blown away, man.
  48. Don Grieser
    Don Grieser
    We get doublestop excercises in the Advanced Fiddle Tunes class too, so keep after those and use Matt's fingerings. It will pay big dividends. Doublestops will help you learn the fretboard, once you start connecting the dots by going from I to the IV and V chords using them. The patterns repeat predictably since the mando is tuned in 5ths. Glad it's going well.

    If you're on Facebook, Matt is posting his new tune every day there too. Great way to start my day, even if it has been banjo in February. Matt actually won Winfield in both banjo and mandolin, maybe the only person to do that.
  49. HonketyHank
    HonketyHank
    "Matt actually won Winfield in both banjo and mandolin, maybe the only person to do that."

    Now I am REALLY impressed. I am a lapsed banjolian. Gotta say a mandolin is a lot easier to lug around.
  50. Sue Rieter
    Sue Rieter
    I'm having some trouble with the tremolo exercise. (Not that I've worked on it as much as I would like to.) I think I have an issue with my pick hold. The only way I can describe it is, the point of the pick seems to "catch" on the strings, and I just can't do the eight notes per beat. Even slowly. The six I can do. I tried a rounder, less beveled pick and it helped a little but not that much. I took a picture and was planning to post it to Matt, but haven't gotten to it yet. Things like work keep getting in the way of mandolin.
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