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I recently started a job where fiddle/banjo/mandolin/guitar are effective. Havent played any of that in at least a couple of years.. Interestingly, fiddling came right back to nearly where it'd been....

I have been playing fiddle as long as I have been playing mandolin, 44+ years. I will never be a virtuoso on either but there are certainly moments of joy in expressing my music through these...

I played fiddle for decades. Did not even own a mandolin for one or two of those decades. Keep that fiddle and that darned stick. I enjoy the mandolin much more today. The devil didn't make the...

Recently, people were discussing the pursuit of mandolin "brilliance" on another thread. I'd said that one of the joys of taking up mandolin in my 60's was that I didn't have to aim for excellence;...

Have a listen to the CD recorded by Butch Baldassari & David Schnaufer,both now sadly passed away - ''Appalachian Mandolin & Dulcimer''. There are some really great tunes on there. ''Muddy Roads'' is...

Thanks, Don. Keizo Ishibashi is certainly impressive. I especially liked his take on "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." I don't know if that's been posted above or not. If not:
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Beginners all need to learn the same set of skills, the advanced players are ready to get going with whatever you throw at them, but there's all sorts of intermediates. At a camp or workshop, the...

I imagine it's a global issue for intermediate pickers who know how to play but are not up to the demands of dance speeds. And you don't fit in with either group. At five year mark I'm dealing with...

There is a great app for smartphones/tablets called "Loop2Learn", which allows you to both slow down and loop parts of YouTube videos. I was one of the beta testers for it and I found it very useful.

Do you play other instruments? Do you have some basic recording gear? A looper?

Pick a common I IV V progression and lay down some basic backing tracks. Recording software can be set to loop over...

Hey Don, there are a stack of bluegrass backing tracks for free on Youtube which are great to sharpen your improvisation skills on. Even the tracks intended for specific tunes can be great for...

http://www.fbbts.com

You can speed it up and slow it down, lots of choices. It's helping me.

I’ve gotten a lot out of two resources. The Bluegrass Workout books that Steve Kaufmann did for Homespun give dozens of commonly played tunes with music and tab, along with cd’s that offer each tune...

I'm with you, Don, though I have learned to play breaks a bit. Because of my focus on blues, after a while it started coming naturally. I find, as you say, that many teachers aren't great with adult...

I'd say it depends on what the other instruments are. If your other instrument is, for example, the bassoon or hurdy-gurdy, there are few technical similarities, and almost no chance of confusing...

Fiddle has really taken over the practice time, though my performance time is 75% mandolin, 25% guitar. All the work on fiddle had a positive effect on my guitar playing, which had sorta plateaued.

I know a few amazing players who move their picking position up or down, slightly, depending on the strings they are on, to even out the tone. Knowing how to play the idiosyncrasies your instrument...

Why does everyone think playing sul tasto - that is, near the neck, is the "sweet spot" ?

That picking position is for the effect of a mellower tone, same as playing sul ponticello (near the...

Thanks for having me!

I've been playing guitar, mainly fingerstyle acoustic, for 40 years. Wow! I thought I'd be WAY better by now... Anyway, arthritis in the base of both my thumbs has made what...

I was into guitars before mandolin, and still hang out with them at times. for years I've seen one of these and been intrigued. the avante is the Korean built version and runs around $1600 new(all...

String winder for sure, then allen wrench for truss rod, wire cutter, screwdrivers for tuner buttons, and a bottle opener.

Back in the 90s I got lots of invaluable support on my beginner's nervous self-doubt - from either this list or the Comando listserv. I recently wrote about my 20+ year mandolin learning journey,...

Never had the pleasure of meeting, playing or taking a lesson from Roland White but I have with Steve Smith. Steve is such a fabulous teacher, phenomenal player and just all around wonderful human,...

Yes, I am 72 and get a bit of arthritis now, but I play on. I actually think that it is better to keep things moving than not - kinda use it or lose it. :whistling:

I've taken Sharon's lessons and I agree with d. Well worth the $20

If you really network (I used by permission the email contacts of 3 local organized jams) you might find someone who plays...