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How do i get the perfect loop? I try and try and it's really obvious even when it's off by a sliver. Sure, I could slow things down but, it's so slow, it useless. I could half time it, but the chord...

OK, dots means standard notation. It's a really good thing to learn to read standard notation. I learned it when I took classical guitar lessons. There are several major advantages over tablature. It...

Around 1 large in $US.

Not a steal by any means, nor a fleecing.

I've got a similar age / model Vinaccia (structurally sound but in less well cosmetic shape than this) and it's a great...

I'm no expert, but I've used the three methods (notation, tablature, and ear learning) and found that each has advantages. You're not dealing with an"either/or" situation.

Notation: When you can...

– Learning a tune by hearing it
– Learning a tune by reading notation
– Learning a tune by reading tab

Depending on your preference, one of these methods may work better for you than the others....

I was thinking something similar, but the other way around - that it's a prop, more for looking OK than functioning, per se. Such a short neck, only ten frets, with that decorative join. When you got...

I agree with Walter. Learn to read standard notation and there is a whole world full of music out there waiting for you. That being said, being able to pick up a new tune at a jam by ear is...

I learned to read tab when I started to play mandolin about 10 years ago, but I learned to read notation when I was 8, which is a very long time ago. And I've learned tunes by ear as well. But now...

This discussion is indeed time-worn, but there are always some interesting new views - particularly the comparisons to language in this thread.

If you want to learn by ear to speak Italian, for...

Thank you for the great link to the Atlas of Plucked instruments! According to that, Brescian and Cremona seem to be defined as both having 4 strings, but this fingerboard is not flush with the...

Is it a Brescian mandolin?

I wish i had the ear I have witnessed other's having, so I am insanely jealous of anyone who can naturally pick up a tune by simply hearing it.

I was never very good at it, but I have gotten...

I contribute my inability to learn new material by ear to a lack of natural music talent. Believe me I have tried to train my ear, but beyond the ability to quickly play rhythm along side someone...

There have been a number of ways and methods of reading/writing music that have come and gone over the years. Some of these are still used today. “Shaped notes” immediately comes to mind, but there...

Conversations here too often posit this as an either / or proposition which I find both amusing and saddening in equal measures.

In this case "versus".

I started off learning by ear and...

In my public school band, which I participated in from 3rd to 12th grade, we never did any sight singing.

Ear training is on my radar screen of skills to work on.

For me, I very much aspire to...

Yikes, Martin, how did I miss this? Too much work at the end of the semester.
That's a handy sized accordion.
Just enough basses to really add some chordal texture to your playing and not too...

Yes, it does. I was looking at the straight line at the top of the third digit - more like a 5 than an 8.

I like the Ren Faire theory, too. The image of the lutist, the "Santa Cruz" reference ......

It’s best to go from the outside of the neck , through the neck into the neck block. The direction of the arrow in the thumbnail sketch by Mike.

Coming to mandolin from guitar, there is a faction that is vehemently anti-standard notation. This same faction is also usually anti-music theory.

It comes from the guitar’s roots as a folk...

I have always thought that tab works best with some understanding of dots and that paper (tab and/or dots) will work better with a little help from the ears.

notation

If by "dots" you mean standard notation, then I'm in a similar place with the mandolin. I find the notation to be easier to sight read and to gain a broader understanding of the piece of music. The...

Is it just me? I know many, many posts have been published regarding tablature and dots and players preference for one or the other. But I wonder if it is just me that finds tab to be simple in...

I bought this interesting "mandolino" on eBay, sold by Goodwill in Salinas, CA. The label says it's by D.W. Snyder of Santa Cruz, and has 4 strings with friction pegs. I can't find DW Snyder on the...