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This is an interesting question. Of course the answers are going to vary from great to great. And the line isn't always sharp between "practicing" and "sitting around jamming." It would be...

Really good thread.
I share many of the views here. I'd add this: I've always felt it was a tremendous advantage to play at least two instruments because they cross pollinate. Something I...

The couple players I've tickled were stiff and a little unpleasant, but still playable.

I can satisfy your curiosity about upright vs. grand. The grand is one big harp, with strings...

1). Hard to get rid of, but it depends on the brand,quality, rarity, and even wow factor. Those huge art deco era pianos that dominated music for so many decades before ww II, are really tough. ...

I find it's about the same for several motor memory activities. Landing a plane, winding a motorcycle through a canyon, or back on the ice with the hockey team after a vacation. Three days to...

It's worth reiterating that some dovetails are best fitted with tapered joints. From cutting drawer dovetails for a long time, it took me forever to get my head out of the box and realize that...

I'm in the same boat. Ten minutes of picking means a week to a month of thumb pain. In my case, it comes from the forces involved during the escapement of the stick from the string.

I'm...

I have a 8 Stradolins collected a long long time ago with the idea of setting them up and reselling them in my retirement. About 30% of the laminates sound pretty good, the other 70% are dull. ...

Could somebody recommend "the" one of his albums. I'd probably prefer hearing the album with the best band ... possibly live.
many thanks

[My bold type above] I think a digression into dietary belief systems is completely inappropriate here, but isn't he is selling "his system" and "his book?"

I think if you answer the question, "What is the definition of 'mandolin' throughout all of time," then that answer has to be qualified up one side and down the other. If the question is "What...

All this brought to mind Glenn Gould who "hummed" while playing Bach. In his case, it appears that he was vocalizing a counterpoint to the Bach under his fingertips...And there's Sachmo who scatted...

FFCP was my gateway paradigm for a perky pinky. The ( free ) exercises might seem a bit dry, but playing songs using four-finger-closed is playing songs. My brain went "Huhhhh?" for the first few...

I have suffered some arthritis misfortune of the basal thumb kind. The finger forces on the mandolin are about as high as as any other instrument I know of. I'm just not ready to quit being a...

Pine is fine. Requires really sharp gouges / chisels. I'm an all out hand wood worker and I actually have chisel and gouge sets with lowered angles especially for very soft woods. They are sharp...

But you have landed on, perhaps, the best place to start learning how music works. And the answer will stick with you. This one is much easier than it looks, even if it doesn't map into words all...

Lot's of good advice, and probably about what your college-qualified brain has already thought out. I'll add one more. In my opinion ( and modern learning theory concurs ), there is tremendous...

It is a delight to see what joy we take in these odd little wooden boxes. Isn't it?

This isn't my area, but I'm positive that Gibson made Banjo ukes which are labeled UB-1, then UB-2, and I think UB-5.

If I remember correctly, their Ukes were listed as U-1, U-2 and more. The...

Kybill...
Boy, It seems everyone wants to make jokes or ... I don't exactly know what to call it. I will presume to offer a little advice from my own experience.

1) Most importantly,...

Not completely relevant, but important nevertheless is Frank's amazing, amazing website, frets.com. Even the name is amazing. He had the foresight to grab an important, everyday noun that...

Billy Joel has been a significant part of my repertoire for many decades. I think Glass Houses is extraordinary. His music goes well beyond the I-IV-V that many of us grew up on. Plus fine...

Lorraine, The mandolin requires some of the highest finger forces of any musical instrument. A proper set up can make a big difference. You can reduce it all a bit with lower tensions, but that...

I thought everybody would be talking here about ornaments. To my ear it's often the little decorations that make or break a song. Sitting at home going over a piece, I seek out the trills,...

I'm intrigued by the circular top with the point-avoidance buttresses above and below. Sometimes I wonder if mandolins designers of that time were out of touch with the art deco designs that...