Notes from a 8 week beginner to people just starting

[zachattack]

I’m about 8 weeks in and have been averaging about an hour a day. Here are some things I would like to add or emphasize from other posts for people starting fresh as there is a lot of information on this forum for getting started.

My strategy for starting is based upon a variety of things I picked up on this forum. I bought a copy of Mandolin for Dummies and got a lot of condensed info from that very quickly. One thing I noticed though was that it’s not necessarily a structured step-by-step practice book but is a great reference to start and as you go. For example- it teaches you how to learn tabs and has only a couple short songs to try as you start, then progresses pretty quickly. Internet videos were also helpful to observe proper body, hand, and finger position which may not translate very well just from text.

I found after about a week that I really prospered by finding some good beginner tunes to just try out. For beginner songs check out www.mandolinsessions.com and look for the beginner songs- they have easy tabs with pick direction and .mp3 files to listen to. I’m amazed how quickly I progressed after getting past the first few weeks. I have about 4 songs at around 100 bpm that I can read through pretty well now. The ability to finally get through a song, and get above 60 bpm is a huge confidence boost and made practice enjoyable. I have now started putting in a lot of time with scales and apreggios to start learning more.

Don’t get discouraged in the first couple weeks from finger soreness, buzzing notes, and frequent feelings of hopeless and despair.

Notes about finger soreness:

-I took the advice of many posts and started with 15 min per day the first week and jumped to an hour or greater after that to prevent fingertip injury.

- One very interesting finding that I never saw mentioned anywhere is that before your left fingertips harden (develop calluses) when you depress the strings and release to go to another note your soft fingers will ring the open string because the strings are so impressed. This will gradually go away after the first few weeks. This was really frustrating and I was very concerned about fingering note transitions without this effect, but it did stop.

I have really enjoyed my first step in this adventure and really appreciate all the helpful information I have learned on this forum.

I look forward to a lifetime of improvement.

[Birtie Dean]

Hi zach,

I'm super-new at this (the mandolin I ordered is en route to my house as I type), so your advice is really appreciated! I look forward to hearing more as your journey progresses.

Birtie

[bmac]

I think one of the most important techniques of flat pick picking on mando is proper holding of the flat pick in your hand... Mike Marshal has a good video covering these basics. Learning do this early on will be of great help as one advances and increases speed and complexity of flat picking over time.

http://www.daddario.com/DADMediaLibr...e-002589e57757

[roysboy]

I think one of the most important techniques of flat pick picking on mando is proper holding of the flat pick in your hand... Mike Marshal has a good video covering these basics. Learning do this early on will be of great help as one advances and increases speed and complexity of flat picking over time.

http://www.daddario.com/DADMediaLibr...e-002589e57757

I'd just echo what bmac says about the pick grip . I had to completely adjust my guitar-pick grip when I got into mandolin . It was quite foreign and I felt sure I'd never be able to adapt . BUT I recognized the necessity of a proper grip in progressing so I didn't let myself off the hook . I worked at it and worked at it and it took several months until it felt remotely comfortable..... but the worst part is long past and though I've only played for a couple of years, the grip now feels VERY natural. And its allowed me to tackle some tougher challenges song-wise . Best of luck to you ....

[Paul Busman]

Good observations.
If I'm reading you right, that thing about a string ringing after you release it can be used to your advantage. It's called a pull off, sort of the opposite of a hammer on (where you hear a note after fretting the string even if you don't pick it). Instead of just lifting your finger from the string, you can sort of pluck it with that left hand finger to get it to sound more loudly. Sometimes it's easier/faster to do a pull off than to pick that note, especially in a descending passage.

[zachattack]

Paul thanks for the note.

I totally hear you on the pull off- the problem was that my fingertips were so doughy that I couldn't fret a note without an additional pull-off note- very frustrating the first couple weeks. I really think in the beginning it's a function of anatomy rather than technique. Now it's nice as I can control that option.

[JeffD]

There is a lot of helpful advise around here. For every aspect of playing.

All of the work that Scott, Dan, and everyone else puts in bears shiny fruit every time the café serves as a life line for someone who is frustrated, to help avoid the first pangs of that hopeless/despair feeling. We have all learned our musical instruments alone, essentially alone. Books and videos and friends and jam sessions all help, but the real learning is, at the end of the day, one on one between me and the eight stringed wonder I am holding. Ironically, its those alone moments that we all have in common.

The café is a bridge between the struggling learner and this whole community of folks who have each individually been there. While I enjoy yakkin it up with everyone, and hearing about new things to do and to hear and to try - I believe the café is at its best, is tremendous, when it can help.

[JeffD]

Regarding inadvertent pull offs, try leaving your fingers down as much as you can. Like for example when you go up the scale on a string, leave the fingers down so they are already there when you come down.

[AubreyK]

I'm a newbie, too - I've always wanted a mando. My Wonderful Hubby (tm) bought me a cheapie off Amazon that had be sent back, and I found a lovely MK on Craigslist locally to replace it (an L-DLX satin tobacco sunburst F). I'm still in 10 minute here and there mode (I work from home), and I'm still figuring out that a pick is a Good Thing.

I have my first chords down - YAY! - and now that fingers are toughening up, I'm starting in on some scales. Tabs still confuse me - they didn't exist when I learned guitar in HS.

My big question - I have pretty small hands, with the resultant small fingers. How the heck do you hold 2 courses at once with one finger??? (I'm lookin' at you, F...)

[Rob Meldrum]

Make sure your manodlin is properly set up, too! Email me for my free ebook on how to set up your mandolin. Email rob.meldrum@gmail.com for your free copy. Free to all mandolincafe members!

Rob

[AubreyK]

I meant E... I can kinda stretch to an F badly.

[belbein]

Quick and dirty calloses: superglue or clear fingernail polish on your fingertips. Probably carcinogenic so I don't recommend it ... but keeps your fingers from bleeding while you're toughening them up . There's also stuff called "liquid bandage" or something ... might work. I carry both in my kit when I go to a weeklong camp or a very long jam, for when I can't fret anymore but don't want to stop playing.

[bigmomma]

I too am both a beginner and have smallish hands. I try to practice at least an hour a day and have got some" nice callouses". My teacher has me learning barred chords which were frustrating at first, but now can do them. My best advice beginner to beginner is practice, practice and more practice. Set up is crucial. Best of luck with your new adventure.

[mtm]

I too am both a beginner and have smallish hands. I try to practice at least an hour a day and have got some" nice callouses". My teacher has me learning barred chords which were frustrating at first, but now can do them. My best advice beginner to beginner is practice, practice and more practice. Set up is crucial. Best of luck with your new adventure.

My hands are quite small too, and there are some things that I just won't be able to do (e.g., a classic G chop), but that's ok because one can still make due. I find picking to be the biggest challenge but the barre chords have come nicely. I'm 1.5 yrs into playing and while I'm disappointed with my pace of improvement, I'm having a ton of fun learning to play, and playing with my nephews once or twice a year has been a real treat. That's been my only 'group playing' but I emphasize others' comments that finding a supportive session is not only helpful but inspiring. The Cafe' has been a great help with 'gear' issues, as I've ushered the nephews into "recording" in the last year, which has also been an enjoyable learning experience for me. Regrets... only having started so late....

[Bluetickhound]

I've been at it four months now and am enjoying myself immensely... so much so that I've started building my own mandola from scratch and have plans to do an octave next!