Mando Resolution

[Ben Cooper]

Feeling guilty because due to work, the holidays and general craziness I have not seriously picked up my beautiful mandolin in about 3 weeks. Therefore, I resolve to play my mandolin as often as I possible can, every day if possible, for at least 20 to 30 minutes each time. There, I feel a bit better for getting that off my chest.... best resolution I have made in many a year! (Now when my playing gets better I can also justify the MAS I have for an 8 string electric.)

[Ben Cooper]

How many others have Mando related "resolutions"?

[roysboy]

I have a suggestion for sports fans who want to improve their playing in 2015 . I'm a huge hockey fan and very often watch the games with the sound off while I practice scales , double stops , tremolo ( insert your favorite unattended picking exercise here ) .
It's a kind of musical multitasking which has unquestionably improved my picking . Now if I'd watched those games from a treadmill I'd be a whole lot lighter but my picking would REALLY suck . Priorities , y'know .

[Ben Cooper]

roysboy...great idea!

[Petrus]

Same as a lot of other people here: play more, have more fun doing it.

More specifically I think I need to focus on learning more pieces and spend less time noodling/improvising. I can noodle for an hour but not necessarily learn anything new. Playing time isn't a problem. I always keep one instrument close to hand so I can grab it in an instant. If anything, my noodling is taking away from reading; I've found I'm reading a lot fewer books lately which may not be a good thing. I think I'm getting lazy and using the mando as an excuse to enable that. Sometimes I have to make a point of putting the thing away in the case so that I have to do something else.

I should also have some sort of resolution regarding my collection/accumulation/woodpile of instruments. Thin 'em out? Trade up? "Rationalize" as they say? No idea yet.

[Steve-o]

I have a suggestion for sports fans who want to improve their playing in 2015 . I'm a huge hockey fan and very often watch the games with the sound off while I practice scales , double stops , tremolo ( insert your favorite unattended picking exercise here ) .
It's a kind of musical multitasking which has unquestionably improved my picking . Now if I'd watched those games from a treadmill I'd be a whole lot lighter but my picking would REALLY suck . Priorities , y'know .

I do the same thing! Been doing it for years.

[DataNick]

For those in the workforce, take a mando to work and play at lunch. You cut down on food intake and get to practice your axe!

I used to get a good solid hour of practice that way that I combined with other times of the day to average 2.5 hrs consistently over the last 3-4 years...

[OldSausage]

Unusually for me, I have made one this year: I'm going to improve my upstrokes.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, upstrokes will be where it's at in 2015.

[Astro]

Every New Year...

I live in fear. My wife starts her annual month-long "cleans" tomorrow. And I suffer by collateral damage. Greenish-brown shakes that taste like mowing the grass. Not sure if it makes you live any longer, but it sure seems like it.

Resolutions ? Sure, the more megapixels the better.

Its here. HNY everyone.

[Ron McMillan]

I'm going to try and stop being irritated by the abbreviation 'mando'. Don't expect to succeed, though.

[Caleb]

I've made several mando-related resolutions over the years and failed at them all. In 2015 I'll just be playing whenever I can and enjoying it when I do.

[Ellen T]

No resolutions for me; I like to do things because I want to, not because I feel like I have to. I have also been away from playing for about a month or so because I had the four or five week cold from hell that has been making its nasty rounds. Besides not wanting to drip on the instrument, I haven't even wanted to listen to any music in that time, my ears have been so blocked up. I did put in a few CDs today and didn't want to pull my ears off, so I think I am ready to resume making my own (almost) music.

[Jesse Harmon]

Start working with my Mandola reading on my new Collings that has only been strummed occasionally in the last year. Spend less time reading books and more time playing music. Work on getting more things into personal recordings before they slip into that big dark black hole in my memory so I have some proof when I have to say, "Well I used to do that one".

[Bertram Henze]

Looking at what the word "resolution" really means...
Comes from "solution", a state where bound particles get disconnected to move freely. A solution also solves a problem, disconnecting the parts that make up the problem so it can "dissolve". So that's what a resolution is for - making the decision to end a problem to be able to forget it. Therefore, the ultimate resolution is to end a problem by forgetting it

In other words: to sit quietly in a corner until the fit has passed.

[Jesse Harmon]

After studying a little in the archives on Mandola and the Alto clef I think I may go with Bertram's suggestion after all.

[Jonathan James]

I'm recommitting to my playing in 2015 and just signed up for Mike Marshall's ArtistWorks video lessons to give me the jump start I need!

[Pasha Alden]

Focus more on lead playing. Also work towards more gigs. Of course the old resolutions: more practice.

[JH Murray]

My musical goal is to finally master Bach's Prelude to the First Cello Suite and to play it from memory.
My other resolution is to spend less time lusting after other people's mandolins and more time enjoying the great instruments I do have.

[Marc Ferry]

An older friend of mine who's quite good with the mandolin once told me never to focus on how many hours a day you play.

I think it's sound advice, for doing so can take your focus away from what really matters; making music, expressing yourself reatively, and enjoying it. At the end of the day, it's not about how skilled you are with the mandolin; it's about the music.

I'm not saying that these resolutions are bad -- I think playing at least 20 minutes a day is an excellent idea. But just keep this in mind, otherwise you might find yourself working towards the wrong goal.