getting a mandolin today

[scottymoe]

Hi,
I am a newbie to the forum and to trying to learn to play music

I know very little about music, scales etc. Does any one know of someone in or near Sumter, SC who teaches wannabe mandolin players?

If not, do y'all have recommendations on where I should start in teaching myself?

Thanks for any inputs and help.
ScottyMoe

[Bill Snyder]

You can place an ad in Wanted or Lessons section the Classifieds looking for a teacher or look through the ads under the Lessons section.
There are several youtube video mandolin lessons available - sorry I am not able to recommend any certain ones. Also there are lessons by Skype. This way you are "virtually" face to face with your teacher even if he is in another state. These can also be found in the Lessons section of the Classifieds.
Here is a link to the Lessons section .
For Skype lessons just go to the Classifieds and type skype in the search box up near the top, right corner of the page.

[scottymoe]

You can place an ad in Wanted or Lessons section the Classifieds looking for a teacher or look through the ads under the Lessons section.
There are several youtube video mandolin lessons available - sorry I am not able to recommend any certain ones. Also there are lessons by Skype. This way you are "virtually" face to face with your teacher even if he is in another state. These can also be found in the Lessons section of the Classifieds.
Here is a link to the Lessons section .
For Skype lessons just go to the Classifieds and type skype in the search box up near the top, right corner of the page.

Thank you Bill. I am grateful for this helpful info.

[Jim]

From the home page here on mandolin Cafe you can go to "Lessons". I would suggest the lesson titled Tuning as the first lesson and Two finger chords as the second. These 2 lessons will allow you to strum rhythm with simple folk songs while you sing or hum them to teach yourself how and when to change chords. Many here started on MelBay s Bluegrass Mandolin book. There are many Youtube lessons available in all levels. I suggest learning the 2 finger G A D E C E minor and A minor chords early as there is a LOT of music written using those chords. With your Mandolin in tune ( buy an electronic tuner) picking out simple tunes you can already hum by ear is an important part of the learning process as well. Good luck and Have fun! and Welcome to the Cafe

[Mike Arakelian]

If you haven't already done so, I'd suggest calling every music store in your area to ask if they have anyone that teaches mandolin. On each call if they say "no", ask if they know of anyone. Chances are you'll locate a teacher this way. Good luck and have fun!

[padawan]

If all of the above doesn't do the trick for you, try one of these:

Pick up a copy of Mandolin for Dummies by Don Julin Click here for info While it will never equal 1 on 1 lessons it is a very good first step otherwise. It has lots of good info that will take you a minute to start learning and forever to master.

The author of that book (Don Julin) has a handful of free instruction videos on Youtube. To check them out click here

He also teaches Skype lessons over the internet. You can find out about that on his website: click here

Mike Marshall (yes, THAT Mike Marshall) teaches mandolin over the internet at the Artistworks school of bluegrass. For details click here

I'm a newbie myself and have already done 3 of the 4 items above (so far) and would do each of them again at the drop of a hat.

I hope that helps and welcome aboard

[marcodamusician]

I was just going to recommend Mike Marshall as well. There is no finer teacher. Just make sure you have a webcam to record the exercises so that you can send them in for review.

[TheBlindBard]

What kind of music are you interested in playing?

[JEStanek]

Welcome to the Cafe!

Jamie

[KimRoulias]

How exciting!! Congratulations on your new mandolin! What kind did you get?

Until you can at least make some chords, etc., the best use of your time and/or money would be to buy a book and teach yourself some basics. There are some great ones out there.