ot: advice for a beginning mandolin player

french · Post by **french** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:23 pm

well...

... i'm still a bit in shock after a nasty reflex made me push the "buy now" button on e-bay, making me a proud owner of a brand new aria am-200 mandolin. i got it for $155 and hope i didn't make a mistake.

of course, although i am fully accountable for my action, some of you on http://chiffboard.mati.ca/viewtopic.php?t=11185 certainly contributed to my fall. thanks!

so now i need more advice. anyone know of a good tutorial that can get me picking quickly? i read music and have a pretty good ability to learn instruments.

any ideas?

- tom

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Fri Apr 18, 2003 11:54 pm

Yes! Here's the site for you: http://www.mandolincafe.com/lessons.html

Mandolin Cafe is to mandolin as Chiff and Fipple is to whistle.

french · Post by **french** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 12:15 am

thanks, walden!

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 5:09 am

Mandolin is a lot of fun, and you'll enjoy it. It's nice to be able to go to a session and have something to play other than a whistle ( if you can imagine such a thing...). Sometimes, there are too many whistles at a session, but I've never seen very many mandos. Also ( just in case you are not in too-many-instrument trouble yet), once you learn mandolin fingering, you are part way towards learning fiddle which is fingered the same way, only without frets. Then, "all" you need to learn is bowing....

Bartleby · Post by **Bartleby** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 8:38 am

You'll love the mandolin, once you start getting into the tunes. Here's a link to Homespun Tapes mandolin books, most of which come with CDs. I have the Butch Baldassarri "30 Fiddle Tunes for the Mandolin," and it's very good- worth the money for the two CDs alone. I also noticed they have a new Steve Kaufman "Celtic Workout" program, which comes with four CDs. Here's a link to their site: http://www.homespuntapes.com/catagory/d ... 22&ctype=i

Wombat · Post by **Wombat** » Sat Apr 19, 2003 9:23 am

There are loads of good mandolin tutors as others have mentioned. Some are general tutors, some are devoted to getting you started on Irish music or bluegrass. I'm typing in my office or I'd get out my favourites and give you references.

I don't have any special advice as a rather ordinary mandolin player myself except to get the Louis McManus CD and hear how it can sound in the hands of a master and, if you are a guitarist, *not* to treat it as a high pitched, oddly tuned guitar. If, like me, you come from guitar, you'll find the relative lack of sustain frustrating at first until you start to play it *as* a mandolin and not as a wierd guitar.

madguy · Post by **madguy** » Sun Apr 27, 2003 2:38 am

First off, fench, thank you for posting this question!

And, Walden, thank you for posting that great link!

Now, having been toying with the idea of trying to learn the mandolin myself for a few years now, I would like to know what some of you mandolin players might recommend as a decent, not overly expensive mandolin to buy to get started with?

Thanks for any suggestions.

~Larry

binary_sunset · Post by **binary_sunset** » Sun Apr 27, 2003 1:49 pm

I just recently acquired a Crafter M-70E mandolin from a local music store and absolutely love it. I come from a guitar background, and was getting too tied up in chordal harmony and drones, so having the mandolin lets me focus a lot more on melodic structures.

Incidentally, this mandolin has no lack of sustain, and one can create choppy attacks or smooth, sustained notes and ringing arpeggios easily. It has a composite roundback and oval soundhole with a cutaway for easier access to frets beyond 12. It is also an acoustic/electric, so it could be played "plugged" for stage or studio applications. Very Ovation"ish". Definitely not going to satisfy an avid traditionalist, but for $200, it is an amazing instrument with fast action and great (IMHO) tone.

Hope that helps... anyone else hve experience with this maker?

|binary_sunset|

picardy third · Post by **picardy third** » Sun May 04, 2003 8:04 pm

If you already know some guitar chords, then chords on a mandolin should be very easy. Here is my "Learn Mandolin in One Easy Lesson" lesson. Simply think of the bottom four strings on the guitar (EADG) and finger the chord backwards (the mandolin is GDAE-5ths). It is as simple as that. So a G chord on guitar fingered 3554 would just be 4553. This works for open chords and barre chords. So if you know guitar, the chords are simple! Hope this helps!

Picardy Third

Conley · Post by **Conley** » Sun May 04, 2003 9:26 pm

Any Chris Thile fans out there? Nickel Creek anyone?

binary_sunset · Post by **binary_sunset** » Mon May 05, 2003 12:27 am

I saw Nickel Creek on Austin City Limits one night, but only for a few minutes. They sounded really good, and I liked the combination of nice slow(er) melodic stuff blended with some virtuoso (for lack of a better word) mandolin technique.

Actually, being here in OR, there are a number of country fairs and open air gatherings during the summer months that feature fairly talented bluegrass and folk music performances. Last year, there was a band performing at the amphitheatre at waterfront in Salem that blew me away. Seven Sisters, or something like that.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon May 05, 2003 2:00 am

I picked up mandolin several years ago on a whim. I think it was Counting Crows that got me into it. I sold it about 2 years ago when I was somewhat strapped for cash and had four or five instruments I hadn't touched in months, and I regret that more than any of the others. Since I'm getting into folk traditions outside American 20th century stuff, especially, I feel the absence. I've been thinking about re-investing in a mandolin.

One word to the wise: Check out Harmony Central to check on prices for Aria mandolins. They typically make fairly inexpensive instruments (although they get good reviews from all the people I know who play them).

I saw Nickel Creek at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last year (biggest rodeo in the world

), and that actually made me glad I got rid of my mandolin... After seeing Chris Thile, it didn't feel like it was even worth the time. His solo album made me cry, it was so good. He had some serious big guns on it, too. Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, just to name a couple.

EDIT: I forgot what I was intending to say from the beginning! Mandolin is a joy to play, and if you're a guitar or violin player, it will be a snap to pick up (although none of us are Chris Thile simply for being guitarists). It's a very rustic, organic instrument with an amazing versatility in emotive capabilities. All in all, it's a great choice.

EDIT #2: Harmony Central only has reviews for guitars, bass guitars, and equipment

I like them less than I did before I realized that.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Mon May 05, 2003 2:21 am

Aaron wrote:EDIT: I forgot what I was intending to say from the beginning! Mandolin is a joy to play, and if you're a guitar or violin player, it will be a snap to pick up (although none of us are Chris Thile simply for being guitarists). It's a very rustic, organic instrument with an amazing versatility in emotive capabilities. All in all, it's a great choice.

Amen. The mandolin is a fantastic instrument, with potential for all sorts of expression. I always notice mandolin parts in music, and don't recall ever hearing any mandolin music I didn't enjoy, whether in Irish music, country & western, bluegrass, classical, or popular music. And most especially a mandolin orchestra is a beautiful thing. It's great to take a mandolin along with you. I went to the nursing home with mine today (actually yesterday) and sang together with the residents.

Lorenzo · Post by **Lorenzo** » Mon May 05, 2003 4:42 am

My cousins and I have played in a mandolin quartet since our high school days (tremelo style). Our 3 dads got us started, buying us all old Gibson mandolins, mandolas, and mandocellos when we were kids. They played with us for years, and now our younger generation is in their teens and have joined us. I think there's about 12 of us +/- (including a couple of our wives!) in our small little orchestra. We often play for churches, and last night we played at St. Paul's Episcopal Church for a Sunday evening program, without amplification. We did a "live" recording of the performance, so maybe I'll send in a sound clip of one of our tunes to "Snips and Clips."

Mandolins are a lot of fun! I mostly play mine with a traditional Irish music band (The Blarney Cats) with a fiddler and guitar player.

French...pay special attention to the way you hold the pick, and the shape of the pick. This makes a lot of difference. Keep your wrist moving back and forth in a regular pattern, starting with a down stroke and getting the next note with a back stroke. There's lots of little tricks with picks. It takes practice. Good luck with your new mandolin!

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Mon May 05, 2003 3:35 pm

As brewerpaul said, fiddle tunes adapt to mandolin easily due to the same scale. Most any melody can be picked out out if you tackle it, and chording gets interesting too. Check out some Jethro Burns music for inspiration.
Good Luck!

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ot: advice for a beginning mandolin player

ot: advice for a beginning mandolin player

Mandolin advice

Inexpensive madolin...

Nickel Creek