Hey all, I just got my first mandolin, a new MT. I know about comando and mandolincafe. Any other good resources? Does anyone have any tips for a beginner, good instructional materials, etc.?
~Shawn 2002 D1A Vintage
Posts: 116 | Location: Buda, Texas - 19.8 miles from the Collings factory | Registered: March 21, 2006
Congratulations on your MT. The sound of the engelman top is a good one. Mandolincafe is a great resource. I might also recommend Mike Compton's website as well as Mandozine. Chris Thile's instructional video has useful tips on holding the pick and right hand technique, which I found to be quite valuable. Enjoy the MT!
shawn: i really like the sam bush double dvd. you may not be interested in fiddle tunes, but they'll really get you workin' on you pickin' hand. the material is well presented.
Posts: 466 | Location: colorado | Registered: February 02, 2007
Butch Baldassari's 30 fiddle tunes for mandolin is a really good piece. He's a really good player and teacher. First of all unload your sidearm....all those folks who tell you how easy mandolin is after playing the guitar....it just ain't so. Second of all fiddle tunes are a great workout. You need to get all your fingers working. Unlike the guitar strumming 3 chords won't get you very far...for very long. Welcome to the club!
Congrats Shawn. I flat-out love my MT. I think it's a lifetime keeper. I've been picking on mine for about a year. Mostly I've just been working an a variety of rags and fiddle tunes. I can't say any single book or DVD has stood out for me though, except possibly John McGann's recent DVD on mandolin rhythm techniques.
By the way, you weren't at Steve Kaufman's Kamp this year were you? I met a flatpicker from Buda there, but don't recall his name.
Shoot. I'd be guessing at this point, but he should be easily recognizable if you spot him at a jam. He's a heavyset guy (like me), with a full beard, and wore kind of a fedora style hat everywhere. I bet if you ask around about the guy in the hat, people will know who he is.
Very nice guy, and he just flat tore it up on every break I heard him take.
Shawn, there is a really good teacher and great all around guy up Atlanta way named Brad Laird. He has some really good, down to basic books out that are a pretty good starting point and then some. He has a web site you can visit and even order the material called mandouniversity. Just do a www and a . com with it.
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