Hello and Welcome to the fifth blog post update of my in-depth on the mandolin!
Mentorship:
- What kinds of learning opportunities does the mentor provide to expose you to new learning?
One way that my mentor is exposing me to new learning is by talking about the mandolin artists and events that he knows about. I’ve learned a lot about a variety of different players from what he has recommended. This has led to me finding out more about the music mandolin is used for as well as led to me being more interested in the instrument. I’ve learned to appreciate artists I probably would have never heard of if it weren’t for my mentor’s knowledge of different mandolin players.
- What kinds of learning opportunities exist to reinforce new learning?
I have a really extensive collection of materials that I have access to for the mandolin which helps make it possible to learn anything with an effort put in. My mentor has lent me his collection of mandolin magazines and each copy has a section for beginners. They give me access to new songs and techniques as well as good advice for new players. I also have a music book with pages of chord charts and basic scales that is perfect for learning new songs I’m interested in. With access to videos and songs on the internet on top of that, I have access to a huge number of skills I can learn and ways to learn them.
- What kinds of opportunities exist that might accelerate learning?
One opportunity I have from my mentor that has helped accelerate my learning is being able to have recordings of the songs I am learning. When I am learning new tunes, my mentor records them on his mandolin and sends me a copy. This has helped me learn better because I am able to hear the tune all together played properly before I learn it. This helps a lot with getting the pacing right and being able to move fluidly through a song. This also gives me something to compare my playing with to make sure that I am on the right track. Recordings of the tunes I am learning are hard to find so having them to listen to has been very helpful.
- When you get together what do you talk about?
During our meetings we usually talk about my progress since our last meeting, the questions I have, and what I will work on next. Most of the time is spent discussing the questions I have because that’s one of the big reasons we meet. I’ll explain what the problem is, and we will discuss options on how I can move past it. Also, during our meetings, my mentor talks a lot about his experiences in the past with the mandolin and music. This makes the meetings more interesting and helps me to learn more about the mandolin community.
- What is going particularly well in your mentoring relationship right now?
I think our communication about what we are working on during meetings is going well. My mentor is really good at clarifying what I need help with a going over the answer thoroughly. This makes it really good for me in between meetings because I have a good understanding of how I should be spending my practicing time. My mentor is also very enthusiastic about the mandolin which has helped us to work well together. This makes our meetings fun for me because he is always happy to share the knowledge he has. This has also helped me learn knowledge of the mandolin that I would have never thought to ask about.
- What are you learning about one another?
I’m learning a lot more about his experience in music as we meet more. He is in a folk band with his wife so it’s interesting to hear about his past experience with that as well as what his band is currently up to. I find it really interesting to hear about how music is something he does for fun but that he also plays gigs. That is because I am interested in getting more serious about playing music as a hobby and would enjoy doing something like that in the future. I like to talk to my mentor about what music I am listening to and have learned to play. I hope this helps my mentor to learn more about me because the music I listen to is really important to me.
Learning Updates:
This week my mentor and I spent most of our meeting talking about how in-depth will be in person. I am planning on performing the first fiddle tune I learned so I can show the most improvement in my performance. I’ve been looking at the song and thinking about how I want to perform it and with what kind of backtracking.
Recording of my playing the fiddle tune:
I have also been continuing to work on scales. I found a music book from my mentor with a bunch of scales, so I’ve been practicing them, especially the G major scale. This has helped a lot with getting better at producing clearer notes as well as being good practice for remembering to do alternate picking. I also started practicing a new tune called ‘cold frosty morning’. My mentor recommended it to me because it’s very different from the last tune I played. It is a slower song in a minor key. This makes the tune less cheerful than my last one which I find interesting. In the next couple of weeks, I want to continue to practice the scales I’m working through as well as the tune I plan on performing. I also want to finish up the ‘cold frosty morning’ tune and try learning a chord song after.
Thanks for reading!