Mandolin

In this month’s episode of ArtistWorks Live we sit down with the mandolin man himself, Mr. Mike Marshall. He joined us from his home in Germany where he'd just gotten home from playing a show at a local cafe with the great Caterina Lichtenberg. He was still in the mood to play music, and this one features a lot of great tunes! Also if you’ve never heard a mandocello, you’re in for a treat. As always, we had a lot of fun and there were some great questions coming in from those of you who were tuned in live. 

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If you're into playing bluegrass, it's a good idea to learn about four finger mandolin scales.

As with any string instrument, learning to use all of your fingers is going to be an essential task. Although all four fingers aren’t always needed, there are times when using the 4th finger will make it easier to shift positions and to properly execute hammer-ons and pull-offs. Economy of motion is particularly important when key changes require large position shifts or when the other three fingers are fretting other notes.

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We just added a new mandolin lesson that's all about David Grisman Solo for "I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent)". Mike was recording a video response for a student here and decided to make a complete lesson out of the topic - "how to transcribe a solo", in this case a Dawg solo. This 4-part lesson was recently added to Additional Tunes & More section and is over 40 minutes of new material! Click here to go to part 1. 

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Let's talk about open mandolin chords. Some of the first chords you learn when playing any stringed instrument are open chords. As their name implies, these chords include open strings, or strings that are not being fretted. Later on, you’ll learn how to barre them, eliminating those open strings that might not fit well into a new key.

These types of chords, typically known as closed or barre chords, all use open chords as their foundation, so it’s important to learn these before attempting anything more complex. Read More

Regardless of how long you've been playing mandolin, developing and maintaining a regular practice routine is a critical component to your progression as a musician. As tempting as it can be to just grab the instrument and start playing, the key to continued progress with the mandolin is a disciplined practice routine of good habits. Here's a list of 10 important exercises to make sure to include whenever you practice. If you're already doing these, you'll be well-equipped while climbing Mt. Mandolin.  Read More

When you feel like you're ready to call yourself a intermediate mandolin player, there's a few things to keep in mind as move up to the next level. One of the many benefits of having a teacher like Mike Marshall is that he can help you gain unique insights about your own playing very early in the learning process. The advice he gives you through Video Exchanges here will open new doors and accelerate your development as a musician.

Here are three important intermediate mandolin concepts to consider as you go about your practice. The first two relate to Music Theory and the last one focuses on some specific techniques that will definitely spice up your mandolin playing.

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Click here for free sample mandolin lessons from Mike Marshall!

The right hand is everything in mandolin. Whether you’re playing solo or with an ensemble, you need to control what your right hand is doing.

In his lesson on Open Chords here at ArtistWorks, Mike Marshall demonstrates a flowing, strumming relaxed pattern. The pattern is down, down up, down down up. The annotation of the bluegrass standard Mike uses to teach “Nine Pound Hammer” is excerpted below. It shows how the pattern is used in the context of a song.

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Watch this great version of "Elzic's Farewell" played by Caterina Lichtenberg & Mike Marshall at the Wintergrass Bluegrass Festival earlier this year. Mandolin and mandocello sound so good together! 

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