Essential Techniques for Mandolin

This instructional DVD has a good mix of teaching easy tunes, advice on approaching the instrument, and a virtuoso showing off.Some of the reviews here say that Chris moves thru the tunes too quickly for a beginner to play along right away. Part of that is bluegrass speed, but another part is that he assumes you have already reviewed the tabs that are included as a PDF file. Chris doesn't waste recording time with "put your first finger on the second fret of the third course," which is just as well because anyone who is not a beginner would be bored to tears. Pop the disc in your computer, get the PDF, and study that tab at low tempo.Then watch the DVD to get Chris' advice on approach, nuggets like how to grip the pick without squeezing it, when to strictly alternate up and downstroke to build a solid foundation for speed, and when to downstroke twice in a row to hit the downbeat strong. Study the tab again at your own speed with Chris' approaches in mind. Then when you've got it, play along with Chris on the DVD.If you're an absolute beginner, stick with it and have reasonable expectations. No one can follow another musician on first blush. Watch Chris play the tune, study the tab at your own pace, watch Chris play it again, study the tab again, and wash rinse repeat until you got it. Once you do, you'll be happy that you don't have to waste time skipping thru "Put your third finger on the fourth fret..."

Yikes! I am a huge Thile fan and picked up the mandolin because of his inspiration, but beginners and most intermediates, beware. While Chris gives some great beginning tips on pick stroke theory and how to hold the pick, the second half of the video explores harder scales and Chris's solo on "Ode to a Butterfly". The video progresses from easy to do and understand to "lightspeed" pretty quickly. I was frustrated after about 20 minutes. On the "Hop the Fence" track he invites you to jam with him, but at the pace he plays the song. If you are a beginner, start with something basic, not this video. The songs performed by Chris are awesome, but at the same time make you think "I'll never be that good".

Not only does Chris Thile go over techniques like pick theory, cross-picking, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, and shifting. But he also treats his viewers with performances of his original compositions. "When Mandolins Dream" for the introduction and "Raining at Sunset." Unfortunately the included booklet does not include these two tunes. However it does include "Red Haired Boy", "Hop the Fence" (a Chris Thile tune), "Swallowtail Jig" and "Ode to a Butterfly" (another Chris Thile tune).Also included is a lengthy discussion and demonstration of 3 octave scales and arpeggios that he got from a violin book, complete with positions and shifting. Chris definitely doesn't stay in first position and moves gracefully all over the fingerboard. You are treated to his long elegant fingers gliding up, down and around.Two things he does not go into are tremolo and chopping chords. I guess there are a lot of other dvds that cover this area.I like the discussion of bad habits and why you should avoid them. He does a great job explaining left-hand positioning, finger placement and efficiency, as well as right hand relaxation and picking position.Finally, it's just an overall nice instructional DVD, because even though he is teaching, he does not make it boring, and he definitely treats you to four original compositions (two included with notation and tab).

As an absolutely new mandolin player, I was very happy to see all of the material online (Youtube and other sites), but frustrated by the lack of technique these videos actually show. They are great for learning some tricks or songs, but I haven't seen any yet that really teach proper technique - probably because most people find it boring and it doesn't draw a lot of attention.I purchased this DVD despite other reviews that state this is not for the beginner. I am happy to say that after three months of playing, starting with this video was a great idea. The video teaches proper techniques (hence the name) including pic stroke theory for jigs, reels, etc, proper hand positions, hammer-on, pull-off, fingering positions, and more. Learning proper technique before you develop the bad habits saves the frustration of re-learning and allows you to develop faster.Chris does an amazing job of going through things a couple of times, first pretty slow so you can pick it up, then faster for the more intermediate player. This makes it easy to listen, then practice, then play along with the slow parts. Playing through it fast gives you the idea of what it should really sound like and sets a goal to work up to. That combined with the printed music in standard and tab notation really helps pick up the songs, scales, and arpeggios quickly.

As a 50-something mandolin player wanting to go beyond the basics, I found this DVD a real help with enough substance to keep me busy a long time. The instructor, Chris Thile, teaches mandolin playing with a very patient but intelligent tone and good humor. The only thing I can quibble over is I thought some of the video shots could have been done better / closer / different angles to show the fingering more clearly. But this can be overcome by watching the segments over a few times -- which I guess is the point of having DVD anyway.The DVD is probably not for a raw beginner or someone who doesn't know about music playing in general. Fortunately I have experience on brass instruments so terms like "arpeggios" are not foreign. I agree with Chris' emphasis on arpeggio drills and scales, and for example emphasis on playing notes evenly - a point often overlooked by teachers on a lot of instruments. Chris teaches a balance of songs and drills, which equates to equal amounts of fun and work. He's a real pro as well. I was very pleasantly surprised with this DVD purchase and highly recommend it to anyone who's at the intermediate mandolin playing stage -- or like me, who wants to get there.

Thile is his usual brilliant self. His teaching is clear, precise and easy to understand. This is for very advanced intermediates.

Chris Thile is an amazing mandolin player, and he plays a few pieces on here that are brilliant. He gives tips along the way and some suggestions for practising. If you are a beginner though I wouldn't recomend it. The basics are barely covered at all(apart from how to hold a pick), and the speed you have to play to keep up is beyond that of a beginner. I found myself watching and enjoying his playing but not actually getting a whole load out of it. I'll have to continue the search for a beginners guide!

Chris, trés jeune à l'époque donne des conseils hyper judicieux quant aux choses basiques (position de la main gauche, souplesse du poignet à la main droite, régle de l'aller-retour avec l'aller sur les temps forts). C'est assez bluffant de le voir jouer d'aussi prés.Les exercices sont trés interessants. En particulier les gammes tirées d'un bouquin de violon.Evidemment les pièces les plus difficiles (ode to a butterfly et raining at sunset) ne sont accessibles qu'à un niveau avancé.A acheter meme pour un débutant pour la qualité des conseils de base.

Ce DVD est indispensable pour les joueurs de mandoline. Il regorge d'excellents conseils pour améliorer le jeu et la technique. A posséder absolument !

Hello,exactly what I was expecting ... still a long way to go to play like Mr Thile ;-)thank youronan