Network Learning Project FINAL (Learn the Mandolin)

Six weeks have past since I first decided to learn the Mandolin for my CEP 810 project. This project has been fun yet challenging at times. The project goal was to learn a new skill (in 6 weeks) using only youtube and “help forums”. I decided I would learn the mandolin. This may seem sort of obscure, but I had seen one lying around the house and always wanted to pick it up and give it a try. The mandolin belongs to my mother, who plays violin, but never learned to play the mandolin (so it collected dust and had a missing string for as long as I remember seeing it).

I play guitar and I thought mandolin would be cool to play with some of my friends who also play guitar. I went to Marshal Music to get it re-strung. The instrument technician who re-strung the instrument kind of gave me a hard time when I told him about the project (using only youtube and help forums). He condescendingly said “good luck with that”. I’m here today to tell you and show you that I proved him wrong. So if you’re out there instrument tech…take a look! Here is my video! Feel free to comment below.

My goal was to learn the instrument at a novice level. I wanted to learn how to tune it, some chords, and some songs I could play and sing to. I successfully achieved my goal and met my objective, but it wasn’t always easy. I will explain the process.

The Learning Process:

Using youtube was helpful for many reasons. I found a video series of a gentleman, named Brad Laird, who taught the instrument from a basic level. His videos are here. I found his videos extremely helpful. I liked how he showed the instrument and modeled how you should hold and play the instrument. One of the best things about this learning strategy was that it was easily accessible. I could watch the videos whenever I had time. There was no rugged schedule I had to stick to and I could watch things over and over again or skip ahead when I already knew a concept. One minor issue I did experience while learning using youtube was when I had a question I could not get instant feedback. One reason having an instructor is so helpful is they can watch what you are doing right and tell you what you are doing wrong. They can also give you tips to fix it and you can ask them questions and receive feedback.

Using help forums was also beneficial, but I found that many struggles of beginners were typical stringed instrument problems. I did not experience these struggles because I already play the guitar. Things like: my right hand won’t strum the correct rhythms or my left hand has a hard time switching between chords. My background in guitar was helpful in this aspect of the instrument. The help forum I visited most often was at mandolincafe.com. Another common problem in the beginner blog section was the fact that the left hand fingers hurt badly pressing down the strings. Again, my fingers already had calluses from my 8 years of playing guitar.

Recommended for learning:

I would recommend using this method of learning for students who are independent learners. I would suggest this method as a supplemental resource to private lessons. This could provide an ease and transition to new concepts and help the process immensely. I plan on providing my students with youtube videos to supplement learning in the classroom and encouraging them to look for digital resources to reinforce classroom concepts.