Thank you
Beginner Mandolin
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Appreciate it
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It took a while,and that was coming from many years of playing guitar. I like the short training sessions approach you are doing. It takes time to get your muscles and brain trained. At least it did for me.
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I hear you and thanks
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My most important rule when playing is to just enjoy making music. I came to playing at 48, and definitely hit more than my off notes. I just love learning how to make my mandolin and fiddle make joyful sounds. Be patient with your progress, it will definitely happen. Have fun!
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@bjfea,
The closed G chord took me months to learn at first. Don’t give up, you’ll get it for sure! 
I started by just doing the bottom 2 strings of the chord, so 7th fret (D note) on the G string and 5th fret (G note) on the D string. Hope that helps!
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Don’t worry, it’ll come! Yep, try some open chords for a while.
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Thanks I am 70 and this is my first fretted instrument. I am having fun learning
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Thank you
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Thank you I will keep working on it
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Just curious @bjfe, how’s the closed G chord coming along?
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I have been playing the mandolin for a dozen years or so and still usually do not use the full G chop chord 7523. So I guess it depends on how much you want to use it. In my opinion the chop is so muted that even if you are not reaching the 7 consistently or cleanly it probably will not be noticed by anyone. Even if my pinky is on the 7th fret it is usually partially on the 6th fret of the D string but the chop is really just a percussive thud so (for me) close is good enough.
One way to work into it is play the same same shape but at D where the fret spacing is less and then work your way down.
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Mr. Gamble thanks for asking about my progress on the closed G. I am now able to stretch fingers into position but not getting clean sound yet. However, today I was able to do 3 fingers cleanly one time, just once lol! Starting today going to two 15 minute sessions. One for chords the other for individual finger dexterity. Stay safe and well.
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Mr. Stewart thanks for the input.
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Hi WillCoop
I have just been working real hard on “unlocking the neck” for the past several months. Usually practicing for an hour or more per day. Really that is most all I have been working on this past year.
I have to say that I can now play in any key anywhere on the neck and can move all around with my eyes closed so now I am trying to come up with the next step trying to add speed and better pick technique and better use of blue notes.
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Excellent!! I am sure you will reach your goal.
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Hard to say. I am not convinced that I can ever become very good at playing. But after playing the mandolin for a dozen or so years and not really progressing that much I decided it was going to take more serious effort to even get close to being a decent player.
Certainly learning to play all around the neck is a good step forward. I never had much success by memorizing fiddle tunes.
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Hopefully, you still enjoy playing. I have been playing Mandolin for just over a year… and progress is slowing down but still measurable for me most days.
Keep the faith. 
Maybe try something completely different to freshen up the routine - if you feel you are stuck in a rut.
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Yeah, I enjoy playing more than ever. I have all of the Gibson Brothers albums and I enjoy playing along with their 186 songs even occasionally spending two or three hours a day during this pandemic. No problem playing an hour or more per day but it may be that I started way to late in life or am missing some innate ability that the pros have. I know I will never be a speed picker but I was kind of hoping to get to the point of playing well but slow.
Really my theory last year is that people who are good at playing an instrument have a deep understanding, and playing an instrument is no different than speaking a language. A person can learn a few phrases of Spanish for example but to really be fluent requires you to be immersed in the language. So that is why I spent most of the previous year just learning the fretboard.
It took me a few months to memorize where everything is and the other ten months learning to move without having to think about it which I estimate that I am still only at about 80% or so and can easily spend another year on achieving.
Currently it is a question of where to go from here. So far I still have trouble identifying and copying what I hear in the more complex licks to get that Bluegrass sound. I have not had much success with learning stock licks and then inserting them into my solos -some because they are too fast and some because they do not seem to fit well.
Lately I have been adding in more work on picking/timing technique and I started using the very common run you hear in most bluegrass/ country music 1-3-5-6-8 notes of the key
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