I’m a new gold pick member and this is my first-time taking part in the Forum. I have been a frequent start-and-stop beginner for years, but Ben’s lessons and encouragement has given me the hope that I will stick with it this time. I realize people learn and process at different rates and speeds so my question is how many songs should a beginner be working on at a time? I’m currently working on Soldier’s Joy and just started Amazing Grace, Build-a-Break. I want to learn to play my mandolin but I also want to enjoy playing while I’m learning. Thanks for your suggestions.
Practice Suggestions
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Welcome to the forum @jimmy42005. That’s a really good question, and I suspect that there will be varying opinions on this. For me, personally, I often work on one at a time. I find that I learn a break much faster if I focus on just that break, and often times, just particular portions of that break. But I don’t (typically) spend my whole practice time on it. Ben has a great lesson available on how to divide up your practice time that I highly recommend that you check out.
Hope that helps!
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Good suggestion to focus on one at a time. Yes, I saw the lesson on setting up your practice time and it was helpful. About half of my practice time is spent on pick hand exercises, G scale work, and the G, C, and D open chords and then working on the song(s). Thanks again for your suggestion.
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@jimmy42005 welcome to the forums. I really get a lot out of the build-a-break lessons. I get to learn the basic melody during the first part of the lesson but then get to learn some fills that I will adjust my skill level.
Welcome to the forum, Jimmy. There’s a neurologist named Josh Turknett who plays banjo and also has podcasts, books, etc. about how we learn. He says that our brains build neural networks (i.e. muscle memory) while we sleep based on our focus during the day. Ben’s approach aligns well with Turknett as it sets different focus items that our brains can build upon, and it sounds like you’re following that nicely. Turknett also points out that working on too many similar items can confuse that focus. So he would suggest working one song (or even just a section of a song like Ryan suggests) between sleep cycles to allow effective brain development.
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I forgot to mention that exercising the networks in your brain you’ve already built (i.e. playing songs you already learned) is a good way to maintain the fun without confusing the development of a new song. Enjoy the journey.
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Thanks for the welcome to the Forum and all the good comments. Thanks, JKL for the recommendation of Josh Turknett’s book. I added it to my Kindle and the first 50 pages have already been helpful. In my earlier attempts at learning, my practice time had no real sense of direction other than learning to play a song. When my progress didn’t meet my expectations, I became frustrated and eventually stopped. I now measure progress in a more realistic and patient manner. By the way, do you think Turknett’s idea of learning while we sleep provides a valid reason for taking an extra nap or two?
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Hey Jimmy. Glad you’re enjoying the book. I think I’m going to follow your logic and suggest to my wife that I need those extra naps. 
Sorry to be late to the party here! We’re prepping to go to Montana for camp and it’s been crazy. You have some great answers here and I can’t add too much. There’s not a definite answer for that b/c everyone has different goals and margins. If you get bored, add more material. If you never master a song to your liking, narrow your focus. Keep pickin and honored to have you on the site!
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BanjoBen, can’t imagine all the work and preparation that takes place for one of your camps. Your “campers” will be blessed because of those efforts. Thanks for the encouragement to keep pickin! “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
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I put in usually an hour to 2 hours every night after work. Problem is… I am not genre or instrument focused.
I play a Strat and telecaster into tune amps playing Pink Floyd’s, Hendrix, etc.
Another night playing my D18 doing bluegrass, folk, country, and /or finger picking.
And last…. I pick away on my Kentucky 505 mandolin. lol…. Spread thin and wide!
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