what are the best scales that I should learn
Scales
If you haven’t already checked it out, I’d recommend Ben’s http://www.banjobenclark.com/videos/50/mandolin-g-major-scale-study/ for mandolin.
If you’ve already done that, I’d start working on the major scale in other keys. Try to learn them using open strings (open position) and with all fretted notes (closed position).
Good Luck!
Speaking of other scales, below is a link to videos on various two octave scales. I haven’t worked them on mando yet, but for guitar, I like the two octave scales like these as they are good for helping me figure out how to get from low frets to high frets and get those movements ingrained. I think it will be even more helpful with mando as the strings are all tuned at the same interval.
thank you, like I said I am 75 and I see that I will have to go slow, didn’t realize so much to learn
hands and fingers are sore. I learned the Wildwood Flower and Liberty so far
Tommy, that is awesome you picked up mando. That’s great you have already learned two tunes. I love wildwood flower. I sometimes play that song over and over. I have someone starting on guitar in my group that is about your age. He started two weeks ago and seems to really enjoy it. Learning an instrument takes some time to get over the initial hump for everybody who I have ever seen do it.
Don’t worry too much that there is so much to “learn.” My suggestion is that if some part of it starts becoming work, just ease up and make sure to focus some on playing the stuff you enjoy as well. That’s why we play is to enjoy it. As far as the theory behind the scales and all that, people generally don’t get it right off the bat. It takes being around it for a bit and it kind of sinks in. Try to gain a little familiarity with it each week as you go along playing what you like. After a while, you can start to see how the theory fits into the songs you are learning and it is really neat.