New Mandoliner

[ChrisCraze]

Hey Creek fans! I'm new here, I'm 17 and i'm ChrisCraze :-) I'm a huge Nickel Creek fan, my friends think i'm nuts bc listen to them so much. But that's not why I'm here, i mean it is, but you see... I'm a piano player, i've played since i can rememember. I just recently got a nice Fender mandolin for my birthday bc all i've been talking about is how i want top play just like Chris Thile. I also have a guitar that I'm trying to learn. But you guys, i really suck a both of them. I can't stretch my fingers far enough to play any chords. All i can do is transfer some classical melodies or simple fugues and stuff from the piano, i mean could i just not be the type bc i've grown up as a piano player? I find mandolin very hard to learn and frustrating. Does anyone have any Nickel Creek tabs? I'd LOVE them! I'd really like to earn Ode to a Butterfly, is that too hard? someone help!

[domsting]

Hello!

I am also new in this forum, well not exactly because I read a lot here but it is the first time I post a message . I also got a mandolin for my birthday! You say you want to learn "Ode to a butterfly"....you could buy Chris Thile's dvd, it features that song. I got that dvd on half.com it's pretty good because he shows you many exercises to play on your mandolin.... but believe me, it's not easy to follow Chris's fingers! I am trying to find a teacher here in florida. Good luck!

Domitille

[mandofocus]

Welcome new mando buddy!
Good choice on mando over guitar (I play both). A great place to find tabs is either co-mando.com or countrytabs.com. Be careful when you go to either of them as many of the tabs are wrong (co-mando is notorious for this). I put a couple of tabs up at countrytabs.com that I thought were to be correct. For the most part they are, just missing a couple things here and there.
Another great thing to do is to buy the tab books for the albums. The Nickel Creek ones are by Hal Leonard and appear to be 100% correct (not done checking them though). The tab books for Chris' solo albums are correct but do have mistakes in them. All can be found at vaious sites including the offical website.
Hope that helps and welcome to the fun world of mando playing.

PJ

[Adyn]

Welcome to the board, and the coolest addiction ever

I would highly reccommend running the Aonzo scales to work on both stretch and strength... they are listed at www.co-mando.com

Basically it's this pattern:

G string: fret 1 (index) 3 (middle finger) 5(ring finger) 6(pinky)
D string: (same thing )
A string: 1 (index) 3 (middle finger) 4(ring finger) 6(pinky)
E string: same thing

------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
---------------------1----3----5----6---
--1---3---5---6-------------------------

---------------------1----3----4----6---
--1---3---4---6-------------------------
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------

Start on fret one, go through the pattern forwards, keeping your fingers down the whole time as you do each set of 4 on a string (this is REALLLY hard, it was impossible for me to do at first and make any note of good sounding note) Then go back down the same pattern (so E 6,5,3,1... etc.)

Next you move the whole pattern down one fret so it would be

------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------
---------------------2----4----6----7---
--2---4---6---7-------------------------

---------------------2----4----5----7---
--2---4---5---7-------------------------
------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------

Keep a'goin until that first note is on fret 10. You are also inadvetrantly learning closed scales The first one is Ab, the second is A. Neat,huh?

Here's the link to the
Aonzo Scales They actually start on fret 0. (open) If you want more info.

I do these pretty frequently. They REALLY help. ONce you get the stretch thing down, whip out that metrenome and try to build up speed a teeny bit at a time. I also HIGHLY recommend Chris's video, there are some advanced techniques on there, but some really amazingly helpful basic techniques and exercises that will help you start off on the right foot.

As far as the NC tab book... just be warned it only has mando notation, not mando tab. Since you play piano that's probably just fine & it's just a matter of getting used to where all them pesky notes are on the fretboard.

Annnnnnnnnyhow... nice to have ya "on board"!

[TenaciousDLover]

Hey you should check out Mike Marshall and Jovino Santos Neto's stuff... Mike is an amazing mandolin player who just recorded Into the Cauldron with Chris, and he plays alot of gigs with Jovino Santos Neto who is a pianist.. I think you'll really appreciate it I'm sure you'll be great at the mandolin as well!

[Taipan]

Originally posted by ChrisCraze
All i can do is transfer some classical melodies or simple fugues and stuff from the piano, i mean could i just not be the type bc i've grown up as a piano player? I find mandolin very hard to learn and frustrating.

i played piano for a long time before adding mandolin also, i found it a lil difficult at first, but i don't think there's really a problem. in some ways, you've already got your fingers used to working independently of eachother, and used to moving around and over/under eachother etc, so i think once you get past the initial difficulties it'll actually work to your advantage.

good luck

[Elaine]

Originally posted by Taipan
i played piano for a long time before adding mandolin

Didn't know you played piano Taipan, impressed
You can get tabs from www.nickelcreekfans.com if that helps guys. Also the full mando solo for the fox is available on jay buckey. Keep playing people!