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Thanks for visiting! After many years of contemplatiing, I finally decided to buy a mandolin and teach myself how to play it. I set up this blog mainly in order to track how I am going. Feel free to follow my progress here too. (And yes, in case you're wondering, I did name the mando after Mycroft Holmes).

Wednesday 22 August 2012

Bach: Presto from Bach's violin sonata in g minor


Still uber excited about my new Mandolin. Mycroft may be a cheaper Chinese knock-off, but I'm quite happy with how it's sounding and playing.

The new E strings seem to be holding up alright, after I managed to break them both in an attempt to lower the bridge action. D'oh! They're a tad tinny sounding though, and probably too bright compared with the other strings so I'm tossing up if I should try medium gauge strings next time or if I just need to try a different brand. There are a few variables to consider - who would have thought a silly string instrument could be so complicated!

After two and a bit weeks playing mandolin I have almost got the A section of the Presto from Bach's G minor Violin Sonata down. This is really making me appreciate just how much thought string players put  into hand positions. There are always a couple of solutions for every phrase, so I have had to make some decisions... eep! Still not quite happy with some of my choices, but I may yet find better solutions. We will see.


Here's me, not quite rockin' the Bach yet, but getting there:




Here's Chris Thile rockin' the Bach big time. How to put a beginner to shame:





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