Sharon's Mandolin, Picks, and Strings

from: Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin with Sharon Gilchrist

This lesson is part of the course Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin with Sharon Gilchrist.

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About This Course

Learn to play solos on classic bluegrass songs and instrumentals using bluegrass mandolin techniques like tremolo, double stops, two-string melodies, and more.

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I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky

In this lesson you’ll learn the bluegrass standard “I’m Going Back to Old Kentucky” using a common technique in bluegrass mandolin: playing melodies on two pairs of strings. Sharon starts this lesson by talking about the basic right-hand technique for playing two pairs of strings at a time. She shows you how to keep the pick out on the edge of the strings and not let the pick dig in past the strings as well as how to slightly rotate your wrist so you can play all four strings (both pairs) at once. Sharon also gives you advice on practicing this technique with a metronome, with some ideas for exercises you can do.

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The Intermediate Bluegrass Mandolin Subscription Includes:

More than 75 intermediate bluegrass mandolin video lessons
More than 55 great bluegrass tunes and songs to play
Extensive right- and left-hand technique lessons
Notation and tab provided for most lessons (all but the first five tunes)
High-quality video with multiple camera angles so you can see close-ups of both hands in action
Play-Along videos so you can practice what you’ve learned
Downloadable audio MP3s of each tune

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SHARON'S MANDOLIN

Sharon's Mandolin, Picks, and Strings

In this video, Sharon talks about her Gilchrist mandolin as well as the picks and strings she uses. Built by Australia’s Stephen Gilchrist (no relation), Sharon's 1991 F-style mandolin has been her primary instrument since 1994. The instrument was built as a copy of the only red-sunburst Lloyd Loar–signed Gibson F-5 ever made. The instrument originally had a fingerboard with a tree-of-life inlay, but Sharon had it replaced with a fingerboard with simple dots to avoid damage to the original after several refret operations. Sharon also has had the neck shape modified from its original design, leaving it unfinished, as she prefers to feel the raw wood. The instrument has a carved spruce top and highly figured maple back and sides. Gilchrist instruments are represented in the US by Nashville’s Carter Vintage Guitars (cartervintage.com).

Previous Lesson

← Fretting-Hand Technique, Part 2: Exercises

Next Lesson

Monroe Chords, Part 1 →

Previous Lesson

← Fretting-Hand Technique, Part 2: Exercises

Next Lesson

Monroe Chords, Part 1 →

Previous Lesson

← Fretting-Hand Technique, Part 2: Exercises

Next Lesson

Monroe Chords, Part 1 →