Mandolin Website Map • Return to Lessons Section • Return to Homepage

It's a NEW Introduction to an old story...posted: 10/04/04...this is our new preface to our Fingerstyle Mandolin book...soon to be released...it may offer a window on the where's and why's of how I arrived at FOTW...Mickey

Preface to the "Fingerstyle Mandolin Introduction"

In my acoustic beginnings...

Thanks for your patience as I explain how I arrived at fingerpicking the mandolin...it's a long story. If you want to get started directly with the Mandolin Fingerstyle Lessons, click here to go directly to the "Introduction"

The following fingerstyle lessons will introduce you to a realm of mandolin seldom seen or heard. Why? I'm not sure...for, to me, fingerpicking the mandolin seems very natural...in fact, it's as natural to me, if not more, as flatpicking the mandolin. Where do I begin to explain how I found myself fingerpicking my mandolin? I believe it starts with the simple fact that I've always fingerpicked guitar even long before I started flatpicking guitar. My mentors included Marcel Dadi, Chet Atkins, Leo Kottke, Peter Lang, John Fahey, Richard Saslow, Jimmy Page, Jorma Kaukonen, and Stefan Grossman. All of whom inspired me to work hard at learning to fingerpick...throughout my high school years...and well afterwards.

When I first picked up the mandolin, my inclination was to fingerpick...only, I had a mental block due to the context mandolin was always played in...mostly bluegrass (other than the rare rock song) and always flatpicked. I respect traditions and, even at the time I started playing mandolin, right out of high school, I followed the well-trodden mando path. I was already delving into bluegrass at the time for I was elevated by the barrage of notes offered up by bands such as Country Cooking and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band on the "Will the Circle be Unbroken" album. Many mandolinists such as: Norman Blake, Red Rector, Sam Bush, Bill Monroe, Jimmy Guadreau, Doyle Lawson, Steve Smith, Radim Zenkl and others, proved well that the flatpick is and always will be a powerful medium. I will never put down the flatpick for it is the one and only traditional approach to the mandolin; notwithstanding, fingerpicking mandolin can have its own powerful voicing within certain contexts. And, the added versatility will only increase the many colors and textures possible on the mandolin.

The flatpicking path was enlightening for it facilitated my playing ability in many ways...only, due to my early professional performances with one other guitarist...or even a guitarist and a bassist, it seemed there was still a large void. Bluegrass is an ensemble music that is rarely accomplished within a trio or duet setting...so we only touched upon bluegrass (which truly does require a flatpick and a larger ensemble to give justice to).

When I first started to play at Indian Cliffs Ranch (Cattleman's Steakhouse) in Fabens, Texas, a gig that lasted for 12 years 6-nights-a-week, I played mostly solo or with one other musician (we played a variety of instruments that included banjo, dobro, mandolin and guitar). It was completely acoustic for we were wandering troubadours in a large restaurant that offered intimate settings, large party rooms accommodating even larger company parties...so volume and acoustic tonal range were critical.

How was I to carry through playing solo/duet mandolin? I soon discovered the answer in the richness and fullness offered by the fingerstyle approach, with metal fingerpicks and a plastic thumbpick, on mandolin. In fact, my partner, at the time, and I both pursued fingerstyle mandolin while switching off with back-up guitar. We explored every fingerpicking possibility of backing up, playing solos and learning bass-brush strums for fill-in behind guitar solos. The flatpick was soon put aside; fingerpicks and thumbpick supplanted the flatpick effectively on both guitar and mandolin. Keep in mind, this was a matter of adapting the medium at hand by looking for the best way to orchestrate a duet through the entire gamut of musical genres requested by our audience. Fortunately, I believe we accomplished the task by remaining open to all possibilities. I persevered this gig through four changes in personnel--this should go down as one of the longest lasting, night after night consecutive gigs in the history of acoustic music. Other than a rare night off, I never took a vacation for a full 12 years--I started as a teenager of 19.

Notwithstanding, it was a great way to work through college (it took me 6 years to finish a 4-year degree)...I had some exciting times as a wandering acoustician...as a highlight, I had the privilege to play for some major luminaries at this world-famous restaurant...including, and certainly not limited to:

1. Sean Connery (we talked for over an hour about Scottish music...a very humble and warm individual)

2. Valerie Perrine (extremely affectionate both verbally and...well you had to be there...remember, she had a supporting role in the recent movie: "What Women Want")

3. Slim Pickens (played in many of my favorite old westerns)

4. Ken Curtis (aka Festus...and, wow, one of the coolest and friendliest I've ever met...profoundly coincidental, as I'm writing this, I'm watching Festus on an early morning ancient "Gunsmoke" episode...did you know that he was one of the founding members of the "Sons of the Pioneers"?)

5. Bob Eubanks (we jammed with him while he played my Martin M-38...very well at that...he enlightened us to the fact that he was the one that first brought the Beatles over on that legendary landing in '64...for more info, click here)

6. David Allen Coe (one of the original "Outlaws")

7. David Prowse (Darth Vader...even gave me an autographed DV picture...later I read that he's from England and was an exercise guru...I read this in a great book titled "Body Worry" by Remar Sutton)

8. Janie Fricke (she even sang with us...and then offered us a position in her band...be sure to check out her latest Bluegrass Sessions)

9. David Carradine (of Kung Fu fame, and consistent with his character, munched a single corn on the cob while all of his other party ate large t-bones)

10. The Police & Sting Yes...for the entire band including their entourage...I guess they were passing through while on tour in the '80s...this was about 1987...I even remember the songs we played for them that night...and, it's not commonly known but Sting is a real fan of the 5-string banjo. Bob Napier was my partner at the time. Let me say, as nice as they were, these guys were literally expressionless during and after our performance...they were like the guards at Buckingham Palace...and, that includes Sting himself. He was sitting at the head of the table and as a true musician would, asked us to "play whatever you want." Bob proceeded to play a powerful fiddle piece...and I played "Randy Lynn Rag" on the 5-string. I should have been nervous, fortunately, it wasn't until we finished playing for them that we realized who they were.

11. And for many others, as famous, whom were far more distant from their following (need I name names? OK...Chuck Norris and Jack Nicholson to name two).

My career as an acoustician with Cattleman's was an honor that can't be measured...and, hopefully, with this tenureship, I might be better able to share any knowledge and discoveries gained with other aspiring and professional acousticians.

Yes, this is quite a ways off base from fingerstyle mandolin...even so, playing Cattleman's was an integral part of my mandolin inspiration to pursue experimental forays. Sean Connery gave us a vote of confidence to carry forward after hearing us fingerpick a Scottish tune on the mandolin; and, in respect to his homeland knowledge, he was well-versed in the mandolin's Celtic tradition. What more positive reinforcement can one ask than that? Outside of this, it was easy enough to measure volume and tonal range effectiveness by audience response while alternating between flatpicking and fingerpicking on both guitar and mandolin. The compelling response from the exposure that our fingerstyle mandolin efforts had within a venue that was far-reaching--a venue that required us to play every style of music under the sun, a venue that drove us to connect with a larger audience through a vast array of requests, and a venue that well establishes the value and versatility that fingerpicking mando offered in a demanding performance setting--is further assurance that fingerpicking mandolin is worthy of pursuing as an art form in its own right.

(I met my wife Shelley at Indian Cliffs Ranch...and have been happily married ever since...you can see that not only did Cattleman's have a major influence on my approach to the mandolin, it has forever impacted my life in the most positive of ways!)

These lessons are dedicated to my passion, my soulmate, my wife Shelley...

To hear the recordings during my residency with Cattleman's, click here...both albums were released in 1985. One of the albums included here, was originally titled: "Pickin' the Cattleman's"...and is now titled after the lead song: "Trekkin' the Gila". This album includes one of my longest standing partners, named Bob Napier, who happened to be, and still is, one of the finest fiddlers I've ever heard in my entire days. If you want to truly view a window to the Cattleman's era, take a listen to "Pickin' the Cattleman's". Click Here for Further Info On Robert Napier

To learn more about fingerstyle mandolin, be sure to check out our Lessons Section: Introduction to Fingerstyle Mandolin

To hear and see samples of fingerpicking mandolin, be sure to peruse our Mando Video Sampler Section.

Watch for the upcoming video on learning to fingerpick the mandolin soon to be released by Wisdom of the Wood Publishing...

If interested in further techniques for new mandolin voicings, don't forget to check out the Mel Bay title: "Mandolin Crosspicking Technique"...click on image below.

---

Copyright ©2004 Mickey Cochran

Mandolin Website Map • Return to Lessons Section • Return to Homepage

Please send any comments, questions or requests to Mickey Cochran at info@folkofthewood.com 

---