Lesson 1 Crosspicking Mandolin: Forward Roll Patterns

by Mickey Cochran

Folk of the Wood Acoustic Music Instruction

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Notes: The roll patterns, in the 4 studies below, will demonstrate how the mandolin can have a driving tone similar to 5-string banjo. These roll patterns can be applied within most any 4/4 context...after learning the rolls below, we will then apply these very same patterns to chord progressions in our next lessons...The following exercises involve only the right hand, your picking hand, and does not require any fretting whatsoever (notice there are only "0"s indicated on the tablature). This is to ensure that we're focusing on the crosspicking pattern only...once we're comfortable with this pattern, we will then be moving on to applying this very same pattern to chordal studies.

A Note on Picking Direction: Notice the "D" and "U" symbols above the tablature. This represents your pick direction. The "D" stands for Down and the "U" stands for Up. Picking patterns, how you choose to go up or down with your flatpick, is critical to the rhythm of your crosspicking arrangements. Below, you'll find that we're using nothing but down and up patterns...now, after learning this picking pattern, you can also experiment, with the following arrangments, using a DDUDDUDU pattern...however, if you're not an advanced player already, you might want to adhere to what's already written...

Learn to Play Crosspicking Mandolin!
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