Chris Thile – Essential Techniques for Mandolin

Here’s a lesson that will thrill and inspire mandolinists at all levels. Chris Thile shares his own successful formula for developing right and left hand dexterity, improving speed and accuracy, and playing with heightened musicality.

Chris launches into detailed instruction on holding the pick, correct hand position and wrist action, getting a good balance between up and down strokes, and more. He provides numerous exercises for releasing hand tension that will make all the difference as you learn to play tunes such as Hop the Fence, Red Haired Boy and Swallowtail Jig.

Warming up by playing scales, arpeggios and triads will enhance your speed, clarity and knowledge of the fingerboard, and Chris runs through routines to incorporate these into your practice sessions. In learning his beautiful Ode to a Butterfly, you’ll use pull-offs and hammer-ons, position shifting, ornamentation, and other important techniques that add style and character to your playing. As a bonus, you’ll hear astonishing performances of Chris’s original tunes, When Mandolins Dream and Raining at Sunset.

This video will provide the techniques you’ll need to get to the next level, and to reach exciting new goals in your mandolin playing. Video: 720×540 DivX Audio: 128k 48000 Hz mp3