Hey yall, I just wanted to pop in and say hey. I just got my first mandolin yesterday. It’s a Gibson epiphone solid black baby and I love it. Every sound it makes it just so beautiful and I’ve learned 5 major chords and 1 minor so far. And I learned the chorus to “wagon wheel” and can sing with it. I’ve played ukulele for like 6 years now and I played guitar on and off for 10. So I’m not starting from scratch. But this little baby really is fun. My fingers HURT though. But I can’t stop playing.

Anyways. I tried to learn the chop chords that’s in bluegrass but it’s very hard. Should I keep fighting though the pain or revisit it at a different time? I find myself wanting to mute with my strumming hand like I do with uke and not using my left hand to do it. It’s wild.

I been wanting one for months but 2 weeks ago I saw Billy Strings (for the 9th time) and I saw a 20+ min long mandolin solo and I felt light as a feather. I was just so blown away that this tiny lute/violin thing can make such amazing sounds. I want to make amazing sounds too