Mike Marshall Mandolin Lesson: Tremolos

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Published 2013-06-12

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From the Online School of Mandolin (artistworks.com/mike-marshall), Mike Marshall breaks down a very important concept: Tremolos. Click on the link to find out more about the Online Mandolin School and to access check out more free sample lessons.

It's tremolo time! The mandolin pick can bring out so many colors from the instrument, just like a bow on the violin. The goal of this lesson is to utilize the pick to produce many sounds as if it were a bow to a violin. Mike Marshall emphasizes the fundamentals. Sound quality comes from the posture and how you hold the mandolin, creating an optimal angle for the pick to hit the strings. A simple pick work, but Mike Marshall breaks it down to firmness of the grip, depth into the string, and the briskness of the strum. He highlights some effective practice techniques and important things to remember.

As you can see in this lesson, Mike Marshall is a great teacher and he really breaks down a relatively simple technique into meticulous details so you can perfect it. Learn more of his mandolin tips from a collection of hundreds of lessons on Mike Marshall Mandolin School. Study those alongside a video exchange lesson with Mike Marshall and a 24/7 access to masterclass posts of your fellow classmates.

Click on the link for more free samples lessons from the Online School of Mandolin with Mike Marshall: artistworks.com/mike-marshall

All Comments (21)

@steveontiveros5425 7 years ago

Thank you for mentioning about holding the pick at a slight angle . That really help me and makes a big difference .
@johngeddes7894 6 years ago

Huge building blocks that enable one to play free enough to keep rising to the next level. Huge thanks for all that, and for free!
@SoreEyeMusic 8 years ago

Watching this and playing along is like therapy man.. love it!
@Peter-sk5vg 14 days ago

Beautiful tone
@Mooseman327 8 years ago

Such a good teacher.
@humblevoyageur3F3 7 years ago

ONE HUNDRED THANKS FOR YOUR LESSON !!! :)
@RobCastro 9 years ago

Great lesson. Thanks for sharing.
@almonaro1192 9 years ago

Wonderful teacher!
@MrMusicguyma 6 years ago

Great lesson!
@OrtonFamily-js8hr 1 year ago

Thanks, Mike! You're great.
@rontcurry 6 years ago

Great lesson
@cittern 8 months ago

Muy bien explicado. Muchas gracias.
@roberteverest 3 years ago

Excellent advice. Thank you
@luisnatera 10 years ago

Excelent! Very pedagogic.
@ifjSzImre 10 years ago

just 30sec pasted and I already enjoy it
@tzzone 3 years ago

Thank you!
@52Paddy1991 8 years ago

Hi there, Question for Mike if possible to get an answer: I play and teach Irish traditional music on mandolin and tenor banjo. I've always thought it was best practice to play with the plectrum hitting the strings in parallel. In my experience this creates the 'cleanest' tone whereas hitting the strings at an angle can muddy it a bit (especially on wound strings). Perhaps my choice of plectrum (generally a Nylon Dunlop between .6mm and .88mm) has something to do with this. And, certainly, with regard to tremolo playing and back-to-back triplets (a Celtic ornaments widely used and similar to the tremolo in execution) this 'non-parallel' grip makes sense. Just wondering if it is pretty much an all-round done thing outside of Irish traditional music to play 'non-parallel'? And how do you stop the tone from muddying if so? Thanks and best regards, Patrick
@kevinmayne3000 4 years ago

What size or weight pick do you use? Thanks
@videodarshan 1 year ago

Thank you somuch sir 👌👍🙏🙏
@davestambaugh7282 7 years ago

I always thought that the definition of the term tremolo as a cyclical raising and lowering of pitch. This seems to be more in line with being called vibrato which is a cyclical raising and lowering of volume.