#52 Mando Mike on Teaching, Technique & the Broken Hand

Join Magnus Zetterlund with UK-based mandolin teacher Mike Giverin (Mando Mike) to explore why learning an instrument transforms lives. Mike shares his journey from seeing Nickel Creek at 14 to building his YouTube channel with 170+ free lessons. Discover his two teaching philosophies—nurturing absolute beginners and fixing technique for musicians switching instruments. Hear the story behind his book "How to Practice the Mandolin with a Broken Hand," dive into right-hand escape motions, and explore why chords are philosophically fascinating. Plus, insights on his band the Jaywalkers and why practice truly makes perfect.

Here are the weblinks mentioned in the show.

Visit our website for more episodes:https://mandolinsecrets.com/podcast

Visit Mike Giverins' website:https://www.mandomike.com

Topics Covered:

Mike's Origin Story

• First encounter: Nickel Creek concert at age 14
• Started mandolin at a bluegrass session in Northwest UK
• Early teacher also ran weekly bluegrass jam sessions
• 24 years of mandolin playing since that first lesson
• Chris Thile as primary inspiration

Musical Background & Training

• Brass band experience (age 8-13) in the UK tradition
• Learned to read music formally; classical musician approach
• Three distinct musical styles shaped his playing: bluegrass, folk, and Irish
• 4Square 
• The Jaywalkers Band

Mando Mike YouTube Channel

• Started May 2018 with 3 videos per month (released simultaneously)
• Shifted to 2 videos per month after 2 years
• Total: 170-200 free lessons (no monetization)
• Philosophy: "Shop front" for teaching style, not about views or subscriptions
• Always provides tab and music notation with videos
• Pandemic-driven transition to online lessons filled his teaching schedule
• Pairing with weekend gigging with Jaywalkers—exactly what he wanted

Teaching Philosophy & Student Categories

Category 1: Absolute Beginners

• Often retired people who've always wanted to learn
• Joy of opening up "a secret world" to new musicians
• Emphasis on correct technique from day one
• Recent student: Grateful Dead fan using lyric sheets instead of chord charts

Category 2: Experienced Musicians (Guitar, Ukulele, Violin)

• Wrong pick directions and habits from other instruments
• High success rate after fixing pick strokes (2-3 tunes usually fixes the issue)
• Violinists: Good melody understanding, excellent reading, but need chord playing introduction
• Guitarists: Natural chord understanding but struggle with mandolin-specific picking

The Bill Cheatham Solo Collaboration

• David Benedict's group video project featuring different players
• Mike's contribution: bluegrass-influenced solo
• Challenge: balancing complexity—not too fancy, but distinctly "you"
• Hundreds of takes wrestling with note selection

The Broken Hand Story: "How to Practice the Mandolin with a Broken Hand"

• Christmas 2016: Family game of picking up a shrinking cereal box with teeth while leaning over
• Mike fell and broke his left-hand middle finger (the bone you break when punching)
• Four weeks without fretting hand
• Solution: intense right-hand work
• Content: right-hand patterns, cross-picking exercises, alternate picking progressions
• Desperation breakthrough: playing fiddle tunes on open strings only
• Result: A book of pure right-hand techniques (tongue-in-cheek title, serious content)
• Exercise value: Playing melodies without fretting hand forces picking hand awareness

Why Ever