SIERRA HULL: Some Finer Points

Sierra Hull offers a thoughtful analysis of her exceptional mandolin technique. Features excerpts from a workshop with Hull and a performance by Hull and her band Highway 111 at the 2012 Joe Val Bluegrass Festival. For more on Sierra Hull, visit secondcousincurly.com.

[@genesismegapan2432]

Blessings ... my name is Walter, I live in Jalapa, Guatemala, Central America, I congratulate you for a good work with the video and more for that talent in the music, I have a mandolin and I long to touch it as the young lady does .. MY RESPECT.

[@patlatorres7000]

I really love how this lady will look so serious and focused and then suddenly break into that great smile, which seems to light up the entire room. It just highlights how much she just seems to enjoy making music for the pure joy of just making music!

[@hectoralvarado9359]

Thank you Chapin, I see that I am not the only Guatemala born who loves this music. I play Mandolin then I picked up the Violin. I recommend picking up the Violin if you can.I met Alysson Krause in Brooklyn, NY. I did not even know it was her. Now I know.I love bluegrass and New Grass.Hey, Chapin do not forget the marimba of guate.

[@1dnd2dnd3and4]

Thanks for posting this. I've been looking for some pointers on the variety of ways to do things.

[@ccivinski]

I think it's indeed Chasin' Skies, thank you! She's great.. her playing is amazing but so is the music she creates.

[@BubbaRRNC]

WOW, so much talent in such a pretty little package...

[@artemryapolov1476]

Very impressive playing

[@emmarobertson2117]

talented young lady

[@williamschultz8198]

I think it was great that she started playing at a very age. It forced her to use her pinky finger because she couldn't reach with just three. Now she has perfect left hand technique, and it's an absolute joy to listen to as well as watch perform.

[@1974mohikan]

awesome!

[@RenkoDaktarin]

The name of that piece is Hullarious

[@Cofffeeguy2000]

Nice video cuz....keep up the good work

[@mihaiboata6097]

she's the next bluegrass queen!

[@user-zh7fe9wp3b]

Умничка!!! Дай БОГ этой девочке до конца быть в музыке! И пусть всевышний не обделит её женским счастьем!!!!!!!!!

[@JosephEaorle]

I think it's preferable to learn a closed palm approach. I've been stuck with pinky anchoring for a while and it's easier at first but causes tension that can be avoided with the hand being more free from the strings.

[@jimd4660]

I'm thinking the song she does at about 2.27 is a Marshal Tucker tune called "Heard it in a Love Song." Anyone else get that? Sounds nice on the mandolin.

[@Halliday7895]

sounds like Shadows to me....Tony Rice did it so does Allison....

[@lancebaker1374]

Tony who???

[@secondcousincurly]

I'm 99 percent sure this is a break from the middle one of Sierra's originals, but I can't recall if it's "Bombshell" or "Chasin' Skies" or something else. Can anyone help us out? In any case, I think (understandably) folks are so bowled over my Hull's virtuosity that they tend to overlook the compelling hooks that anchor so many of her original fiddle tunes.

[@Halliday7895]

at 2:29 is she playing Shadows ? Where is that footage from i didn't see Shadows by Sierra on KZbin.

[@Halliday7895]

that gig is Joe Val Bluegrass Festival in Framingham, MA on February 17, 2012 anyone know where the full set is ?

[@ccivinski]

What's the name of the piece at around 0:30 ?

[@JohnnysCoolStuff]

You've never been to East Tennessee have you?

[@kenberner4051]

It is nice to hear that fine WEBER!

[@kenberner4051]

She led off this video with a WEBER and was playing it again at 4:00; too bad you can't hear the difference.

[@kenberner4051]

Let's put this to sleep. None of my comments here have indicated the type of instrument she is playing, just the name of the manufacturer. Your musical "knowledge" is mere waste to me. So long!

[@lancebaker1374]

@Hugh Jarse: What a jerk you are.

[@CalebWilson426]

It's a break from "Hullarious"

[@Tonetwisters]

Hmmm. Just wonderin'. Is Miss Sierra sorta small, making that mandolin look really large; or is that a large, deeper pitched mandolin she's a-totin'? And my gracious, she is a cute young lady ... And Stevie Ray Vaughan used to anchor his pinky on really fast runs ...

[@patlatorres7000]

I believe that this is an octave mandolin that she's playing in the performance footage. She has a Gibson mando that she plays which looks smaller. But yes, she is a relatively tiny young lady, who makes a REALLY large impact!

[@grabon799]

а ты не промах девочка гитару по больше только возьми и не трынди много

[@Ragnarok0Aeirk]

That accent is beyond faked.

[@rockinredneck57]

She's from Tenn. That accent is authentic.

[@lancebaker1374]

How do you determine that an eastern Tennesee accent is beyond fake?

[@chrisbryant1657]

@@rockinredneck57 Absolutely authentic accent! My family is from East TN.