A simple question which has remained unanswered so far despite my buying mandolin method books and dvd:

when playing on an 8 strings  mandolin if you are for instance picking the left E string downwords and need to pick the A string upwards will you pick the right A string (which seems easier to me) or the left A string?

Can one says that in fact moste people only use the right strings whent playing tremolo?

You are always supposed to pick both strings in a pair.

Pick through both E strings down and then both A strings up.  That's called "alternating picking".  

You normally pick Down Up Down Up no matter what strings you are picking.

"Crosspicking" is something different.  You pick across three shrings with a pattern like Down Down Up or Down Up Up.


"Crosspicking" is some

thank you for youor asnwer kvk

On a piano, thanks to the hammer, two and even three strings are struck simulaneously, but on a mandolin you cannot pick both strings simulataneously. Thus picking both strings even in a very short interval will render two disctinct notes no?
This would not be a problem when playing chords (acommpaniement), but when playing a melody it should affect the sound.

this is strange because when I listen to all the recordings I have I have the feeling that only one string is struck at one time.

you really should try to hit both strings to give the note the "chorusing" effect (or is it affect? i can never remember)
as you are either down picking or up picking, try this, push through both strings and "rest" your pick on the first string of the next pair..(or is it pare?)
anyways, mondays suck, my brain isn't functioning and i'm still not able to spend much time trying to learn..
another online resource (free lessons) is www.musicmoose.org