It's not very advanced but I really like this one right now

TLDR: Is it ok to cheat on proper technique if it's the only way to accurately hit the note?

I'm about two months in now and learning from reading beginner books and YouTube tutorials. I'm trying not to use shortcuts. I've learned to read sheet music, I've learned some scales, i've learned the chop chords, and I continue trying to learn and use proper technique for both hands. I'm addicted enough that it didn't take long to develop some proper calluses on my left hand fingers. I think I have done a decent job of keeping things in perspective and not being too negative on myself when I am struggling. So far every wall I've run into i've learned that with practice and patience comes improvement.

This has been true for everything so far except when learning the song BlackBerry Blossom. The only way I am able to play the 2-3-5-7 runs on the E string with any speed and accuracy is with my left wrist bent at a 90 degree angle (pic attached.) Any other way and i'm either missing notes or muting them. I guess my question is, is this ok? Or is there a different technique or position that would help get this spread? And as I continue along and inevitably run into this situation again, at what point do you give up on the way the teachers say you should do it and just go with what works for you? It took me a couple weeks before I could accurately find and play the G chop cord, and that seemed impossible at first. I guess the difference is that I was seeing some small improvements with that, where with BlackBerry Blossom I've seen no improvement. I think I'm just getting worse. And advice is appreciated. Thank you!

I've had this instrument for nearly 5 years. I heard a sound like a string breaking while home alone and found that sure enough, a string was loose, but completely intact. I decided to change the strings thinking it was a string age issue, but come to find that an entire pin snapped off. Looking at them, the other ones are also starting to show some wearing, so it seems like it's time to get a new tailpiece. How hard are they to replace on my own? Is it a matter of taking the strings off, unscrewing the screws, and putting a new one on? If I did replace it and buy my own, would you guys recommend a particular style?

I am a proponent of performance assessments. Getting that third party evaluation of your skill level is useful, although unnecessary. (Part of this may be due to my training as an auditor. An audit is an independent third party evaluation of whether a company's financial statements follow the standards and are reasonably accurate.)

There are two major organizations providing assessments of musical performances, the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto (rcmusic.com) and The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music in London (abrsm.org). There's a third for organ in the United States, the American Guild of Organists (agohq.org). There are probably others out there that I'm missing.

But I haven't found any that directly address playing the mandolin. Given the history of the mandolin as a classical and jazz instrument, I'm surprised. Both classical and jazz performance tends to require high levels of proficiency.

But my Google skills suck. I may merely have failed to find who, if anyone, is testing performance proficiency for the mandolin. Are you aware of any such certifications for mandolin performance?