I learned a few tunes on the mando many years, but gave it up after battling my no name, imported, piece of junk mandolin for a while. I swear I don’t think King Kong would have been strong enough to play a full G chord on that thing, let alone move it up the neck. Anyway, I just acquired a used Tacoma M2 (this is the spot where you get to rag on me now Laughlin), and hope to get back into the mando a little bit again.
I’m just curious how many players we have here on the list. I’d also be interested to hear how often you play at sessions and what the response (from the other players) is. Also looking for good tab, and instructional sites - aside from Mandolin Cafe which is wonderful.
I just recently picked up a Weber mandolin off of eBay and I’m now looking for the same info you are. I’ve been having fun trying some of the whistle tunes on the mando.
I’ll probably be ordering some books/cd and/or a video in the next couple of weeks. I’ll let you know if I come up with anything that might be useful. I’ve learned some from the Hal Leonard Mandolin Method by Rich DelGrosso. It came with a cassette that allows me to do some duet stuff.
Can’t answer the questions about session work. I haven’t found any in southwest Iowa. Have fun with your new instrument.
Have fun with the new toy! Which model Weber did you end up with? My new mando won’t arrive in the mail for several days, so I’m suffering from M.A.D. - Mandolin Anticipation Disorder.
Thanks for the info on the book. I had the Tottle book way back when - it used to come with one of those floppy little plastic “records” inside, so you could put it on your turntable and hear Jack play the tunes. Unfortunately, I need a new copy and now there’s no recording available at all. Hmph. Oh well, it’s been a long time since I actually owned a record player anyway…
My cassette player just gave up the ghost a few days ago, so I guess it’s videos or books with CD’s for me from now on…
I’ll let you know if I find any interesting links or other sources of useful info.
I got the Bridger. I’ve been wanting one for a while and when this one came up on eBay I decided to go for it and. Darned old credit card…a blessing and a curse, I never can tell which. Fred Rose is putting my whistle in the mail tomorrow so while I’ll have to be frugal for several months, I will at least not be lusting after whistles or stringed instruments during that time…I hope.
Have you checked out the books and videos at Elderly Instruments?
Awhile ago I bought an old Martin mandolin,
and played around with it.
Then I lent it to some street musician friends who put
it on top of their van while
traveling–it rained, the case was
flooded, the finish came off the
sides and one side is cracked.
Recently I’ve taken it out and
played it a bit again. It’s hard to
look at the thing in its present state.
I’ve considered repairing it, but
I’m kinda broke, etc.
There seems to be a whole lot of good
instructional material for mandolin,
at least at my level of incompetence.
How to play Mandolin! by Jack Tottle
is good but very basic.
That’s really sad! What a shame, I hear those old Martin’s are nice little mandolins.
Yeah, I did check out Elderly’s selection - it’s a bit overwhelming though. Hopefully I can get some feedback on which instructional materials give the most bang for the buck. I’ll report back later.
I also have a no-name imported piece-of-junk mando. I practice on it regularly but would never take it out in public. I’ve gotten into the habit of learning tunes both on whistle and on mando. At some point I should probably sell off a guitar or two (yes, guitar players suffer from their own variety of Whoa) and get a decent mando and maybe another whistle.
Wow man, you must have fingers of steel. Do yourself a favor and get something decent would ya It is tough when you have to start selling some instruments to buy others though, isn’t it? I guess I’m lucky: I’m happy with one acoustic and one electric guitar. Hopefully one mandolin too. I do feel the need for about three flutes though…However, it’s the darn whistles that really get me. Still, compared with guitars and mandos, even the expensive whistles are almost dirt cheap.
BTW, I’m looking forward to learning some of these whistle tunes on mandolin as well. Any tunes you’ve learned so far that translate particularly well?
It’s me again, the other jim. I’m still mostly in the slower whistle tunes but the ones I’m currently practicing are: Si Beag Si Mor, The King of the Faeries, The Foggy Dew, Swallowtail Jig, and Ashokan Farewell. I’ll send the music along with the mando stuff.
\
Peace
Namasté
jim
[ This Message was edited by: livethe question on 2002-01-02 00:24 ]
Some years ago my house got robbed, and all my electronic equipment stolen (synthesizer, amps, multitrack, electric bass, effects)…
No more music for me I thought, since the insurance return was scandalously low.
Then a friend gave me a mandolin - A Hohner with a big belly.
So I taught myself to play some chords on it.
When I met Jens Hoppe here in Denmark I joined the band he plays with - they found out that i have a mandolin and presumed I can play it.
So that’s what I do on our sessions: trying to find the chords the guitar is playing and attempring to keep up with the rhythm
I have tried to play some melodies on it (King of the Fairies). I think it would be nice to play some of the tunes on Mando as well as whistle - but my practice time goes into whistle (sorry to my session mates )
Still it’s a nice instrument to play.
(there are pictures on Jens’ site)
I play a bit of mando myself. I have an A model Kentucky which I got second hand. Not the best in the world, but good enough for me considering that I play whistle a LOT more.
BTW-- I have a nice old Rex mando that I would like to sell for $100. Anyone can e-mail for details. Terrific beginners mando.
Mandolin is very well accepted in sessions around the Albany NY area, and really adds sparkle to a tune.
I play mando, or at least attempt to. I too have learned some from the Hal Leonard method. I play some country/rock stuff with a jam group–Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams. Luckily I can do some simpler stuff since the bluegrass speed hasn’t come yet (and probably won’t in my lifetime!) I just love the instrument, and my jam group likes the additional sound it makes, even if I just plunk some chords and do some simple leads.
I’m seriously considering adding a mandolin to my repertoire. As a violinist/fiddler, I think the transition should be fairly easy. Don’t want to spend a lot of money, but don’t want cheap either: affects ability to play.
I only plink on mando, but my husband loves playing them. We play all kinds of trad/Irish stuff. It sounds great with whistles and is easy to carry around. For websites, check out http://www.co-mando.com. Mandos are kind of hard to find, but patience pays. We got a nice one off ebay eventually.
I’ve been playing Mandolin for about a year now, but I’m not nearly confident enough to play at sessions yet. I don’t play chords, just melody. I have two main instruments, a Fleetwood at work, and a model called Tenesse at home, the maker is German, and I forget who it is. Both are teardrop shaped flatbacks with round soundholes.
I’m currently learning Martin Wynne’s no.1, which wouldn’t fit on a whistle, and keep practising the tunes I’ve collected over the year.
I did start out checking the Mandolin Cafe regularly, but it all seems a bit technical & hardware-oriented, and also more focussed on Bluegrass than Celtic style. Now a quick check on the world of C&F is far more likely to make me crack a smile.
BTW, I’m looking forward to learning some of these whistle tunes on mandolin as well. Any tunes you’ve learned so far that translate particularly well?
Loren
I’m certainly no expert, but here’s my $0.02:
For starters, I’d avoid tunes with notes higher than “A”. Anything above that requires you to shift your hand out of first position or do an awkward stretch with your pinky. Tunes with large intervals (like Drowsy Maggie) can be pretty tough until you get comfortable with the instrument. Slow airs and waltzes don’t really sound right on mando unless you trill some of the longer notes.
Things like Road To Lisdoonvarna, Fairies’ Hornpipe, Red Haired Lass, Ned Coleman’s Jig, The Rambling Pitchfork, Off To California, Cup Of Tea, … all work pretty well.
Hey,
I play the Mandolin a bit,not as much I used to though.I brought my mando over to Ireland in 96 and 97, and sat in on a few
pub sessions.Although I had a blast,I didn’t
really know too many traditional tunes,so
I felt a bit inferior.Luckily Irish music backup is pretty straight forward,so I pulled it off fine.At the time I had a newer
Washburn A style,then I got a kentucky F
model,neither had what I wanted.Finally I
got a trinity college celtic mando,and sold the others.Yeah,I know it’s a mass produced
oriental -made instrument,but it has exactly what I want in a mando suited for jigs and reels.
Loren,
Good for you! Your comment about being frustrated with the G chord finger pattern really resonated with me. I had a brand new Mid-Missouri mando I bought through Mandolin Bros. of Staten Island, but through mail order. I got a chord book at the same time. Since I’m an ex-bass player, I couldn’t help thinking it was the mando’s action and not the strength of my hand that was the problem. I switched to lighter gauged strings, but still got really frustrated with what is supposedly the most commonly played chord pattern. It was the flame maple teardrop model, really pretty, but I ended up selling it on ebay and got 20.00 more than what I paid. I have a Rumanian made mandola waiting to be restrung, bought from “Shark” in the Morning, that came with trashed strings. As soon as I got half the courses of strings on it, the nut came unglued. If I ever take a long enough break from practicing whistle I will finish restringing it and plan to find out what the ADAD version of tuning mandola is–no more carpal tunnnel chord patterns for me!
I brought my mando to my regular session once. It was nice, because I could follow the guitarists, playing chords, and every once in a while, when I knew the tune (or more often, a snippet of the tune) I would pick that out, going back to chording when I found myself over my head. I’ll probably bring it again one of these days, but it’s so much more convenient to stick to my whistle and flute.
It is tough when you have to start selling some instruments to buy others though, isn’t it? I guess I’m lucky: I’m happy with one acoustic and one electric guitar. Hopefully one mandolin too. I do feel the need for about three flutes though…However, it’s the darn whistles that really get me. Still, compared with guitars and mandos, even the expensive whistles are almost dirt cheap.
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