# Music by Genre > Orchestral, Classical, Italian, Medieval, Renaissance >  Mandolin Cloth

## Neil Gladd

I've been using a cloth to keep the mandolin in place when I play for the last 20 years or so. I used to use an artificial chamois which was a little bit tacky (feeling), and kept it from slipping. My last one was wearing out, so I went to buy a new one the other day and found that they are made from a different material now (microfibre), which doesn't have the right feel.

What does everyone else use, and where do you get it?

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## David Westwick

I used to use a 1/8" thick piece of open cell foam rubber. It would stick to whatever pants I was wearing, and the mandolin would dig into it, and stay put. My wife convinced me that it looked rather tacky -- but it worked. Since then, I have used a piece of leather (probably 1/16" or so thick) it was an off-cut that I picked up at a Tandy leather supply, at some point. I put the suede side up. It does the job reasonably well.

Last week, I saw Carlo Aonzo play in a very intimate setting (close enough that I could observe his posture, technique, etc).  I have seen him teach and direct before, and he will often play while standing -- he pins the mandolin between his right forearm and the bottom of his ribcage. In this particular concert, he was using his standing posture, while seated. I'm not sure if that is his regular posture, but it eliminates the need for a cloth and a footstool (and also any discussion about how many feet to put on said footstool).

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## Martin Jonas

I use a Vileda-brand window cloth, maybe four or five years old, which is an artificial chamois as Neil describes. I don't know how it compares to the one he tried, but it does feel a little bit tacky and is very slip-resistant. I keep it in the (slightly oversize) case underneath the mandolin.

I know a lot of people use the black shelf-liner mesh, which works fine, but is so sticky that I would be concerned about having it in contact with the mandolin for a long time, lest it should bond.

I have had lessons with Frances Taylor, who (like Carlo) uses the modern Italian stance. It does indeed eliminate the need for a cloth, as the mandolin doesn't rest in the lap whether played sitting or standing but rather is clamped to the mid-riff.

Martin

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## fatt-dad

Tip from a sweater-wearing ukulele player that I know: Stick some velcro on the instrument (the "hook"-side piece). You laugh, eh? This guy played a little Martin ukulele and that velcro had been on it for years - all he ever needed.

fatt just-a-classical-mandolin-lurker dad

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## trebleclef528

Hi,
In our Mandolin an Guitar Association we use simple "anti slip matt which we buy in a large roll for £1 an can get about 5 "cloths" from each roll. It's very good, all our students use it and it does not have any detrimental effect on the mandolin i.e. there is no chance of it bonding to the manolin. The main advantage is of course the price and the fact that you can cut off as large or small a peice as you like. I'm sure if you di a google search you could fin stores which sell this (probably most household or hardware stores. trekel in Germany also sell purpose made mandolin "cloths" large and small.
regards
ian

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## jasona

Could you not use those anti slip rubberish mesh kitchen drawer liners? A little of that has a large coefficient of friction. And since its the same colour as most of you classical types wear when performing (black) it would blend nicely on stage too!

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## RSW

Pettine played standing and actually had a rubber bath mat (well, part of it) glued to his beautiful Vega mandolin. I wouldn't go that far. What I don't like about the standing position is using the arm to block the instrument securely to your side. To each his own...

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## John Craton

I use a deerskin I obtained from a local leather-goods store. Works quite well, though I don't know what it would cost normally. The tanner had a deerskin that had been brought in by one of his customers for processing. The customer passed away before claiming it, so the store was willing to sell off some cuts at a very reduced rate.

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## Eugene

I use real chamois which offers a very minimal addition of friction.

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## Jim M.

I use this stuff:


It's for lining drawers and shelves. Comes in a roll for about $5, and I can get it at the supermarket or drug store. Also comes in several colors, so you can coordinate with your stage clothes.

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## Alex Timmerman

Hello Jim M.,

That is exactly the cloth (in the black colour) we use in 

Het CONSORT. It works very well!


Greetings,

Alex

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## Neil Gladd

Thanks for all the responses, it looks like I've been in the wrong part of the store. I need to head for Housewares instead of the Automotive section, where I used to buy them.

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## jasona

> That is exactly the cloth (in the black colour) we use


That's what I was referring to as well--seems quite a popular option!

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## trebleclef528

Quote (Alex @ Sep. 26 2006, 05:30) 
That is exactly the cloth (in the black colour) we use 

And That's exactly what I was referring to as well... and they come in lots of different colours (spelt colors if your American:p #)...we tend to use the black ones in the orchestra.

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## Jim M.

I added my response before I read the responses from jasona or trebleclef528, but I think it was still worth it for the picture. Besides, black is so stuffy. I'd like to see a chamber group in purple or red.

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## trebleclef528

Quote:Jim M. 
I added my response before I read the responses from jasona or trebleclef528, but I think it was still worth it for the picture. Besides, black is so stuffy. I'd like to see a chamber group in purple or red. # #
..................................................  ........
I know what you mean Jim... in our kiddies beginners classes they almost fight to get the colour of cloth they want...and go in the huff if they don't get the right one..... result is that in some classes we have a "rainbow" of blue pink green purple red black and even a multi coloured cloth

One day someone will produce these with a picture of your favourite pop star on them!

Anyway it's good when we're teaching the kids about sound colours!

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## Jim Garber

I use the rubber drawer (sic) liner in a lovely shade of green. I could easily drop a sizeable piece in the mail to you, Neil, since I had to buy a whole roll. I also use a piece of real chamois. Of course, the black, as Alex's group uses, would be more suitable for formal concert occasions.

Linda (Hrimaly) and I are designing a whole wardrobe of formalwear made from the drawer-liner material, tho we have also determined that dressing in a scuba wetsuit would be similar in feel.  

Jim

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## vkioulaphides

*sigh* I feel SO left out!  I neither use, nor have ever used such a cloth. What is the _purpose_ it serves? What am I missing? I _claim_ I am not as dumb as I look but I DO have my own doubts at times...  

Would using such a "cloth" help hold the instrument at the right (i.e. appropriate) _angle_, diagonal across the player's torso? But the neck of the instrument is already resting, violin-like, on the "pad" at the base of the player's left hand; THAT alone is sufficient to hold the instrument at the right angle. Or is this accessory more relevant to players of the New German School, whose left hand position is more guitar-like, with the thumb _behind_ the neck? *sigh* I guess I AM as dumb as I look after all...

As for the concern that the instrument might leave the player's _lap_ altogether, that I simply cannot imagine or visualize spelled "visualise" in Brit-speak  For one, _where_ might it go? With the right forearm over the sleeve-guard, the elbow loosely bent behind the instrument's bottom harness, the upper arm "hugging" the instrument from above, the cuddly, little mandolin deeply embedded in the player's body, how could it possibly go somewhere, ANYwhere? 

Sincerely,

Deeply Troubled

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## Bob A

Seems like this subj has gotten your (Swiss mountain) goat, Victor.

I myself have no trouble reaching a low standard of play, be it standing or aslouch on the couch, without the addition of additional adhesive material. One can envision a harness arrangement, complete with gimballing mandolin-holder, strapped to the hapless lapless mandoleer; why, even violinists use serious machanical devices like shoulder- and chin-rests, though they were not deemed necessary by several centuries' worth of players, and even today are shunned by some.

Still, the tangential contact between two more or less rounded parties (and I know a few seriously rounded mandlinists) is inherently unstable. So I grant my dispensation to all those who might wish for a more secure solution, while clinging to my own less clinging method of play: this must be the reason my playing sounds the way it does. That's my rationale, and I'm sticking to it.

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## Martin Jonas

> For one, _where_ might it go? With the right forearm over the sleeve-guard, the elbow loosely bent behind the instrument's bottom harness, the upper arm "hugging" the instrument from above, the cuddly, little mandolin deeply embedded in the player's body, how could it possibly go somewhere, ANYwhere?


In your description, the operative phrase is "_With the right forearm over the sleeve-guard_". Like many players (including many old Italian virtuosi, judging from photos and old methods), I have my right forearm at an angle to the strings, touching the edge of the bowl well _above_ the sleeve-guard, where it puts a torque on the mandolin. Without sufficient friction on the lap, it has the tendency to rotate around its longitudinal axis causing the soundboard to move out of the vertical towards the horizontal. This is of no concern for those players, such as Carlo Aonzo or Ugo Orlandi or Frances Taylor, who hold the neck of the mandolin horizontal and the right forearm in line with the strings.

Martin

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## vkioulaphides

Ah, I see... You are, of course, right: I have simply never experienced the torque you describe, due to the position of my right arm to which you also correctly AScribe the cause of the rotation. _Capito_.

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## Neil Gladd

Now that I had quit looking, and was shopping for something totally unrelated, I found myself face to face (or face to roll, as the case may be), with the aforementioned shelf liner. I bought black for concert use and blue for more casual playing, so I guess we can now "shelve" this topic.

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## jasona

*groans*

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