Getting More Betterer I have been reading “The Inner Game of Music”, which I highly recommend. It’s not a religion or philosophy, though it can be. One or two ideas from that book can really make a difference. Anyway, through some of the thinking in that book, and lots of coffee chat afterword, and being tired of struggling with technique for its own sake, I have a useful perspective I can finally put into words. It applies to most of us, but perhaps not all. ...
Updated Jul-07-2017 at 9:42pm by JeffD
The outstanding Frank Solivan joins us this week all the way from the windy Grand Canyon! Here Frank plays the classic George Gershwin tune, "Summertime" on his very own handmade Solivan mandolin. Originally from Alaska via California, Frank Solivan now lives in Alexandria, VA. After a stint playing with the Navy bluegrass band Country Current, Frank set off to start his own progressive group, Frank Solivan & ...
Updated Jul-03-2017 at 11:03am by dbmandolin
We usually concentrate on our own business but the following is so outrageous (but indicative of some of the repair stories we get) that we want to warn: Let the Player Beware. Bruce’s story: I was contacted recently by the repair guy of a not-too-small music store asking me how the truss rod worked in a mandolin. I asked him if it had a nut on the end of the truss rod, or could it be adjusted by with an allen wrench. He said it had a nut and I told him it’s a single action ...
Bruce estimates that 20% of the instruments he receives for repair have the bridge base flipped around- treble for bass. If you notice a decline in tone/volume after a string change, check the bridge. If the base is flipped the bridge doesn't fit well and sometimes can even cause a hum between the bridge base and the soundboard (top). A simple precaution is to mark the bottom of the bridge base with a T and B when ...
Hey Cafe users! Cane Mill Road's new album "Five Speed" is out and available for purchase! you can order it here: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/canemillroad I have played with Cane Mill Road for three years now, I did a brief stint on Guitar during the time when the album was made but I now play Mando and Fiddle for the group! (I play both Mando and Guitar on the album) Please check us out on Facebook: ...
Happy birthday to everyone's favorite fiddler, bluegrass boy Kenny Baker, who was born this day 91 years ago. I recently learned this epic 5 part tune that he wrote, and wanted to play it in his memory. You can now get a tab/notation transcription for this video, and all of my other personal solo Mandolin Mondays arrangements on my Patreon site here: https://www.patreon.com/davidbenedictmandolin Happy Picking! ...
Updated Jun-01-2020 at 4:50am by dbmandolin
Grand Ole Opry mandolinist Sterling Abernathy is with us this week on his toneful Gilchrist F5 mando, playing a beautiful solo arrangement of the Debussy piano piece Dr. Gradus Ad Parnassum from the Children's Corner Suite. Sterling Abernathy, originally from Broken Arrow, OK, now lives and performs professionally in Nashville, TN. He got an early start in music and by age 13 he was touring full time as part of the young group ...
The phenomenal John Reischman is with us for this week's Mandolin Mondays with a stunning chord melody arrangement of Charlie Parker's Yardbird Suite played on a gorgeous Heiden Heritage Model F5 Mandolin. John is a mandolinist who needs little introduction. Over the years, his incredible tone, imaginative compositions, and tasteful playing across a wide variety of genres have made him a pillar of the modern mandolin idiom. ...
Mandolin Mondays #75: Steve Smith is with us this week playing and singing a powerful solo rendition of the famous "Crossroad Blues" on his Ellis mandolin. Now based in New Mexico, mandolinist Steve Smith has been in the mandolin business for quite some time. Back in the 80's Steve got his start playing with the hot young bluegrass band from Charlottesville, VA, called Cloud Valley, featuring Missy Raines on the ...
Hang on folks this is important. Every year I throw a large music party at a local state park pavilion. At times we have had as many as 65 or 70 attendees. Once or twice we had three simultaneous jams, old time and traditional, hard core Irish traditional, and one for old country and western songs. Mandolins, yea, but banjos too, fiddles galore, two or three cellos, maybe an accordion and a clarinet, one or two autoharps, and many guitars. Been doing this for ...
Recent Comments
