Blog Comments

  1. Paul Statman's Avatar
    Thanks so much for this, Scott.
  2. d18daddy's Avatar
    Fantastic!
  3. John McCoy's Avatar
    This is wonderful. Thank you
  4. PeterO's Avatar
    Many thanks!
  5. Drew Streip's Avatar
    Thanks thanks thanks!
  6. Mgottlieb's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by billkilpatrick
    how to make a million playing 'em - that's the question!
    Become a McArthur Fellow 😊, ⛏&🙄
  7. Mgottlieb's Avatar
    When you take the mandolin making out of Montana you pretty much take Montana out of the mandolin.
  8. danielpatrick's Avatar
    Thank you for sharing!
  9. Ted Eschliman's Avatar
    Gold. Pure gold.
  10. Tom Haywood's Avatar
    Right on.
  11. Folkmusician.com's Avatar
    Scott's post here is 100% correct.
  12. billkilpatrick's Avatar
    how to make a million playing 'em - that's the question!
  13. Denny Gies's Avatar
    You go Scott, thanks.
  14. mandolinfox's Avatar
    Definitely one of my favorite musical autobiographies, along with "Miles: The Autobiography". I thought the rough language actually added to the charm - it made what he said more real, as opposed to so many autobiographies that just try to gloss up a performer's legacy. But what came through the strongest to me is Charlie's love and devotion to his brother. It was a complex relationship, and Charlie details it beautifully - even the f***ed up parts!
  15. Jack Pearl's Avatar
    Great Book - best musical memoir I've read. Carries you right along to the last page.
  16. ccravens's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Denny Gies
    This is a very good book, highly enjoyed it; but the best?
    Well, in fairness to Scott, it is a totally subjective thing.

    I've read lots of music bios, and I would say its a good one and interesting, in spite of the large amounts of cursing.

    "Best" is a matter of opinion, of course, but the world would be boring if we all had the same opinions.

  17. Denny Gies's Avatar
    This is a very good book, highly enjoyed it; but the best?
  18. LongBlackVeil's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by maudlin mandolin
    You left out Banjo Ben Clarke - surely worth a mention.
    Yep banjo Ben was how I learned my first few breaks. Him and mandolessons.com really got me off on the right track.

    I had no clue Mike Compton was on peghead now. Im definitely looking into that!
  19. Niavlys's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by dang
    I use this a lot, I just wish they had a 0.75 speed option.
    I wrote a little script recently to remedy this very issue. It's a "bookmarklet," meaning you just have to create a bookmark with the code and then click the bookmark when you're on a YouTube page.
    Here is the thread I posted about it: http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/sh...ube+slowdowner
  20. darylcrisp's Avatar
    many thanks Scott
    i did not know this

    d
  21. Richard J's Avatar
    thanks Scott, once again the Cafe is the best.
  22. farmerjones's Avatar
    wow! Like this site is sao excellent!
  23. mandotool's Avatar
    disturbingly easy...how long has that been there?
    (sound of me kicking my self)
  24. Jess L.'s Avatar
    Those 3 pictures explain it fast and efficiently, however it shouldn't be news to anyone as I posted a quick video of how to do half-speed YouTube back in September:

    [YOUTUBE=DttCIKAeAYw][/YOUTUBE]
    (or direct link)

    It was posted in the MandolinCafe thread called Slowing down You Tube video .

    Still, good to have a reminder of these things once in a while.
  25. dang's Avatar
    I use this a lot, I just wish they had a 0.75 speed option.
  26. Brad Sicotte's Avatar
    Great tip Scott, thanks!
  27. mingusb1's Avatar
    Thanks Scott, now what excuse do I use when I can't play the tune?!

    Note: the speed adjust option does not appear when I'm using Internet Explorer browser for youtube, but does appear when I use Google Chrome.
  28. HonketyHank's Avatar
    Scott, thanks for pointing this out.
  29. 9lbShellhamer's Avatar
    Thanks for sharing. I didn't realize this was an option. I was just watching someone take a break on Reuben with a clean shot of the fretboard and I was wishing I could slow it down. Presto. Done.
  30. maudlin mandolin's Avatar
    You left out Banjo Ben Clarke - surely worth a mention.
  31. bigskygirl's Avatar
    I agree, we have access to some of the very best at affordable prices, flexible schedules, and various formats.

    I've been Skyping with Emory Lester for two years now. I like his approach to playing mandolin and his teaching style is very laid back. He's very approachable and willing to entertain any number of questions from this mando newbie. He sends audio files of tunes for ear training and jam tracks to play along with with.
  32. darylcrisp's Avatar
    I've enjoyed lessons from Artistworks(Mike Marshall) and Baron Collings(Mandolessons.com). The cost of each is very reasonable, excellent videography, audio, and explanations of everything they are showing. Availability of tabs and music on both sites are very helpful if one needs that.

    A plus for me is the availability to review over and over the same lesson, and at any time of day or night that works for me at that moment.

    d
  33. Boilline78's Avatar
    How about Alan Bibey. His laid back and friendly approach to teaching licks and helping to build a fretboard "vocabulary" is wonderful. I know for a fact that he does Skype lessons. He breaks things down nicely and will send audio recordings to help develope your ear. On top of that he's a really nice guy.
  34. greenwdse's Avatar
    I've recently taken one of Matt Flinner's courses and, yes, it was an absolute joy. I'd like to sign up for more. There are a couple other online resources that are brilliant. Baron Collin-Hill's Mandolessons are magnificent for someone like me needing vital guidance on the how-to basics and looking to expand my repertoire. And Brad Laird's lessons have been invaluable.
  35. 9lbShellhamer's Avatar
    Definitely the golden age!

    I've been taking lessons with Matt Flinner for about 18 months now and I can't speak highly enough of the format and the lessons each week. I am very self motivated and thought I could "teach myself" and it was going fine, or so I thought, for a year, and then I took Flinners BG 101 course in fall of 2014 and it's been a different world ever since, taking advancing classes as my skills progress.
    I'm learning much faster than I ever would have on my own.

    I love that with the advent of these skype lessons, and online schools, the cost is more reasonable, and the level of talent you can align yourself with is incredibly high!

    Thanks to Scott for managing the cafe and to all of these instructors for putting in the time to help us reach our goals!

    Some of the aforementioned are great players and even better teachers! It's a gift.
  36. Bob Cooper's Avatar
    I recently saw the Ger Mandolin Orchestra play in NYC. Mike is in charge of that...Katarina plays as do several other fine players....Joe Walsh as well! I bought the Bach CD....quite a great recording with an eerie 'reverb' tone to it. Thanks for highlighting this!

    BC
  37. Scott Tichenor's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Mandophile
    Thanks for providing the chat blog and everyone's comments were informative! I like the new menu.
    Just an unrelated question. When I'm on the iPhone, is there a way to get a reader friendly version?
    When you're looking at anything under the Forum you should be viewing in a mobile friendly style. If you aren't and you're seeing the regular desktop version of the site, scroll down to the very bottom left side of the page on your phone and select "Default Mobile Style."
  38. MikeEdgerton's Avatar
    Sure Scott, give away my secrets. People won't think I have super powers anymore
  39. Bertram Henze's Avatar
    The complete list of operators to be used with a colon is here.
    (and "operator" does not mean your search is performed by a bald guy with headphones on)
  40. Marty Jacobson's Avatar
    Mike Edgerton doesn't have to watch out for your posts, he just waits for his Google Alert to go off.. :-)
  41. Mandophile's Avatar
    Thanks for providing the chat blog and everyone's comments were informative! I like the new menu.
    Just an unrelated question. When I'm on the iPhone, is there a way to get a reader friendly version?
  42. Rob Beck's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Tichenor
    Trying holding down your shift key while hitting refresh in the browser. That's called a forced reload. If some of the documents that render the page don't load correctly a lot of unintended things can occur. Once your browser caches that information should be OK.
    Thanks for the update, however, it's still the same unfortunately. I tried Ctrl-F5 as well, which I believe serves the same purpose. Perhaps it's only affecting me. - Update: It's working now I think I may have had more than one browser instance open.
  43. Scott Tichenor's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Rob Beck
    I am seeing some strange rendering of the menus when I click on the "Classifieds" link when using Google's Chrome browser. Can't seem to attach an image to show you what I mean - sorry.
    Trying holding down your shift key while hitting refresh in the browser. That's called a forced reload. If some of the documents that render the page don't load correctly a lot of unintended things can occur. Once your browser caches that information should be OK.
  44. Rob Beck's Avatar
    I am seeing some strange rendering of the menus when I click on the "Classifieds" link when using Google's Chrome browser. Can't seem to attach an image to show you what I mean - sorry.
  45. journeybear's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Scott Tichenor
    I've decided the place for it is in the footer since there's plenty of room there on the Forum only and the link can now be found there on every subsequent Forum page.
    Whoops! There it is! I didn't see the link at the top of the page, so I wondered where it was, but I appreciate the explanation. Thanks!
  46. Russ Donahue's Avatar
    Very clean and inviting looking. Going through this where I work now and it is a bear to achieve a visual goal while also improving legibility and navigation. Well done. I hope we can be as successful.
  47. lflngpicker's Avatar
    Scott, I appreciate the clear and informative summary of the changes. Thanks!
  48. Scott Tichenor's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by journeybear
    I thought it looked a little different! Nice going! Neatness counts.

    Interesting to see a separate link for PMs. Convenient.

    Just one thing - I no longer see the link under Community to Member List.
    The intent of the change isn't to relocate every single link, and some of them have little or no use according to the stats. Having the Member List on every page on the site wouldn't serve much use to those people that only visit the Classifieds and Home Page for example.

    Before making these changes I looked at traffic. Member List gets just over 15 visits a day putting it behind dozens of other pages that visitors frequent. Still, I don't see a problem with having it somewhere convenient only on the Forum since that's really the only place where it matters. I've decided the place for it is in the footer since there's plenty of room there on the Forum only and the link can now be found there on every subsequent Forum page.
  49. journeybear's Avatar
    I thought it looked a little different! Nice going! Neatness counts.

    Interesting to see a separate link for PMs. Convenient.

    Just one thing - I no longer see the link under Community to Member List.
  50. Scott Tichenor's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by lklose
    This is a real improvement but what I'd really like to see is live links (like the one on the home page that got me here) that open in a new tab, instead of leaving the MC home page. This would be particularly helpful when the link is to a page outside the MC domain.

    Larry
    That's one of those link behavioral decisions that has to be made one way or the other. In this history of this site we've never created links that spawn a new tab, and I'm of the opinion it's more of a negative for the majority of the visitors vs. a positive.

    That said there are two very simple tricks you can employ to open a link in a new tab on PC or Apple laptops or desktops.

    PC:

    1) hold down your Ctrl key while clicking the link. That forces a browser to open the link in a new tab. While I've certainly not tried this in every browser it has always worked equally well in IE, FireFox and Chrome.

    2) On a PC, right click the link and select Open Link in a New Tab.

    Apple

    1) holding down the Apple Command key while clicking the link opens it in a new tab.

    2) hold down the 'control' key while clicking the link and that will provide a menu of options, the first of which is Open Link in New Tab.
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