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The aesthetics are important. Certainly aesthetics are secondary to tone and playability and build quality. But, even within those limits we do need to consider shape of the instrument.

A lot of what is important to me about music is its connections to past music. And the aesthetic connection helps with that. I can more easily see myself as a part of something gigantic with a long history and legacy if my instrument is either old, or looks similar enough to what was used "back ...

I have a theory that MAS is born of the endorphin hit one experiences acquiring a new mandolin, and the panic inducing thought that we may never experience that again.

I was just congratulating a member on her new mandolin and I got to thinking about this. Not wanting to hijack her thread and her joy on her new mandolin day, I thought I would share my thoughts here.

Rod Neep is a member here, though I we have not heard from him in a long time. in 2009 he did what we would ...

I have had my share of tragedy and sadness in life. Not significantly more than most and much less then many. My point is not to get sympathy, but to share a few things I have figured out.


Limited resources due to unforseen life events taught me at a relatively early age that experiences are better things to pursue than possessions. Experiences cannot be stolen by thieves or lost through carelessness, or divorce, or destroyed in a hurricane, or repossessed by the bank.
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We all go through grey and dark times: Being alone when I did not want to be, being with people I’d rather not be. Not having what I want and having a lot I don’t, not being who I want to be by this time, or worse, having to ask myself, as did Peggy Lee: "Is that all there is?"

Being caught in a lie, or worse, being caught in a truth.

And darker times.

Losing friends over ridiculous arguments far less important (or informed) than was the friendship. ...

There is a syndrome, in my experience much more common among some guitar players, where bragging rights accrue to getting the absolute cheapest most beat up instrument possible. I think it has to do with resolving the cognitive dissonance of playing blues, down and dirty blues, on a guitar costing a couple months pay, or more, at a good job. Authenticity, or something like. But whatever the reason, a fellow carrying a guitar that looks like it was found in the men's room of the New York City Port ...

In various threads about getting better you will hear complaints about how little time is available for mandolin. Working two jobs, keeping three kids fed, negotiating four ex-wives, only five days of vacation… I hear you.

This is not a “priorities” lecture, I am not going to tell you that you have the same 24 hours in a day that everyone does, this is not going to be a time management tips and tricks discussion.

My experience is much more gradual and organic. Mandolin ...

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.
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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 ...

I recall, a long time ago in a grade school far, far away, a teacher attempting to take us into the very distant past and get us to imaginatively appreciate ancient history in the first person. As if we were there, in ancient times, living it. This must have been fifth grade, or likely earlier. A class mate raised his hand and offered the observation that, “it was much easier to go to school back then. Kids didn’t have as much history to learn.”

I think this is a very American observation. ...

I have shared my thinking regard super star mandolin performers. Here and here.

Well let me relate a recent experience and share with you a new thought, or at least a new way of saying it.

The other night I was sitting around playing with some friends. I was the only mandolin, and I was sitting with two guitars, four or five fiddles, two banjos, and a church bass. Adult drinks were in attendance as well.

We were collectively and individually having the time ...