Greeting, a new member to the group who is not Irish or from Ireland but enjoys Celtic music. First started on hammered dulcimer and found my way to the mandolin. Can anyone from the group offer insight on background playing techniques. From what I have read, when not playing melody, the mandolin would accompany by simple strums on the beat. What other styles are common?
pick a drone! always sounds great
Counterpoint, subbing minor for major chords e.g Em for G, Bm for D etc., harmony, tremolo...
Just to revive this thread, I would appreciate some more detail about this too! I'm learning to play more and more melodies (speed is another issue!) but accompaniment is a different ball game. If it seems appropriate (and I realise that it isn't always appropriate) to strum along at a session, how can I try something that will add to the music? By the way, does anyone here know the Frank Kilkelly book about accompanying Irish music (http://www.irishguitar.net/)? I'm not a guitar player myself, but I bought this as a present for a friend. Might it be useful for me to look at too?