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A year ago, the orchestra I play with in Athens Greece (MandolinARTE) performed its last concert before the pandemic (ahhhh good times).

Anyway, we played a beautiful piece of music from the...

I would like to share a video I just uploaded on Youtube of our recording of Johann Sigismund Weiss concerto for guitar and orchestra.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Dcmc5vPx4

The...

I am really impressed with the amount of interaction and discussion this thread is enjoying. Thank you all!

I would like to share a story as food for thought:
A lot of years ago (early 80s) I...

Thanks for the comments DavidKOS! I have seen my share of "wrong" or "weird" pick holding techniques over the years, but lately I am re-considering and I now think of them as different...
Also,...

I have made a lot of experiments over the years related with the technique of holding the pick and I have soon realized that there is no right way to hold a pick. This is perhaps easier understood by...

I would like to share with all mandolin lovers using Mandolin Cafe forums a great mandolin-related success story taking place now in Greece.

MandolinARTE, the Plucked Orchestra of Athens is giving...

I have ended up with the following pattern:
- at the beginning, when learning a song, I never use a metronome,
- once I have learned to play it without big mistakes, I use a metronome cause it...

Jim, David,
The next rehearsal of the mandolinarte orchestra has been setup for the 15th of December. I will get a full copy of the piece then for you guys.
It is going to be a nice piece to...

I think that really tremolo can be very expressive, and in this case it matters how it starts and especially how it finishes (slowing down). Anyway, that is why playing music is so nice. Everybody is...

The best tremolo I had ever heard was from a senior in a mandolin orchestra in Greece. I wish I had a way to measure how many strokes he was doing per second. It was amazing, a completely continuous...

I am afraid the classical guitar approach is really not suitable for the mandolin. I am a classical guitar player as well and I know what you mean.
Here are some points to remember
- Position first...

Hi all,
the Mandolin Orchestra of Athens (Greece) just released its web site: www.poa-mandolinarte.org

I am proud to be a member of the orchestra playing octave mandolin and also the one that...

Thanks Kieran, I love Piazolla music. I want to record some more, hopefully soon.

The Plectrum Strings Orchestra of Athens where I now play the octave mandolin, is working on Otono Porteno from a...

Django,
thank you very much for mentioning my blog here at the mandolin cafe. I am humbled as the mandolin cafe is really the best site for mandolin players, I truly admire it as a resource and I...

A couple of years ago I wrote this article that may help as well (playing mandolin without backpain):
http://www.themandolintuner.com/holding-a-mandolin/

Hi Janette,
I also have spine issues, had a surgery 3 years ago trying to fix a broken disc at my lower back. My advise:
- One thing that may help you is to avoid staying at the same...

Ross Daly is highly considered in Greece. You can read more here:
http://www.rossdaly.gr/en/texts-recommendations/63-cretan-music-by-ross-daly-

That was so good. Actually I am Greek and yes, the Cretan not only distinguish Cretan music from Greek one, but they would like to have the island of Creta "Κρήτη in Greek" a separate country from...

Oh, this thread is so good!

So, I believe that being picky about hitting both strings is an exaggeration! With this I am trying to say that you should not worry about hitting both strings. As it...

Maybe I would add:

Slow = Correct + Relaxed + Effortless

When watching great players, you (we) sometimes wonder how effortless it looks when they are actually playing in a super-fast tempo,...

I think some good advise would be to to watch a known player carefully and copy his style.

In a few words, when holding the mandolin with your left hand, only the pad of the thumb and the side of...

I think the article here may help you as well.
I suggest you start with the information provided, but remember, go slowly and take things easy to ensure you don’t hurt your finger muscles. It may...