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Just heard about this week long event happening down in Ennis from May 20-24th, some great instructors lined up, including Marla Fibish for mandolin and Angelina Carberry for tenor banjo. The...

I prefer slim shallow necks that have a V to them. Too much meat in the shoulders of D, U, or rounded V neck gets in the way for me and makes it feel like I'm fighting the neck to get around. A V...

There are soooo many Irish tunes that you can hear at any given session, and different localities may have different favorites that come up more often. An impromptu sit-in on a session at a bar...

They'll definitely play all or some or none of those tunes.
My top beginners tip for any session:
Learn at least one tune that you can start confidently and steadily on your own. Don't play it...

There are definitely loads of tunes that everyone knows but I agree with Joe Robinson- the tunes played at sessions are typically pretty specialized to that pub and players.

If I could make a suggestion...seek out a session close to where you live, and start your journey there. I think it will help prepare you for your trip across the pond better than just focusing on a...

There is one available on the Pomeroy website as well that looks gorgeous.

https://pomeroyinstruments.com/pomeroy-256-a-style-oval-hole-in-oil-varnish/

Northfield is putting Gotoh tuners on their mandolins - at least that’s what was on my F5S and they worked wonderfully.

Rubner seems to be a popular choice here, too.

Sorry y'all, had a hell of a time uploading pics from my phone. Hopefully this works :grin:

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I totally agree! However, I've probably played a dozen pre-Loar A's over the years, and some had way more mojo than others. So, I always suggest that people play before they buy --- which may mean...

Some years ago I saw an ebay auction for vintage string packets. I ended up with about 2 dozen of the wax paper "The Gibson" strings from approx 1905-1915. I'm down to just a handful now, since...

I've never seen a person stick their hand down a catfish's throat at a session, but someone's done it, somewhere.

Last night at a local pub session, a couple who were leaving the pub came over and put £20 on the table and said thanks.
Well, the £20 note said "thanks" anyway , I guess. I left before the end but...

When I teach ITM, my main focus is on 'mechanics' or technical ability. People generally are learning the instrument as well as the tunes and most often, they stumble over their own fingers more than...

Just wanted to say thank you to all the folks that have been participating in this thread. Have learned a lot.

And yes, it does appear that sessiuns are a whole different world than what I...

Sessiuns historically have been a local social activity. Nowadays we'd be lucky to meet the same people again at the same sessiun. Moreover we are in a world where commercial music of all kinds...

So, how do I communicate the importance of a sensitive and respectful approach that tries to take in what is happening first, and waits upon the groups tacit or overt permission before jumping in?...

Great question. Even experts learn 'little by little' but they learn pretty quickly; because they have developed skills in recognizing patterns and in listening, and in 'handling the instrument'....

Learning the tunes beforehand makes it way easier to jump in, 'twould be way less nerve racking than trying to keep up with other players if ye don't know the tune well yet. The website below is a...

New Mandolin Day. Newly acquired by the person posting. And picture(s) always required or at least desired. This Brentrup is one beautiful instrument. Off topic but zi do wish Homestead would...

Marla Fibish is also teaching as well.

I should probably start this thread with an apology in advance for the hours of your life you will never get back. But I won't apologise for the meandering journey of fascinatinon and distractions...

Here's some songs for ye:

Radie Peat & Daragh Lynch from the band Lankum

XHF4kcMod8w

Ye Vagabonds:

dgeIBnjNLic

If you want to go down a rabbit hole of great Irish trad music, the YouTube channel for Hup (a great trad programme that was on TG4, our Irish language station) is a good starting point:
...

I don't think anyone needs a teacher these days - anything a teacher could teach you, you can find online (often free).

I think every mandolin player needs a coach. Someone to lead them in the...