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  1. Replies
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    Re: Flat, no hole, open back mandolin

    No it's not a banjo mandolin. It was all wood, perfectly round and flat, no hole with an open back. Some kind of specialty mandolin. Imagine a flatiron mandolin without a hole and no back.
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    Re: Left hand technique

    That old book was actually pretty cool and worth a look. Some of the left hand things it touches on are similar in violin lessons (obviously you don't hold it the same).

    I took violin lessons...
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    2,546

    Re: Tune a ukulele like a mandolin

    I have one of these and I replaced the first string with a heavier string, probably some kind of mandolin G string, and I tune it either DAEB or CGDA. It sounds sort of like a little banjo more than...
  4. Re: If money was no object, and perfect bluegrass tone was only g

    If money was no object and tone the only goal I would practice all day instead of working.
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    16,142

    Re: instrument an offensive weapon (no mando)

    I carried a McNally Strumstick on a plane in its soft case (which unlike the picture in the link was green and has no giant logo on it). TSA did not hassle me. They asked me what it was and I just...
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    16,142

    Re: instrument an offensive weapon (no mando)

    I love my octave banjolin. I think it sounds nice. I think accordions are great--a band in a box. The trumpet player in my high school jazz band had his choice of girls.
  7. Thread: Ocatjo

    by sbhikes
    Replies
    14
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    4,216

    Re: Ocatjo

    It doesn't have a strap at all (yet--I have a strap somewhere), but even with a strap, if you are sitting down to play it, it's going to be on your lap. I kind of like it without the resonator but...
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    9
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    3,333

    3/4 of an octave mandolin

    Is there such a thing as a 3/4 of an octave mandolin? I turned a strumstick ukulele into something tuned in 5ths, DAEB. The D is an octave lower than a regular mandolin. The distance between the...
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    10,166

    Thomastik-Infeld string weights

    I have read a few threads here about Thomastik-Infeld strings. A friend of mine recommended them to me. He plays a flat-top Irish mandolin and it's very loud. He let me try the strings and they are...
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    8,802

    Re: Picked up a fiddle recently..

    I'm impressed by the upright bass. Maybe you think it is easy, but everybody is pretty used to bad fiddling and have long ago learned how to not even hear it. If you were bad at the bass, playing the...
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    8,802

    Re: Picked up a fiddle recently..

    I started out on fiddle and gave up for several years. Then I went back to it. I found that I had actually improved a little bit as far as being able to play in tune. I decided to cheat and bought...
  12. Re: Does anyone get depressed or even semi-suicidal when they hea

    Nobody likes the sound of their own voice on a recording.

    I don't sing but the first time I recorded myself on mandolin and played it back I was surprised I was a lot better than I thought. Same...
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    Re: Fiddle (not mando content)

    My dad joined an orchestra as an adult. He chose the oboe because nobody plays the oboe and he figured if he could figure it out he would be first chair. The oboe sounded so horrible as he squawked...
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    5,592

    Re: Fiddle (not mando content)

    I took piano as a child for 5 years. I don't play piano now. I can barely even read music anymore.

    I sang in the choir in high school. Those are some of my fondest high school memories. I think...
  15. Thread: Left hand

    by sbhikes
    Replies
    15
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    6,831

    Left hand

    I went to a concert last night in an intimate setting to see a very gifted mandolinist (a very gifted trio, really). I have never seen anyone play the mandolin with such skill in person. I took note...
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    11,706

    Re: Don't be nervous

    At our jam we do have exclusive gigs and sessions and it's not to get away from newbies, it's more to play with the people we like to play with. I'm not invited to them all but I am invited to some....
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    11,706

    Don't be nervous

    A lot of people report wanting to have a solid base of tunes or skills before they play with others, or maybe that they just want to practice something more or have more variations they can rely on...
  18. Thread: Goals for 2019

    by sbhikes
    Replies
    46
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    12,138

    Re: Goals for 2019

    I want to second Mandobart's comment above. It's better to play with others earlier than later. You will learn a lot more when you play with others. As a person who learned how to play at the jam,...
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    Re: How do you speed up the left hand?

    Try playing in the dark or with your eyes closed. I really think the key to playing the mandolin is being able to do it without looking. I've tried to help a lady at my jam by telling her to stop...
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    9,058

    Re: How do you speed up the left hand?

    I've taken a metronome and started slow, then ratchet it up more and more, little-by-little until I just can't do it at all. I practice some little piece that I struggle with. It helps a little, and...
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    Re: In Praise of Mediocrity (?)

    Yeah, it took me about 180 days, counting the days off I took. Sometimes I hiked 30 or more miles a day, sometimes less. I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail. I did about half of it in 2008 and half in...
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    Re: In Praise of Mediocrity (?)

    Yes, we definitely need more hobby players.

    A few years ago I went for a 3000 mile hike. Now nobody will go hiking with me because they think I'm "too fast". Well, first of all, that was long...
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    Re: In Praise of Mediocrity (?)

    I always hate it when people tell me I'm so talented. I'm not. I have been playing the mandolin for over 10 years. I've worked at it causally, but I've still worked at it. 10 years of working on it,...
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    Re: Was Neil Diamond Right?

    Embrace the mediocrity.
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    Re: What is Groove?

    I think groove is sort of like lift in Irish music. It's when you get the flow and the tempo and the timing just right that it sounds right.
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