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When something's not happening, it's very often a lack of rhythmic wherewithal. Rhythm is the backbone and the life blood of music. Phrasing, flow, syncopation, accent, nuance, vitality - all...

Musicians who engage me emotionally through their musicality seem to be those who are able to move from playing or singing the song well, into a place where they live within the moment, subjectively...

Then yea, figure out what the tune itself is trying to do, and help it along. I think your new journey is, in many many ways much more important that getting faster and more gymnastic.

It is not...

Some of it is the notes you leave out, the virtuosity you don't display, the sensitivity you have to the "feel" of a song -- which may vary widely, depending on circumstances. A high-speed,...

How about cooking versus baking? I’m told that baking requires strict and reproducible process - as do members of a symphony orchestra. Cooking is process with improvisation, tasting, revision -...

I believe it a lot like cooking, you can throw together a bunch of ingredients and call it a meal or you can make gourmet magic happen with the right technique and skills.

I have used heavier strings (a mandola set) on a trinity octave mandolin. It worked a lot better for me.

My first OM was a Trinity and I had no string issues. You should not have to 'fight' with any string on this OM in my experience. I don't think that .46 will be too light at all. I hope you quickly...

Please report back I just bought an octave with unknown strings and EJ80 as backup

What is your scale length?

Greetings,

A friend of mine just bought a Northfield Archtop Octave, although a different build from yours and a longer scale at 22", their sets are a little bolder than the EJ80s.

Archtop...

Hi,
In my own opinion (not being an octave player, but playing mandolin and having a lot of experience working on guitars) I’d say you want a slightly heavier gauge on there ... either that or the...

Thanks, especially for that video, crash2. This is an interesting thread for me as I'm trying to go beyond playing straight melody. Can't figure it out by watching others play.

Disclaimer: I'm no instructor, but I have fumbled my way thru lots of chord-strum melodies (for lack of a better term).



YIKES! Talk about VERY challenging timing, almost as complex as the...

you might could try what is referred to in jazz as "call and response"... play a single chord, 2 or 4 bars etc of the chord at different tempos (your call) and then play a portion of the major scale,...

Try a search for chord melody instruction. Aaron Weinstein is a well known teacher of this technique, and Mel Bay stocks his book on the topic. (NFI)