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Two things about this have always seemed fairly evident. First is that men frequently express affection for, dote on, and even caress objects that they possess such as instruments and vehicles, and...

I fought with the difficulty of adapting my mandolin knowledge to mandola for several years. In fact, there are probably a million and half bitching and moaning posts here on the Cafe about it.
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Just a note to thank all who have been involved for making the pick sampler project successful, from Caleb, who got it all started, to all who have participated, all who have donated, and all who...

Prescription: playing real music yourself. What makes me uncomfortable about these songs is the unbearable urge to remember where I've heard them before. Apart from that, it all sounds boringly...

We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile.

It does depend on your personal style of learning. Something will be the way that makes sense. (You have to be looking however.)

You also have to get comfortable with the idea that you will see...

I am an avid promoter of a certain style of Strad-O-Lin mandolins. They have the comma f-holes. The body is slightly smaller than the average A shaped Gibson mandolin and - as far as I know - it was...

Sue, After a certain amount of postings on the forum at Concertina.net, I found my "rank" had been changed to "Chatty Concertinist"

I'd say take that book money and spend it at Artistworks or Peghead Nation for beginners lessons. More bang for your buck than books. If you want notation on paper, you can also download notation for...

I don't know if you ever listened to his podcast he did the last year or so of his life. If you haven't you should. It is priceless. It is near the bottom of his webpage at the link below.
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Agreed. Some of these Stradolin's ring like a bell, feature 90-year old wood, and most are well under $500!

Glarry Hard Mandolin Cases are inexpensive from Amazon and Walmart online. Music stores charge more. Also, if you haven't played a 1930's - 1940's Stradolin you are missing out on a real treat.

In addition to writing novels like Erasure, adopted for Oscar-winning film American Fiction, he plays jazz and repairs old mandolins.

The part I bolded above is what I call the false promise of technology. Things are introduced as labor saving, but it never works out that way. In the early to middle part of last century social...

I teach mandolin and I will tell you (the short version) of what I do with my students and what I figured out to do when I was a beginner bridging into intermediate level.

You have not been...

George Orwell foresaw this music in 1948 when he wrote 1984 - “The tune had been haunting London for weeks past. It was one of countless similar songs published for the benefit of the proles by a...

:)) :))

Wow, there is a lot of great stuff here!

I’m sorry if someone already mentioned something along these lines …

Watch some live videos of some of your favorite players, there are more “clams” in...

In terms of memorizing chord progressions of jazz standards – it's helpful to be aware of the "mini progressions" found within these structures. Within most any 8 measures of a standard tune you'll...

Topic started in 2004 and an invitation to reply to the thread. That gives me a clear conscience . I bought an old Neapolitan that came in a very shabby case made of hardboard.That was inside a made...

Sad story.

I wonder how the mandolin wound up getting away from the family? I guess the father didn't pay rent on the storage locker maybe? If you don't pay the rent the rental company will take...

I was checking out an Estate Sale in my neighborhood and came across this Strand-O-Lin.
I have never owned a Mandolin and know nothing about them but this really caught my eye. It was marked at...

One time at school when I was about 15 in a Religious Knowledge class a friend next to me gave the teacher a long serene but sickly smile.
Then when he knew that everyone was ready he said, ‘who is...

Getting derailed by one mistake is a sign of not really having the tune down. Derailment can happen to anybody at any time, so it's essential to be able to hop back on with missing no more than a...

I've had a full day with it now and man, what an instrument.

I'm not as storied or worldly as some other Cafe members, and I do not have a myriad of experience with other high end mandolins....