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I contribute my inability to learn new material by ear to a lack of natural music talent. Believe me I have tried to train my ear, but beyond the ability to quickly play rhythm along side someone...

There have been a number of ways and methods of reading/writing music that have come and gone over the years. Some of these are still used today. “Shaped notes” immediately comes to mind, but there...

Conversations here too often posit this as an either / or proposition which I find both amusing and saddening in equal measures.

In this case "versus".

I started off learning by ear and...

Yikes, Martin, how did I miss this? Too much work at the end of the semester.
That's a handy sized accordion.
Just enough basses to really add some chordal texture to your playing and not too...

Yes, it does. I was looking at the straight line at the top of the third digit - more like a 5 than an 8.

I like the Ren Faire theory, too. The image of the lutist, the "Santa Cruz" reference ......

It’s best to go from the outside of the neck , through the neck into the neck block. The direction of the arrow in the thumbnail sketch by Mike.

Coming to mandolin from guitar, there is a faction that is vehemently anti-standard notation. This same faction is also usually anti-music theory.

It comes from the guitar’s roots as a folk...

I have always thought that tab works best with some understanding of dots and that paper (tab and/or dots) will work better with a little help from the ears.

notation

If by "dots" you mean standard notation, then I'm in a similar place with the mandolin. I find the notation to be easier to sight read and to gain a broader understanding of the piece of music. The...

Is it just me? I know many, many posts have been published regarding tablature and dots and players preference for one or the other. But I wonder if it is just me that finds tab to be simple in...

I bought this interesting "mandolino" on eBay, sold by Goodwill in Salinas, CA. The label says it's by D.W. Snyder of Santa Cruz, and has 4 strings with friction pegs. I can't find DW Snyder on the...

Yup, a big old wood screw with a strap button on it can be used.

If you can't return it - or it is too costly to do so, then that looks a candidate for a "strap button repair": basically reglue the neck as best you can, then fit a strap button on the heal with a...

Depends on where you live. See, for example, Wikipedia entry ‘mandola’
In this case, the OP may be referencing usage in Japan. I guess it would always be good to mention scale length, string tuning...

Isn't it an Octave mandolin? The tuning GDAE indicates that .

Here's a handy link to the Ikegaku online store.

Mick

I wanted to share my wonderful experience with purchasing a bowl back Mandola from Ikegaku in Japan

I've been wanting to dip my toe into GDAE Mandola for a while, after reading Robert Margo's many...

This is looking good...Do you have some side views of the neck alignment?

It looks as if the neck sheared off from the neck block from picture #2. These were integral in Italian bowlbacks as...

Sadly the joints on the Monterey model are not very deep (mortis and tenon type, straight sides, no dovetail). They didn't always make the tightest fit so again, not the best construction to work...

If you can't get a refund, before I threw it in the trash I would squirt some wood glue in there and clamp it with a C clamp. Cost is zero, worth a try. I wouldn't worry about the fingerboard...

Mick, you have won the prize for the cryptic label challenge!

213019

I believe the label is from a "Stridente" mandolin.

I'm seeing an "IDE" on the fragment with the familiar circular surrounding border.

I'm away from my files right now but will track down a...

We need to see more, and that instrument is going to need a heck of lot more than just a bridge.

Georg Friedrich Händel (1685-1759):
1. Gavotte in G Major (HWV 491) - 0:00
2. Passepied in A Major (HWV 560) - 1:10

These are my settings for mandolin and mandocello of two brief baroque...