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Morning Has Broken is more Celtic than you might know. The tune was written in the 19th century by a Scots woman who spoke only Gaelic. I am not sure I remember her name - Mary Macdonald, maybe. The...

This is off topic, because you need an organ for it -- but the finale of Saint-Saens' Symphony in C is a great wedding march, when you don't want one of the over-used ones.

My Sawchyn Beavertail fits the need -- but I'm keeping it. Sawchyn has retired, so if you see anyone who is unwise enough to sell theirs, grab it.

Playing in keys that allow more open strings is easier for me, especially now when I am able to use only the ring and pinky fingers of my left hand, but I agree with learning to play in all keys.
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I think it is like most choices in music: One, the fact that you can doesn’t automatically make it a good idea. Two, it depends.

Because we are a mandolin orchestra, all the people in the same...

My APC has a reasonable but not great sound. The C string is a bit tubby when fretted, despite the long scale length. Tuning is very stable, in spite of a slight cave-in of the top under the bridge....

I’m no singing expert. But from what I’ve observed, Simon, I think your range is fairly typical for a man. I suspect you can add a note or two on each end when you warm up well.

Doing warmup...

Thanks for posting that, Simon. I listen to that video quite often.

For Russian oktavists, The Legend of the Twelve Thieves is like Orange Blossom Special for American fiddlers: They HAVE to sing...

I'm not a fan of the high screechy sound. In fact, my favourite singer is the late Vladimir Pasyukov.

But as many have said, the right key is the one that is good for whoever the singer is,...

Recently someone advertised a "14 string mandolin" on Craigslist here in Vancouver. The poster said that he honestly didn't know much about the instrument. It clearly wasn't a mandolin; it had one...

Many Russian songs, such as Odnozvuchno Gremit Kolokolchik.

This has nothing to do with mandolins, but there's even more difficulty in talking backward than you might think. If you taped Tom Hulce's "backward" phrase in Amadeus and played the tape backwards,...

Unless my left index and middle fingers heal quite a bit more over time, I won’t really have “positions”. After my self-inflicted injury (I Fought The Saw And The Saw Won), I have only the ring...

As others have noted, the idea behind the harp guitar also gave us the medieval theorbo. The concept may have reached its (il)logical limit with the Ukrainian torban, which more or less combines a...

I bought my Sawchyn Beavertail OM (serial number 0784) in March 2022, and Peter Sawchyn retired just over a year later. Now I'm wondering: Octave mandolins aren't as popular as mandolins. Did he...

Judging from the pictures, it appears that you put the new strings on already. Did the seller tell you that these are very light gauge strings? If NOT, you should probably take them off, find the...

It would be easier with a narrower neck. But I feel that I get some benefit from the technical challenge. I play in a mandolin orchestra, so my job is almost always basic bass lines, not many rapid...

They certainly come in different nut widths. Mine is 1 3/4, which is huge.

I have no connection to the seller and won't be buying it -- but if you've wanted a ragmakamtar all your life, there's one available.
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From everything I've read about them, Big Muddy instruments seem to punch way above their weight, if you define weight as price.

Thank you so much, everyone! This encouragement and support is inspiring and truly beautiful. Music for the love of music creates community, and this Cafe certainly is one.

Zookster, I failed to...

In late September last year, I nearly chopped off the index and middle fingers of my left hand with my table saw. The blade cut cleanly through the tendons, bone and nerves,leaving only some skin and...

I feel like Kenny - speed has less attraction now.

The mentions of 112 bpm and 120 bpm for contra dancing piqued my curiosity. I learned New England contra in the 1970s from Ralph Page, who almost...

I agree with Mark - it's not a rule. Consider the fact that in barbershop harmony, the tenor sings a harmony note that is above the lead's melody note about 98% of the time.

You do want to pay...

Big Muddy mandolins are in your price range, and they're hand made.