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Thread: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstandard

  1. #1
    Registered User Narayan Kersak's Avatar
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    Default Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstandard

    Irish mando player here. Been curious to explore some other styles of music. Not much an old time or bluegrass. Although I did try searching google for "weird bluegrass mandolin solos" or "Cool bluegrass mandolin solos". Nothing really came up except really well played standards, which I can appreciate musically, but looking for something a little more squirrelly. I'd be fine with even some standardish stuff, that maybe does stuff that is surprising, or takes an interesting twist while remaining musical.

    Hard to describe. I'm imagining there must be some non-standard stuff out there, that's not standard but also not extreme avant garde. Looking for insights or suggestions.
    Asheville Celtic Mandolin Blog and Tablature Resource.
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    The Asheville Celtic Mandolin Collection: Standard Notation, Tablature and Chords for the Celtic Mandolin https://a.co/d/2KaJwBq "] - Tablature, Standard Notation & Chords to 50 Celtic/Irish Tunes.
    Hurdy Gurdy Music - https://youtube.com/@TheHurdyGurdyWi...nCX2BHJY7jCVM4
    The Mud Larks - Hurdy Gurdy and Nyckelharpa - https://the-mudlarks.com/

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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I mean... why should it be "mandolin music" that's your boundary? My main focus has been on jazz for a third of the time I've been playing. People are always a little shocked to see a mandolinist at a jazz jam but find it pretty cool. If you like that, take a list of the top 100 jazz tunes and learn some. Get a bit of theory under your belt. If jazz isn't really your thing but you're super into metal, get out the pedalboard and plug in! Any genre you want is in your grasp, no song too far.

    Also, a good standard that is chock full of squirrelly stuff is Have You Met Miss Jones. Maybe listen to the Ella Fitzgerald version to get an idea of the song.

    Hope that helps,
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    Registered User Narayan Kersak's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Thanks Sam. Good idea. I was focusing on mandolin music primarily so I could observe the techniques specific to the mandolin, in whatever genre I am unknowingly searching for. ; )

    I will check that out though.
    Asheville Celtic Mandolin Blog and Tablature Resource.
    www.AshevilleMandolin.com
    The Asheville Celtic Mandolin Collection: Standard Notation, Tablature and Chords for the Celtic Mandolin https://a.co/d/2KaJwBq "] - Tablature, Standard Notation & Chords to 50 Celtic/Irish Tunes.
    Hurdy Gurdy Music - https://youtube.com/@TheHurdyGurdyWi...nCX2BHJY7jCVM4
    The Mud Larks - Hurdy Gurdy and Nyckelharpa - https://the-mudlarks.com/

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    Registered User DavidKOS's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Quote Originally Posted by Narayan Kersak View Post
    Irish mando player here. Been curious to explore some other styles of music. Not much an old time or bluegrass.
    Quote Originally Posted by Narayan Kersak View Post
    Thanks Sam. Good idea. I was focusing on mandolin music primarily so I could observe the techniques specific to the mandolin, in whatever genre I am unknowingly searching for. ; )

    .
    How about using the "Ballo Liscio" thread and learn some Italian music? After all, it was an Italian instrument first!

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    Registered User mandolin breeze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Quote Originally Posted by Narayan Kersak View Post
    I'm imagining there must be some non-standard stuff out there, that's not standard but also not extreme avant garde. Looking for insights or suggestions.

    Have you visited the Dawg Pound? It's a musical wonderland . . . . https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...321-Daily-Dawg

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    Registered User DougC's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Consider other regional styles of "Celtic" music. Breton, from Northern France, Cape Breton from NE Canada and or Scandinavian tunes. Often you will find Irish and Scottish players use tunes from these places as 'something different'.


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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Quote Originally Posted by DougC View Post
    Consider other regional styles of "Celtic" music. Breton, from Northern France, Cape Breton from NE Canada and or Scandinavian tunes. Often you will find Irish and Scottish players use tunes from these places as 'something different'.


    That was great, thanks for sharing. I was not aware of Breton style celtic music. Will be diginin in!

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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    There are two books of Italian folk music collected by John T. LaBarbera (there IS another John LaBarbera) few of which are performed regularly other than by, ya know, my local Italian music friends. Almost necessarily, they ARE mandolin music.

    A quick search, however, shows only this one. Maybe the other is out of print?
    https://www.amazon.com/Traditional-S...44995223&psc=1
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Check out all the categories under "Music By Genre" toward the bottom of the Forum page. Also click on "MP3 Library" under "Learn/Listen" at the top of the page. You'll find a great variety of musical genres.
    Robert Johnson's mother, describing blues musicians:
    "I never did have no trouble with him until he got big enough to be round with bigger boys and off from home. Then he used to follow all these harp blowers, mandoleen (sic) and guitar players."
    Lomax, Alan, The Land where The Blues Began, NY: Pantheon, 1993, p.14.

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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I love playing swing on the mandolin - there's a lot of really cool stuff by folks like Don Stiernberg, Aaron Weinstein, Grisman, and etc that I would totally recommend checking out.

    I'm a big fan of 80's and 90's music in general, so I also play a lot of that style of music for fun. Sweet Child of Mine is surprisingly similar to a fiddle tune haha.

    I agree with Sam. If you lose the "mandolin" part of your search, you'll get a lot more options
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I really liked Sierra Hull's most recent album, which is pretty bluegrass inspired but is definitely non-traditional.

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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Quote Originally Posted by milli857 View Post
    I really liked Sierra Hull's most recent album, which is pretty bluegrass inspired but is definitely non-traditional.
    Her stuff with Cory Wong is amazing too
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPGbj1gFalA
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT-W-UEcsns
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjUI274ag4

    She and others like her are opening up the instrument to a lot of cool things.
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Besides other Scandinavian, there is also Finnish mandolin -

    Heikki Lahti was one of the pioneers. There are a number of his videos on YouTube. Here's an example -



    Another great player is Jarmo Romppanen -



    There are many others, but those are two of my favorites.
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Quote Originally Posted by mbruno View Post
    Her stuff with Cory Wong is amazing too
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPGbj1gFalA
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lT-W-UEcsns
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTjUI274ag4

    She and others like her are opening up the instrument to a lot of cool things.
    That whole Cory Wong album is awesome. I love that he brought in 3 different amazing bluegrass players (Sierra Hull, Bela Fleck, and Billy Strings) for his funk album.

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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I have been playing lots of Québécois and other French-Canadian music and have also been exploring the traditional music of France.
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    https://youtu.be/_qf5CwtKivc

    ^^^
    I really love Ashley Broder’s approach to the mandolin. Definitely not the well-traveled path. This piece is a great example.
    ...

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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I've been transcribing tunes by Leveret, Andy Cutting, Wood & Cutting, Shooglenifty & Jerry Holland. So many good tunes available and resources using Musescore and The Session.

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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I think Peter Ostroushko probably has you covered
    Stormy Morning Orchestra

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    Registered User Michael T's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Maybe some Brazilian Choro? It seems like there is a decent amount of instruction out there for it on the mandolin, so you wouldn't have to start from scratch.



    Also, I'm not sure exactly what genre this is, but it's Mike Marshall and John Reischman playing something other than bluegrass, and it's super cool!

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    coprolite mandroid's Avatar
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    Question Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Argentinian Astor Piazzolla , did not write for the mandolin , but perhaps you can work up your own arrangement.

    And on the other side of the border shared with Finland is Karelia .
    They with the Karelian folk music ensemble, http://kfme.onego.ru/

    they include a player that also plays the mandolin in the group for some songs...
    They played my town, we have a Suomi Hall.

    Can you Read Violin charts, in standard notation?



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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    klezmer, gypsy, slavic, greek ... ukrainian ... i mean, if an instrument has played it you can probably mimic it in mandolin, within reason.
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    English? OK most of it sounds like ploddy fairground music but there’s some good stuff in any genre.

    Sportsman’s Hornpipe.
    The hoses brawl (actually might be french but has a cool dark twist in the C section).
    Old Morpeth Rant/Hesleyside reel.
    https://youtu.be/L3jafvjjNSo
    The valiant.
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    New anything

    There are some American old time tunes with crooked structures that’s might interest you. The only ones I know though are Cherokee shuffle, Old black cat, Elk river Blues.

    Like the others said, Scandi stuff is especially interesting but I haven’t got around to exploring it yet

  33. #23
    Registered User Eric Platt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    Randi made me realize another great one to try on mandolin - Miserlou. Our band plays it when we are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It still has a following with folks dancing to it. The link includes an early recording and also sheet music.

    https://folkdancefootnotes.org/music...sirlou-greece/
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    Default Re: Looking for different mandolin music to learn-obscure/nonstan

    I just came back from a trip to Norway (oh boy, what a beautiful country!) and bought a couple of sheet music books: Norse folk music and wedding marches from different parts of the country. I'm sure I'll find some treasures there!
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