When it comes down to it, it's just music. I don't necessarily play folk, rock, blues, classical, or otherwise. I play mandolin, and bass. The music I play on those instruments is a mixed bag of everything from Bach to the Beatles, Bluegrass to Metal. Alternative, Progressive, whatever. I started playing mandolin to do solo performing because I have never been able to find a group of musicians on the same page as me, and I want to play certain things that may not seem to fit with anything else, and no one I played with got the concept of doing your own thing with the music. But are more than willing to do a bands cover, not thinking about it being a completely different genre of music that this group arranged to their groups genre. E.G. Bach's Bouree (classical), done by Jethro Tull in 1969, becomes a jazz tune. Why not?. This is the fun of it for me. Arranging music to fit what I do. Rock on.
I play a lot of 70’s era “Rock,” Beatles,
America, Cat Stevens, Elton John, Dan Fogelberg, James Taylor, and especially Seals and Crofts. Early S&C got me hooked on the mandolin. Dash Crofts played a mix of classical sounding and rock leads on the mandolin that is still uniquely his style of playing. That era of folk-rock type music sounds really great on the mandolin, (sometimes even when I play it).
At any given Saturday night noisemaking session ("more than a jam, less than a gig") our still-evolving and thus still nameless band is almost guaranteed to play at least two songs each from Creedence Clearwater Revival, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd (not gonna bother looking up the spelling), Bob Marley (of course), and Jimmy Buffet (borderline "duh" considering location). Most of these had neither mandolin nor fiddle in them as originally recorded, but depending on the mood of the moment I play one or the other--and occasionally both--in every one of 'em and will probably start slipping mandola and/or alto fiddle into some of the slower ones.
Straight-up bluegrass, on the other hand ... I can listen to it all night but I hardly ever play it. That's just as well, since my preference for oval-hole mandos has only gotten stronger over the past few years.
Northfield F2S
Howard Morris A-4
Eastman DGM3 Mandola
Eastman MD805PGE
Miscellaneous tingums
Folk instruments are played for free. Musical instrument players are paid.
I play:
* Saltarelle Bourroche chromatic button accordion
* Ozark 2240 Mandolin
In my spare time I run https://www.mudchutney.co.uk selling folk music and celtic themed t-shirts, hoodies etc.
Well, natch! The thing was born for blues. It's mainly what I use it for. Most of the old blues and jug acts featured mando, at least sometimes, for good reason: You can shred.
If you haven't, check out the Memphis Jug Band (I love those guys), Yank Rachell, and Johnny Young.
And for contemporary sounds: Rich DelGrosso. I listen to his "Get Outta My Business" and "The Ragpickers" albums over and over. Too much fun!
(And actually, I limit what I do intentionally. I'd rather be good at a few things than bad at everything.)
She was just saying it was how she liked to do it. Nothing wrong with that.
It might be how her mind organizes things. Or what sounds good to her.
Or it might be that on mando she's only comfortable with basic major and minor scales and a short list of chords. When I have an audience, I try to stick with what I'm good at.
Whichever way, live and let live. As long as she's having fun and entertaining people, power to her.
Since I took up the mandolin and started perusing this forum, I have not only learned about so much music I never knew about, but also was reminded of things I haven't listened to in years and years and years. Based on reading this thread, for instance, I'm listening to a 1974 album by Seldom Scene. I didn't think I knew this band, but in listening, I realize that I heard some of this music when I was in high school and forgot all about it. Honestly, the mandolin and you people have brought music back into my life
Thank you. Thank you.
Sue
PS. I listened to the Memphis Jug Band this morning.
Purr more, hiss less. Barn Cat Mandolins Photo Album
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