I have to admit that for the last few years I have been using my Sobell octave mandolin/ 8 string cittern / bouzouki or whatever it's called principally as a rhythm instrument or for accompanying songs.
Not sure why really. I think perhaps it's because the pitch of the instrument means it sometimes gets lost in a group situation, whereas a tenor banjo has more cutting power and mandolin can carry above guitars and things.
However recently I have been playing it much more for melody - sometimes capoed up - and I have to say it is great to reconnect. I have been playing rather differently than I used to. I like to make use of the open strings and play the tune right up around the tenth and twelfth frets. Crosspicking, I suppose.
It made me reflect on what attracted me to the instrument in the first place. I think it sounds great on the sort of Scottish tunes Ossian used to play with Billy Jackson's harp and Tony Cuffe's guitar, and their well-known version of St Kilda Wedding with George Jackson on cittern. Early Battlefield stuff was nice. Brian McNeill once made an album called Monksgate which featured a lot of cittern which I really enjoyed. And Gerald Trimble's first album remains a classic. I also enjoy David Surette's playing (on all his instruments actually).
http://www.amazon.com/Monksgate-Bria.../dp/B0000023YU
But at the same time it's great for Scottish pipe tunes. So I guess my plan for the winter is to play it a lot more.
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