Bluegrass Mandola

[Mandobar]

Tobin is right. Tunes like Gold Rush loss a lot of their sound on mandola, at least in the usual keys. This is true also for other styles if music, including Celtic. I tend to play chords and or accompaniment on these tunes or switch to mandolin.

[lenf12]

Joe K. Walsh and Grant Gordy play some very tasty mandola and guitar in this video from Peghead Nation. They have obviously worked out where each of them is going to play to preserve that duet style. Enjoy!!

https://pegheadnation.com/featured-v...-flowing-west/

Len B.
Clearwater, FL

[Ancient]

This is how I deal with this situation: I play and read for mandolin, not mandola. So, to avoid having to learn a whole new tuning, my music partner and I work with music that is written in a suitable key for mandola. The music is written in a key that is a fifth down from my key. For example, if a particular song we are playing is written in the key of G for me(mandola), then the key for my music partner(harp or accordion) is C. I would be reading music written in the key of G, but sounds like the key of C when played along with another instrument, i.e. harp or accordion. We typically work in the keys of C, G and D, and sometimes the key of F. It all revolves around the circle of fifths.

[allenhopkins]

This is how I deal with this situation: I play and read for mandolin, not mandola. So, to avoid having to learn a whole new tuning, my music partner and I work with music that is written in a suitable key for mandola. The music is written in a key that is a fifth down from my key. For example, if a particular song we are playing is written in the key of G for me(mandola), then the key for my music partner(harp or accordion) is C. I would be reading music written in the key of G, but sounds like the key of C when played along with another instrument, i.e. harp or accordion...

We get into a bit of confusion as to what "playing in a key" means. You're using the chord fingerings for playing in G on the mandolin, but when translated to the mandola, are actually in the key of C. This is the kind of "head transposition" that those of us who play mandolin family instruments tuned in GDAE (mandolin, octave mandolin) and CGDA (mandola, "sopranolin," mandocello) have to be able to handle.

Experience makes it easier; I get goofed up infrequently, but after 30 years of playing not so often as before.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I've been involved in the discussion on here regarding Bill Monore's use of an F4 mandolin on a couple of his famous recordings :- 'Big Mon'' & ''Monroe's Hornpipe''. I first heard them back in 1965 after buying the LP ''Bluegrass Instrumentals'' by Bill Monroe.
Even back then,i could hear a tonal difference in those 2 tunes compared with the others on the LP. The recent discussion's made me wonder why the F4 style has been so neglected within the context of a Bluegrass band !.

I was amazed several months ago when watching Adam Steffey's YouTube demo. of several Northfield mandolins. When it came to demoing. the Northfield version of the F4,their F2S model,i was blown away by the wide open,tone & apparent volume of it.
A good sounding F4 could easily substitute for a mandola (IMO) - not in terms of ''depth of tone'' but in the ''difference of tone''.
I'd honestly wish i had the spare cash to buy an F2S,i reckon it could sound terrific in a Bluegrass band, Certainly,the ''difference'' would be enough to distinguish it from the usual F5 style,
Ivan

[sgarrity]

Oval holes work just fine in bluegrass as long as you're mic'd. In jams they just tend to blend in too much.