Today While Mandolinin

[Mark Gunter]

Today while mandolinin, I discovered that my iPhone makes much better mandolin videos than my webcam.

[allenhopkins]

Yesterday while mandolinin', I came back from singing Irish music at two seniors' residences (no mandolin involved, just banjo, guitar and concertina), stuck my Sobell mandola and Flatiron octave mandolin in the car with the Fishman SA-220 column, mics and stands, concertina, other paraphernalia, drove to the American Hotel in Lima NY, and did an early evening St. Pat's party with my band Innisfree. Pretty full house in the back room, and we did many jigs, reels, waltzes and hornpipes, plus vocals ranging from seasonal cliches (Danny Boy, Wild Irish Rose) to bellowing sing-alongs (Wild Rover, Black Velvet Band). Split $500 among the four of us, had a late supper of delicious soup (I had a bowl of "Garbage Plate"; Rochesterians will understand the reference), got home in time to watch the Daily Show.

[soliver]

HAHA!.. Yesterday (for me too) while mandolinin I set out and tried 44 different picks from the Mandolin Cafe Traveling Pick sampler.... YUM!!! I see why the blue chips cost $35 a piece!!! If I could justify that purchase, I would totally get one! Also liked the Dunlop big stubby's. Also finished learning Cooley's Reel... What a great tune!

Mostly just painting today... My how the honey-do list interferes with my mandolinin!!!

[Mateus]

HAHA!.. Yesterday (for me too) while mandolinin I set out and tried 44 different picks from the Mandolin Cafe Traveling Pick sampler.... YUM!!! I see why the blue chips cost $35 a piece!!! If I could justify that purchase, I would totally get one! Also liked the Dunlop big stubby's. Also finished learning Cooley's Reel... What a great tune!

Mostly just painting today... My how the honey-do list interferes with my mandolinin!!!

That pick sampler was a big eye opener for me too! Ordered some v picks thanks to it, i loved the quality-price of those picks!

EDIT: Almost forgot!

Today while mandolinin....not much mandolinin but finally figured out how to dowload the tef files from mandozine's website on my android phone. Now I have tons of beginner and intermidiate practice material! Woooooo!

[Mark Gunter]

Today while mandolinin, tabbed out a Dm Doc Watson style version of Little Sadie for mandolin, and started playing around a bit with Dylan's I Threw It All Away

[Zach Wilson]

Today while mandolinin... I found a lot of joy in playing some simple tunes while I had the house all to myself.

[Jim Hudson]

Played bluegrass with an old friend and others on the front porch while we watched a storm blow in from the north with lightening and thunder. Mmmmm, life is good.

[Mark Hawkins]

Today while mandolinin my maid heard me practicing in the next room and called out, "Is that a ukulele?" Now I'm wondering if my playing is that bad or if I need a new maid.

[Emmett Marshall]

Rough start today. I overslept from practicing too much the night before. We almost missed the plane. Then after a turbulent flight in thunderstorms, we had to circle JFK for an hour. Then the limo driver, who was supposed to meet us, was at another terminal. Long story short, we made it to Carnegie Hall with barely enough time for a sound check. Seconds before the performance, my "E" string breaks. My instrument tech brings out my backup Loar, and I've got to use that. We finally get going and guess who's in the front row? Yep. Sam Bush. I gotta say, I played my butt off. Plenty of coffee, so mother nature calls me, but the show must go on. About 14,000 showed up, but not enough room. Half showed just to try and get scalped tickets at the last minute. Everyone really dug our music. Loyal fans. After the gig, Sam Bush and David Grisman ask me to autograph their mandolins. I couldn't find a pen.

Anyway, I finally make it back to the hotel and I can't get into my room because Scott Tichener wants to do an interview at the same time that local media are fighting it out. It was quite a scuffle, but I answered the questions. I'm starving and room service was taking their sweet time. I can't live forever on champagne. I decide to trash the room - what the heck. Then my alarm clock goes off and I'm suddenly teleported back to my apartment in North Dakota. It hits me that Sam Bush, David Grisman, and Chris Thile remind me of a lion, a tin man, and a scarecrow. I take out my mandolin and get back to work on my "G" chop chord.

What a day!

[soliver]

Today while workin', I wished I had more time for mandolinin'

[JeffD]

Rough start today. I overslept from practicing too much the night before. We almost missed the plane....!

Well done. I loved it.

[Mateus]

Today while mandolinin'...decided to clean up my notes from a year or two ago about the songs i was trying to learn at the time. Had about 5-6 all written out in tab. Decided to keep Rose Tattoo and House of the Rising Sun and wrote them out in standard notation. Huzzah! More songs to practice and tweak!

[Jim Hudson]

Figured out a basic intro and lead for Eight More Miles to Louisville. Great song, thank you Grandpa Jones.

[JeffD]

I was reminded that the most sublime music is often not recorded or even played in front of an audience, but spontaneously happens between musical friends in kitchens and family rooms and back porches, or individually on the couch in the living room. Also that massive amounts of expensive equipment doesn't seem to be required.

[Mateus]

YWM...my journey to learning the portuguese blues known as Fado continued late last night as I finally found some sheet music I could use to try and play a song on Mandolin.

[Mark Gunter]

YWM, I learned Caledonian Laddie (a beginner melody version) from Brad Laird's Mandolin Song Book.

[Mateus]

YWM, I learned Caledonian Laddie (a beginner melody version) from Brad Laird's Mandolin Song Book.

Is that an irish tune?

[Mateus]

TWM...my v picks arrived!!!!
2 medium sized ultra light pointed picks & a tremelo pointed mandolin pick!
EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

[soliver]

TWM... I reminded myself how to play Cooleys Reel and got good enough at it to share it with wifey and she actually liked it... Not enough time to spend with the pick sampler though

[Mark Gunter]

Is that an irish tune?

Scottish, I believe.

TWM, I brought my mandolin to the coffee shop with me . . . I spent the evening proofreading/editing on the manuscript of my son's first novel (proud Dad here), a took several mandolin breaks on a bench just outside the coffee shop. Beautiful evening, fun times.

[soliver]

TWM,.... I filmed myself with my iPhone playing Whiskey Before Breakfast with a bunch of different picks from the sampler... hope to post it soon

[JeffD]

Today I wondered how my life has changed with music. If I gave up mandolin tomorrow what would I do with all that time. And, to be interesting to newbies, where did all that time come from. I never remember not being way too busy, and yet here I am jamming twice a week and rehearsing with a band once a week and with a recording partner once a week, and practicing, and also messing with that electric mandolin - and yet, the house stays neat and clean, the dishes and the laundry do not pile up, the bills get paid, I work too many hours a week, etc., how did my life evolve to this point - where without the mandolin there would be a huge mandolin shaped hole in my life.

[Mark Gunter]

and yet, the house stays neat and clean, the dishes and the laundry do not pile up

Obviously, you have figured out how to spend time practicing and playing mandolin rather than making messes in the house, eating, or changing clothes. You're a mando hero to us newbies! I neglect my guitar and have quit eating and changing my clothes, but still make a mess in the house, hopefully I'll figure out how to play this thing if I keep at it. I suppose I'm heading in the right direction.

[JeffD]

Obviously, you have figured out how to spend time practicing and playing mandolin rather than making messes in the house, eating, or changing clothes. You're a mando hero to us newbies! I neglect my guitar and have quit eating and changing my clothes, but still make a mess in the house, hopefully I'll figure out how to play this thing if I keep at it. I suppose I'm heading in the right direction.

Its a real question. I spent a whole glass of bourbon on it last night.

One obvious thing is I gave up television. But I wasn't watching that much television anyway.

Another is that I hired out all the yard work to ambitious neighborhood youngsters.

A less obvious thing is that all the housework and "home maintenance" took longer. I think it takes up all the time it can. How much time did I spend carefully folding underwear and socks, and how fixed does the house really have to be?

I dunno.

[Mateus]

Great insight Jeff and Mark!
I find myself always having to pick between my many hobbies. But recently mandolinin' has just taken up my priority list. Might be different when World of Warcraft's next expansion drops but hopefully not!

TWM...I will get going on those new v picks and hopefully get back to you guys with a little review!