Mandolins Are For the Birds!

[Mark Miller]

The call and response at the end of the second cow video is hilarious. Thanks!

[Toni Schula]

Oh when the cows come marching in.

[Timbofood]

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast" so often misquoted as "beast" but, here (hear) you have proof, some critter have taste.

[Mike001]

i didn't have a mando back then but my little sun conure "Tbird" used to bob and weave and sing at the top of her lungs whenever I played guitar. I lost her a couple of years ago and today would have been her 14th birthday. The best friend I ever had.

Now this little guy is a different story. His name is "Toodles" and he retreats to the safety of the kitchen cabinet whenever I pull the fiddle out. Can't blame him though.

[Barry Wilson]

Birds are a big inspiration to me in music. I used to jam with our cockateil. He could whistle in tune but liked the blues best. He is gone and we had one of his little girls for many years. She liked to listen and make the odd sound but females don't mimic as well as males. I wrote Fly about a couple hawks I was watching at a job site, Just another day was about this baby crow that visits me every morning (not a baby anymore) that brings me pebbles for food then listens to me play lol.

At the job site I had these chickadees. They loved hearing country roads on ukulele. I told my girlfriend and she didn't believe me. One day she was there visiting and I left the trailer door open. I started playing another song first and nothing. TYhen country roads. They were along the top of the door and hanging on window screens chirping away. When I finished and started another song they flew off. The look on my ladies face was priceless. I miss that job site. The new place I just get coyotes coming to listen

[Emmett Marshall]

Now this little guy is a different story. His name is "Toodles" and he retreats to the safety of the kitchen cabinet whenever I pull the fiddle out. Can't blame him though.

I look at it this way: As long as it's not a banjo, it's not animal abuse - just sayin'.

[twilson]

Check out Josh Williams. About 1:30 in he has a visitor.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7vBo0ptYJNs

[Mike001]

That is amazing!!!

[Emmett Marshall]

Check out Josh Williams. About 1:30 in he has a visitor.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7vBo0ptYJNs

I had to watch this twice. Wow....that little sparrow was chirping and actually letting Josh pet it. Yes, amazing.

[DHopkins]

I've had cockatiels for almost 40 years. One sings the Andy Griffith theme, one is learning it. Cockatiels are not as talkative as many parrot species so they haven't learned "Blue Moon of Kentucky" yet but you never know. The Mayberry fans are both males. Males tend to learn to mimic more than females and are frequently more vocal in general.

[BJ O'Day]

My dogs like the mandolin. I have recently started practicing with a bagpipe chanter. My younger dogs howls when I play. At first I thought she was singing with me, then I realized she was at the back door howling to get out.

I have recorded it on a mini-voice recorder but I don't know how to post it here.
BJ

[David L]

It can go both ways: A friend of mine is writing a rag based on several meadowlark songs called, of course, "Meadowlark Rag".

[Beanzy]

Here's what someone else came up with, it could be worth a go to see the reaction ....

[Jess L.]

Here's what someone else came up with, it could be worth a go to see the reaction ....

Cool!

Looks like the cows get their own musical clef, (2nd clef from top on right-hand side of picture), a "c" shape (for cow, of course). The little-known Cow Clef! *


* Yeah I know, it's probably supposed to be a bass clef that was just drawn reversed (???) or something, doesn't really look like the standard C-clef (which I've never used but only heard about it in theory class a bazillion years ago), but I like the Cow Clef idea better.

Anyway... thanks for posting that pic, cool stuff.

[journeybear]

There's a member who has had some fun playing with/for/at a flock of wild turkeys. Fun stuff. I expect he'll be piping up soon enough.

As to mockingbirds ... I've been trying to teach them the wolf whistle for years, to no avail. Some seem to reply with something similar, but I've never heard one duplicate it. I am pretty sure they are either seeking a mate or marking their territory with their calls. Neither of these associated endeavors have any interest for me. And I figure the feeling is mutual.

Anyone who has watched something on PBS the last few years has likely seen the spot in which a frustrated composer sitting at his piano gazes out his window and his eyes light upon birds sitting on some wires, which he interprets as notes on a staff. Inspired, he plays them on his piano and - voila!



Along those lines, there is this:

[journeybear]

OK, his name is Jim Nollman and his website, Interspecies, will give you more info on him and his projects. The interaction with turkeys, "Music to Eat Thanksgiving Dinner By," is described here.

Here are the results of his efforts. Sorry, but there is no MC after all. That's my fuzzy memory for you ...

[Jim]

My Llamas seem to like Mandolin tunes in Dmaj. My dog joins me in the studio most often if there is a female singer present.
My dog is generally attracted to female voices and, since she is from a shelter, I expect she was previously bonded to a female. The Llamas probably hung out with guitar players and are just sick of all that stuff in A minor and C