Re: Lots of notes vs. defining the melody
I'd suggest, if OP wants to adopt a more "melodic" style, to learn some fiddle tunes -- just the melody -- and play them cleanly as possible. Then start improvising off the melody, perhaps playing some harmony notes, or emphasizing the chord transitions by playing the mandolin equivalent of guitar "bass runs" rather than the strict melody.
I have been guilty of learning a repertoire of "standard licks" which I call on when playing an unfamiliar tune -- useful, but also a bit of a crutch that leads me away from learning, and clearly stating, the melody. There is another issue, which is in banjo-led bluegrass, many of the instrumentals are built around a series of arpeggiated 5-string licks, which don't translate as well to the more "linear" mandolin. So one improvises a mandolin break over the chords, which may suggest the banjo melody, but not follow it note-for-note. This is one reason I suggest fiddle tunes as a transitional repertoire, since the identical tunings of the two instruments make the tunes "sit easier" on the mandolin.
Instrumental pyrotechnics can be crowd-pleasing, and can also be a way of establishing players' stature with other musicians, but they also, sometimes, detract from clearly playing the music so that both audience and musicians relate to the way it was intended to be played.
Allen Hopkins
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