Saying Farewell

[8ch(pl)]

I have not been very active on the forum for the last few years.

I have to say so long, Arthritis has made it impossible to play Mandolin. I last performed at the funeral of a Beloved friend 13 months ago.

I am starting to sell my instruments off, I have a tentative offer on my Mid Missouri M4. When it is gone, I shall sell the M1. I am keeping my Samick.

I have been playing Ukulele laely, but it is getting hard to do.

I have enjoyed my years reading and contributing to the forum. It breaks my heart that I can no longer play Mandolin.

Thanks for the support you guys have given.

[Caleb]

I have enjoyed your posts a lot over the years, especially when I've toyed off and on with getting a Mid Mo. I'm so sorry to hear that you have to give up playing. That must be tough, and I can only imagine. I hope you can find another hobby worthy of your time and attention. Hang in there.

[Timbofood]

No reason to depart the forum! You still offer your perspective which is what this whole thing is about, sharing opinions and information. Stop, if you must, playing the mandolin, he said. But, keep the thoughts flowing, he plead!

[MediumMando5722]

Sorry to hear that. See if you can't find something more productive and lucrative than music... which would be basically anything

[Willie Poole]

I also have arthritis and have to make two note chords now days but I still play with the band and I have learned to do two note chops that are not as good as four note chops but they do the job OK...By all means stay on the Café with some insights and comments, some of us need all of the info that we can gather...

Just say so long for a while....

Willie

[red7flag]

Wish you the best. Recently arthritis had been kicking up. Then life interceded and was forced to work more than a full time job for the next two to three months. As such, I am not playing as much and the pain has gone away, for the most part. I would stick around. The best stuff at the Cafe resonates with all parts of life.

[JEStanek]

I'm sad to hear of your body impeding your play. Keep checking in from time to time, you still have much to offer the community.

Jamie

[PJ Doland]

Have you actually gone to see a rheumatologist?

Some people just accept this as part of aging and don't consider that there are ways to treat the problem.

[Denny Gies]

The best to you. Hope you can find some relief with the pain.

[Mandobar]

I had some hand issues a while back, but was fortunate to find that the medication I was putting on my knees works really well on my hands (you have to get it on your knees somehow, right?). While it is only FDA approved for knees, it really works well for wrists, hands, etc. It's called Pennsaid. It's not available through every pharmacy, but you might want to ask your doctor about it. The cost may be prohibitive for some, but the company offers up to $1200 (via a coupon) through a program offered through their website.

There are some really good therapies for arthritis these days, including acupuncture and other alternative therapies.

[catmandu2]

Overuse/chronic pain has prevented me from playing fretted stringed instruments as well - it's very difficult to give these things up.

I've found solace and salvation in other instruments - even other stringed instruments; some are perfectly ergonomically amenable and present none of the ergonomic challenges of mandolin and fretted strings.

[allenhopkins]

1. Don't leave music behind. Get a harmonica -- or another instrument that makes fewer demands on the fingers. Transfer what you can of your years of knowledge and experience, to making music in other ways.

2. Just because you're not playing mandolin doesn't mean your interest doesn't continue. You have much to contribute, and many friends here. Athletes who've had to give up participation in their sports, still follow their teams, keeping up friendships and weighing in when they choose. You can be one of the "old timers" who keeps the young whippersnappers in line...

3. There are therapies and medications being developed and tried all the time, to alleviate conditions like yours. You've probably been working with your rheumatologist, but never throw in the towel. My busted wrist led to months of sometimes painful physical therapy -- and I know it's not completely analogous to a long-term degenerative condition -- but it was pleasantly surprising how much function was actually recoverable.

Good luck!

[Randi Gormley]

Sorry to hear about the arthritis, but please consider checking in occasionally. We'd miss you if you went away entirely.

[8ch(pl)]

Thanks for all the kind words. Unfortunately the arthritis is in the index and middle fingers of the left hand. I can't even press down Uke strings. I will likely hang around the forum.

I am going to go more into Harmonica, which I do play, maybe I will play better . I can also still sing so music will go on.

I got a tentative offer on my Mid Missouri M-4.

Thanks again, the Forum has meant a lot to me over the years.

[Caleb]

Lap steel might be a good option to consider.

[Willie Poole]

Or even the dreaded dobro...Ugh

[allenhopkins]

Or even the dreaded dobro...Ugh

Hey! As a part-time Dobro-ist, I resemble that remark...

On the subject, a female musician I once played with here in Rochester, had no left hand, due to a birth defect. She had an attachment made for her left arm, that held a steel bar at the end, and she was able to play guitar Hawaiian style.

If a person with no left hand could play Dobro somewhat, one with a functional though stiff-fingered hand could certainly do so. There are more ways than one (or two, or more) to make music.

[bigskygirl]

So sorry but don't leave and give up! two finger chords only require two fingers and you have ring and pinky...

Not being glib...I had surgery on my left index finger a few years ago and used the other fingers until it healed, dobro is a good option too, best of luck!

[CES]

So sorry to hear that

[Jess L.]

+1 (agree) with all the comments to stay around the forum.

All the wisdom and practical knowledge that a person acquires over the years, can be helpful to other people.

And it works both ways - people here sometimes post the most intriguing videos with really cool music, sometimes about mandolins, sometimes not, but always worth a listen to make sure one isn't missing out on some great music.

I also agree with what everyone has already said about trying out different or new instruments.

It doesn't even have to be a real instrument - the way I see it, if the only thing a person is capable of doing is writing notes in a computer music-writing app, that's still a way to make musical stuff (arrangements, tab, your own MIDI drum tracks etc).

On that latter thought of computerized writing... the last year or so I've become intrigued by trying to invent 3-part harmonies for common tunes, no instruments necessary at least to start with. I use a free open-source music-writing app (new tutorial here, replaces the old obsolete one) to try out different notes to make different chords, then I put it on a loop and listen to the playback for a while until a certain note begins to irritate me, then I go change that note, listen some more, change some more stuff, etc. No I'm not a 'composer', because I have no idea what I'm doing, but that doesn't stop me from having fun with it.

I guess my point is that there can be alternative ways to enjoy music.

Just don't quit music altogether - I did that once, I figured if I couldn't play then I didn't want anything to do with music at *all*, I just wrote it all off. That was an unhappy phase that lasted for a number of years.

In my case, what got me back into music, was:

• The encouragement of an old friend who recognized my state of dire musical drought & despair, and
  
• A low-tension extra-light-gauge super-low-action electric instrument - a cheap GDAE-tuned guitar capo'd up way up the neck for nice short scale length.

I don't do chords, only single-note stuff (I don't play bluegrass so the no-chord thing is not an issue), or two notes on adjacent strings (often only one of those notes is actually fretted).

Anyway, the main thing is to avoid doing stuff that causes more joint damage, but to still try to come up with some way to enjoy music in some other way.

I realize in my case anyway, complete healing is not likely to be attainable due to genetic factors, "it is what it is", "stuff happens" and all that, but I can still aim for "not making things any worse than they already are" while still keeping my toes in the musical world.

I only play an actual mandolin for a few minutes while making a new recording. The rest of the time I use the aforementioned single-strung super-light-strings electric getup, which isn't going to impress acoustic-only traditionalists but hey, can't please everyone.

(Oh and for the infrequent times when I play the actual mandolin, I should note that it too uses extra-light strings, plus, due to my amazing incompetence & ineptitude while filing the nut slots, that mandolin now uses the 1st fret as a "zero fret" which makes the resulting scale length 1 fret shorter than normal *and* makes the strings even more slack for easier fretting. I was going to replace the nut but I kind of like it the way it is. Can't say as I'd necessarily recommend my "cut the nut slots all wrong" approach to reducing string tension (a capo on the 1st fret and detuning a half-step would give the same result), but hey it turned into an unexpected bonus for me.)

Anyway, wishing you the best on your continuing musical journey.

[Frankdolin]

Please don't leave because of any physical reason. The only thing that can really stop us mandolin players is a flat-line. As long as there's a logical thought in our brains we can imagine. Even if you just hold your mandolin it will give you pleasure. And we definitely don't want to lose your insight and life experiences if you leave the site.It sucks and it's hard to lose some of our edge as we age but we must fight harder, never give up.

[grassrootphilosopher]

I have not been very active on the forum for the last few years.

I have to say so long, Arthritis has made it impossible to play Mandolin. ...
I have enjoyed my years reading and contributing to the forum. It breaks my heart that I can no longer play Mandolin.

Thanks for the support you guys have given.

You´ve been active here and I appreciated your contributions.

Don´t neglect your colon when it comes to arthritis. I don´t want to wisecrack and I don´t want to appear as a knowitall. But sometimes things that may have an impact are overlooked. I remember reading a post by Don Grieser who stressed dietary motions that relieved him of a trigger finger...

Other than that, don´t leave music. There´s much more to it than meets your eye/ears.
Stay safe.

[8ch(pl)]

Flat Line - is that a string for a Flat Top?

[Bertram Henze]

Flat Line - is that a string for a Flat Top?

Yes, and it used to be green in the old days

You can choose to avoid technical details of playing, but you can't walk out on Music when it has you. We will keep on hearing from you, we definitely will.

[Br1ck]

I respect someone's not wanting to be reminded about that which one can not do. I'd council the OP to make music in whatever capacity he can.