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Thread: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

  1. #1
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    Default New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    I just added this note as a reply to the Original Music for Solo Mandocello thread but then I realized that some Octave Mandolin players might not read that thread and they might be interested in this new piece. So ...

    I just posted a new piece for big mandolins at my So Many Tunes blog titled Winter Suite, February 2019. I was at least partly inspired by "Doc James" and his continuing advocacy for new Mandocello music.

    It's a simple collection of six short tunes and I present them in versions for both Mandocello and Octave Mandolin. I even have included tab options. I also did a rudimentary recording on an Eastman OM which you can hear at either the blog site or in a more easy to stream version at Bandcamp.

    Many thanks to Jim for encouraging us to think more about music for Mandocello and, in my case, octave mandolin as well. Give these pieces a try and see what you think.

    (Apologies if this partial redundancy breaks any guidelines.)

    John G.

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    Thanks a lot, John!

    Am I right in thinking that the two versions have the same fingering, i.e. the OM version is the same as the MC version one fifth higher? I will try these out -- they look both interesting and playable.

    Martin

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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    Hi Martin,

    Yes, you are correct. The two versions are a fifth apart and are not intended to be played together by an octave and cello duo. The fingerings are the same for each instrument and the piece is intended for solo performance and enjoyment.

    (Although, if an octave mandolin player and a mandocello player did play their parts together you would get an interesting parallel fifths counterpoint sound that Lou Harrison might enjoy for the first few seconds.)

    I hope you enjoy the tunes.

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    Registered User Al Trujillo's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    Thank you Mr. Goodin. I hope the snows cease in Iowa soon.

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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    I am greatly flattered and flattened by being designated as a part of the inspiration! Here I thought I was just whining about the lack of respect.
    Thank you John, maybe I'll get to play it for you at the next CMSA.

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  10. #6
    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Jonas View Post
    I will try these out -- they look both interesting and playable.
    I had some fun with these tunes this evening. Here is how it sounds on my Suzuki MC-815 mandocello. None of them is particularly difficult, but some took a few more takes than others. The biggest problem was making the chords in the sarabande ring out in time and sound musical. One of the chord shapes as notated (the three finger F major chord in the second bar of the B part) is very hard to finger cleanly on my 'cello so I've replaced it with the standard two-finger F major chord (C major on OM) which worked much better for me.

    I attach the MP3s to this post. Here are they streamed using the Cafe's built-in player:

    1. Walking Tune


    2. Hornpipe


    3. Sarabande


    4. Reel


    5. Air


    6. Jig


    Thanks again, John!

    Martin
    Attached Files Attached Files

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    Registered User thecelloronin's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    Any tempo or articulation suggestions for these scores?
    Pomeroy #244 Custom Mandocello - "Liuto Americano"
    NS Design CR6 Electric Cello

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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    John, you mention Lou Harrison as a model and/or inspiration for you suite. But I also see a connection with the nearly standard Suites of the Renaissance and baroque, with the Prelude, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue and so on. Before the classical sonata form evolved this was a way for composers to write moderately extensive pieces with related material in a given key (with related major and minor inner pieces). Just curious if this was conscious and intentional, or if it still just stands as a way to construct a longer work with organized and related short pieces. Thanks for all this wonderful music for the high-class-low-end of the mando family!

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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    Martin, thanks very much for these mandocello recordings. It's great to hear those low notes! I know just what you mean about that chord in the Saraband, I may end up changing that. You can hear that I don't articulate it that clearly in my recording.

    celloronin, I mean for the titles of the movements to be a sort of tempo indication, much like the Baroque era dance suites I am using for my model. A "walking tune" shouldn't go at a run but it can be a slow walk or a fast one, depending on your taste, etc. I don't like to pin things down too much in general and I definitely encourage experimenting with articulations and stuff. Whatever pleases you is probably pleasing to me as well.

    Doc, I'd love to hear you play this music at CMSA. My mention of Lou Harrison was meant to include his love of the old suite forms and his open attitude towards adapting them to his own purposes. I almost didn't use the word "Saraband" because it has, for many musicians, a more precise definition than I intend. To me it's primarily just a pretty and slow tune in 3, from the world before the waltz existed.

    Thanks to everyone for the enthusiastic response to this simple piece. It makes me want to write more.

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    Registered User J.C. Bryant's Avatar
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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    John, Thank you so much. I have just returned from going to your wonderful site and enjoyed it greatly. Thank you.

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    Default Re: New Piece for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello

    On the dance forms, they are of course "stylized" in terms of a meter and rhythmic pattern. A Gigue is going to be in 6/8, and as you say a Saraband is typically a slow 3 with--and I think you followed this--some full chords around the melodic line. Bit I doubt anybody actually and literally danced to these any more than they danced to a Minuet and trio in a Mozart symphony; and over time composers played round with the original patterns. Although I don't want to hear Bach played like it's Swan Lake, I think musical purism is more a matter of an individual's personality than anything inherently musical.

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